Oh I'm very familiar with the NC BBQ. I grew up in Greensboro.
I don't think of western NC as tomato based though, I think of it as a sweeter sauce while eastern is a bit more spicy. Perhaps I haven't had it far enough west.
You could actually buy Stubb's sauce in the NC grocery stores when I lived there. Stubb's sauce is definitely more tomato than vinegar, but it does have vinegar in it (I have a bottle in the fridge, I just looked.
).
I personally prefer their Mesquite sauce flavor, but I have both that and the original in the fridge at the moment...
NC-style bbq is one of the things I really miss being here in Texas. Just something you can't get down here, although occasionally you'll find a good sandwich.