NASCAR

THE RACE AND ITS FUN

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of stock cars in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. It also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, and the Whelen All-American Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 states, Canada, and Mexico. From 1996 to 1998, NASCAR held exhibition races in Japan and an exhibition race in Australia in 1988.

With roots as regional entertainment in the Southeastern U.S., NASCAR has grown to become the second-most popular professional sport in terms of television ratings inside the U.S., ranking behind only the National Football League. Internationally, NASCAR races are broadcast in over 150 countries. It holds 17 of the top 20 attended sporting events in the U.S.and has 75 million fans who purchase over $3 billion in annual licensed product sales. These fans are considered the most brand-loyal in all of sports and as a result, Fortune 500 companies sponsor NASCAR more than any other governing body. In 2007 NASCAR made a profit of just under $3 billion, and was the second richest motor sport (Formula One was first).

NASCAR's headquarters are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, although it also maintains offices in four North Carolina cities: Charlotte, Mooresville, Concord, and Conover. Regional offices are also located in New York City, Los Angeles, Bentonville, and international offices in Mexico City and Toronto. Additionally, owing to its southern roots, all but a handful of NASCAR teams are still based in North Carolina, especially near Charlotte.

HOW IT ALL STARTED?

In the 1920s and 1930s, Daytona Beach became known as the place to set world land speed records, supplanting France and Belgium as the preferred location for land speed records, with 8 consecutive world records set between 1927 and 1935. After a historic race between Ransom Olds and Alexander Winton in 1903, the beach became a mecca for racing enthusiasts and fifteen records were set on what became the Daytona Beach road course between 1905 and 1935. By the time the Bonneville Salt Flats became the premier location for pursuit of land speed records, in 1936, Daytona beach had become synonymous with fast cars. Drivers raced a 1.5 to 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of beach as one straightaway and beachfront highway A1A as the other.

Stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition, when drivers ran bootleg whiskey made in Appalachia region of the United States. Bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity, and some of them came to love the fast-paced driving down twisty mountain roads. One of the main 'strips' in Knoxville, Tennessee, had its beginning as a mecca for aspiring bootlegging drivers.

The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 dried up some of their business, but by then Southerners had developed a taste for moonshine, and a number of the drivers continued "runnin' shine," this time evading the "revenuers" who were attempting to tax their operations. The cars continued to improve, and by the late 1940s, races featuring these cars were being run for pride and profit. These races were popular entertainment in the rural Southern United States, and they are most closely associated with the Wilkes County region of North Carolina. Most races in those days were of modified cars. Street vehicles were lightened and reinforced.

Also immediately World War II, stock-car racing was experiencing the greatest popularity it had ever seen. Tracks throughout the country were drawing more drivers, and bigger crowds.

Nonetheless, there was a serious lack of organization. From track to track, rules were different. Some tracks were just makeshift facilities, built to produce one big show at a county fair or something similar to capitalize on the crowds flocking to the events. Other tracks were more suited to handle the cars, but not the crowds. Some could manage both, but did little to adhere to rules set by other tracks.

In December 1947, Bill France Sr., of Daytona Beach, Fla., organized a meeting at the Streamline Hotel across the street from the Atlantic Ocean to discuss the problems facing stock-car racing.

France had come to Florida from Washington, D.C., years earlier. He operated a local service station and alsopromoted races on the city's famed beach-road courses, often racing himself. He was a man of strong will -- and ambition. Thus, by the time that meeting at the Streamline Hotel was complete; the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing was born. Few knew when the meeting adjourned if the organization would be successful. In fact, there were skeptics who believed it never would work.

Not even France, who believed a sanctioning body was exactly what the sport of stock-car racing needed, could have envisioned what NASCAR has become today.

THE TRIO OF NASCAR

William France, Sr.

Mechanic William France, Sr., moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, DC, in 1935 to escape the Great Depression. He was familiar with the history of the area from the land speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth. He took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II.

