Each week millions of NASCAR fans tune in to watch NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events. Today (April 6) CMT announced an unprecedented six-hour, three-night special event dedicated to the fearless men who took stock car racing out of the backwoods and into the national spotlight.

The special event is not only a unique look into NASCAR’s legendary beginnings, but in the spirit of racing, it is a no-holds-barred account of the sport’s early pioneers and ascension to national prominence.

The film features archival footage, reenactments and interviews with NASCAR personalities and experts including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Richard Petty, Tony Stewart and Darrell Waltrip.

It’s the story about how a generation of Southern bootleggers and gangsters pursued their version of the American dream and created an industry that defined them. Despite a destitute South, they became wildly rich, while in the process forming the nation’s greatest racing league through their persistence, sweat and moonshine.

The success of NASCAR surpassed even their wildest dreams and inspired a new generation of Southern icons. But in the race to always go bigger and faster, sometimes there were casualties along the way.

NASCAR: The Rise of American Speed is a tale of fearless men who didn’t just live their lives, they raced them to the finish.

The series, NASCAR: The Rise of American Speed, will premiere Sunday May 8, May 15 and May 22 at 10 pm ET/PT.