Read about NASCAR's colorful roots

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From humble beginnings in the deep South, NASCAR racing has exploded to almost unbelievable success across the whole u.S.A.. Through the years, from the beginning races observed in 1948, NASCAR has become arguably the most watched spectator event in The United States. NASCAR, with it’s current NEXTEL Cup and Busch series, touts 75 million rabid fans. Fascinating demographics establish that 40% of fans are ladies and 53% work in white-collar or skilled labor jobs. Not your average racing buff that virtually all folks expect. The additional arenas of fan interest are strong also; annual attendance at contests is Upwards of 7 million, more than of 275 million Americans follow on television, and the wares marketplace exceeds $2 billion. Websites have also shown up featuring key NASCAR news items.

How does NASCAR trace its roots back to bootlegging? The commerce of bootlegging went on even after the end of the Prohibition days, because of the considerable tax laid on hard liquor upon reversal of the Volstead Act in 1933. As bootlegging expanded , the drivers commenced to contend between themselves to determine who had the swiftest automobiles. The bootleggers competed on Sunday afternoons and then utilized the same autos to haul moonshine Sunday night. As more and more folks came to see the contests, racing moonshine automobiles became highly popular in the backroads of the Southland.

Fans who closely monitor the NASCAR races attribute a number of factors for its huge success over the decades. One substantial cause is a convention that virtually no other spectator event uses. Every week, the tp[ teams (drivers) are battling head to head against each other. Different from, for instance the NFL, where you could have to hold off weeks for a exciting matchup between top tier teams, you can view number 1 versus number 2 every week. It’s nearly like experiencing the World Series of this sport every week.

The inaugural competitions of what was to ultimately turn into the NASCAR series were started in 1948 with modified pre-war automobiles, which later became the "modified" series. Some major milestones for the NASCAR Racing world over the decades include: --The inaugural 500 mile race takes place at Darlington in 1950 --The inaugural Daytona 500 takes place at Daytona International Speedway in 1959. --first tV report by CBS in 1960. --Buddy Baker goes past the 200 mph limitation at Talladega in 1970. --A Gallup poll discloses that 28% of People are “race buffs” in 1976.

The beginnings of NASCAR in the “bootlegging” days and the humble start of quite a few of its initial champions seems to be motivating to followers currently. In this day of the spoiled, pampered, arrogant pro athlete, NASCAR racing buffs seem to be searching for a normal, more grounded type of champion to give their loyalty to.

The close of World War II had an impact on the start of NASCAR. At the conclusion of the war, the call for for new autos in the US made a huge leap with the reappearance of the soldiers. The manufacturing capacity that created the “weapons of war” switched to creating autos. Next followed the arrival on the market of speedy, powerful and robust cars which were loved by the young people of the time. The American West was burning for the "sports" automobiles, the Midwest for those with uncovered wheels, while the South-east preferred the stock cars. Many of these were customized to carry out the illegal alcohol traffic and utilized in the "contests" that sprung up all over the Southern US.

NASCAR history has evolved to a point where racing is no longer a spectator sport just for Southern "rednecks". The popularity of the sport has grown from its Southeastern roots to points across the country creating NASCAR fans all around the nation. NEXTEL Cup races are now held in New Hampshire, Michigan, California, Arizona, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas and Nevada. There have even been exhibition races run in Japan and other international locales.

The American craving for auto racing that produced in the 1940’s did not elude the attention of boosters who promptly made an "official" competition out of it, producing numbers of organizations, each with their own formulas. Then on December 14, 1947, Bill France, decided to meet with thirty five of the leaders of all racing associations in existence to produce the outline of what was going to turn into the American national automobile sport. It required four days for the group to concur on all the regulations, to choose the name of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) and the Association was in the end officially born on February 21, 1948.