France had the notion that people would enjoy watching "stock cars" race. Drivers were frequently victimized by unscrupulous promoters who would leave events with all the money before drivers were paid. In 1947, he decided this racing would not grow without a formal sanctioning organization, standardized rules, regular schedule, and an organized championship. On December 14, 1947, France began talks with other influential racers and promoters at the Ebony Bar at the Streamline Hotel at Daytona Beach, Florida, that ended with the formation of NASCAR on February 21, 1948.

Erwin "Cannonball" Baker

The first Commissioner of NASCAR was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker. A former stock car, motorcycle, and open-wheel racer who competed in the Indianapolis 500 and set over one hundred land speed records. Cannonball Baker earned most of his fame for his transcontinental speed runs. Baker would prove a car's worth by driving it from New York to Los Angeles. After his death, the famous transcontinental race the 'Cannonball Run' and the film that was inspired by it were both named in his honor. Baker is enshrined in the Automotive Hall of Fame, The Motorcycle Hall of Fame, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, and The NASCAR Hall of Fame. This level of honor and success in each diverse racing association earned Baker the title of "King of the Road".

Bob "Barky" Barkhimer

In the early 1950s the United States Navy stationed Bill France, Jr., at the Moffett Federal Airfield in northern California. His father asked him to look up Bob Barkhimer in San Jose, California. Barkhimer was a star of midget car racing from the World War II era, and later ran about 22 different speedways as the head of the California Stock Car Racing Association. Young Bill developed a relationship with Bob Barkhimer and his partner, Margo Burke. He went to events with them, stayed weekends with them and generally became very familiar with racing on the west coast. "Barky," as he was called by his friends, journeyed to Daytona Beach and met with Bill France, Sr. In the spring of 1954, NASCAR became the stock car sanctioning body on the Pacific Coast under Barky.

THE RACE IS ON.....

Petty wining the first Daytona race

NASCAR made major changes in its structure in the early 1970s. The top series found sponsorship from R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR). Tobacco companies, which had been banned from television advertising, found a popular and demographically suitable consumer base in NASCAR fans and engaged NASCAR as a promotional outlet. As a result of that sponsorship, the Grand National Series became known as the Winston Cup Series (today called the Sprint Cup Series) starting in 1971, with a new points system and some significant cash benefits to compete for championship points. In 1972, the season was shortened from 48 races (including two on dirt tracks) to 31. 1972 is often acknowledged as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The next competitive level, called Late Model Sportsman, gained the "Grand National" title passed down from the top division and soon found a sponsor in Busch Beer.

ABC Sports aired partial or full live telecasts of Grand National races from Talladega, North Wilkesboro, Darlington, Charlotte, and Nashville in 1970. These events were less exciting than many GN races, and ABC abandoned live coverage. Races were instead broadcast, delayed and edited, on the ABC sports variety show "Wide World of Sports."

Finally, in 1979, the Daytona 500 became the first stock car race that was nationally televised from flag to flag on CBS. The leaders going into the last lap, Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison, wrecked on the backstretch while dicing for the lead, allowing Richard Petty to pass them both and win the race. Immediately, Yarborough, Allison, and Allison's brother Bobby were engaged in a fistfight on national television. This underlined the drama and emotion of the sport and increased its broadcast marketability. Luckily for NASCAR, the race coincided with a major snowstorm along the United States' eastern seaboard, successfully introducing much of the captive audience to the sport.

By the end of NASCAR's first decade, the city not only had held on to its racing roots, but had outgrown the beach and, in 1959, moved events to Daytona International Speedway. With its long back straightaway and sweeping high-banked turns of more than 30 degrees, the 2.5-mile tri-oval was one of the largest speedways in the world.

In the first race, fans were treated to something that each year still brings millions of fans to NASCAR races -- close competition.

The first Daytona 500 didn't end for three days. It took that long for NASCAR officials to study a photograph of the finish between Petty and Johnny Beauchamp before declaring Petty the winner.

The hook had been set for NASCAR to be the most watched and anticipated race of the 21^st century.

Richard Petty

Petty's 1983 race car

Petty's famous Plymouth Superbird

THE INTIMIDATOR OF NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt won seven cup series

As the decade of the 1990s began, perhaps no one but the sports visionaries could have imagined the growth NASCAR would undertake. Without question it was an exciting time. NASCAR began its meteoric rise by expansion in 1993 to New Hampshire Motor Speedway -- 70 miles north of Boston -- and in 1994, to the capital of open-wheel racing, Indianapolis.

In May 1994, NASCAR introduced a new series, the Craftsman Truck Series, involving full-sized, full-bodied pickup trucks. After several exhibition events, the first point event in the new series was held in February 1995.

At the same time, NASCAR's at-track attendance was growing monumentally. The NASCAR Lifestyle was becoming a national phenomenon with cover stories in Forbes and Sports Illustrated. To help feed the tremendous growth, NASCAR launched its official Web site in 1995 (www.nascar.com) and in 1997, NASCAR branched out again adding races in top 10 markets like Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft. Worth and added a second date in New Hampshire.

NASCAR- THE SPORT

NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport -- holding 17 of the top 20 highest-attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2-rated regular season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in more than 30 languages.

NASCAR fans are the most brand-loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.

NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as two international series.

NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach (Fla.), NASCAR has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte (N.C.), Concord (N.C.), Conover (N.C.), Bentonville (Ark.), Mexico City, and Toronto.

NASCAR & POP CULTURE

In NASCAR, people know how to have a good time -- NASCAR attracts some of the biggest stars of music, film and television. It's not uncommon to see top-tier stars like Will Ferrell, Stevie Wonder, Vince Vaughn, Usher, Nicolas Cage or Kelly Clarkson joining us at NASCAR events.

NASCAR drivers are no strangers to Hollywood, either -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray and others have made appearances in major motion pictures, sitcoms, dramas and talk shows. The growing world of satellite radio is part of NASCAR, too, with drivers like Tony Stewart and Juan Montoya hosting their own weekly programs on Sirius Satellite Radio.

NASCAR RACING SERIES

• Sprint Cup Series
The premier motor sports series in North America, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is home to the world's top racing talent in 36 races each season.

• Nationwide Series
This series features an exciting combination of talented young drivers, seasoned veterans and high-profile superstars in a 35-race season that includes stops in Canada and Mexico.

• Craftsman Truck Series
Featuring tough, rugged, American-made trucks in 25 races a year, this series is a favorite of those

NASCAR INTERNATIONAL SERIES

• Canadian Tire Series
From May through October, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is the premier racing series in Canada and home to the nation's top driving talent.

• Mexico Series
This series brings the thrills and excitement of NASCAR racing on oval tracks and road courses to fans throughout Mexico.

NASCAR REGIONAL AND LOCAL SERIES

NASCAR Home Tracks provide family-friendly entertainment featuring grassroots racing in a setting that's close to home. Consisting of dozens of tracks on the regional and local levels throughout North America, NASCAR Home Tracks are the foundation of NASCAR and an important part of the NASCAR experience.

• Camping World Series
Racing in two regions of the country -- east and west -- the Camping World Series is the premier regional racing series in American motorsports.

• Whelen Modified Tour
The Whelen Modified Tour holds races throughout New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, on tracks ranging in size from a quarter mile to the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

• Whelen Southern Modified Tour
The Whelen Southern Modified Tour was established in 2005, and is a close cousin to the northern-based Whelen Modified Tour. Races take place in the Southeast U.S., including stops in North Carolina and Virginia.

• Whelen All-American Series
With racing at more than 60 tracks throughout North America, this series' drivers compete for local track championships, state titles and positions in the prestigious national standings.