Written by Isabel Jane Caporaso, Edited by Tarun Suresh
From superspeedways to dirt tracks and street circuits, NASCAR represents one of the top-ranked motorsport organisations in the world. In recent years its high-speed close-contact racing has made this sport gain an important number of followers, making the Daytona 500 as iconic as the Monaco Grand Prix. The story behind this incredible sport is one for the history books.
United States, 1920.
The United States prohibited the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. As of a few years prior, alcohol was deeply integrated into American social life, and for this reason, the demand for alcohol did not decrease with the prohibition of its production.
Organised crime groups and individuals saw a lucrative opportunity in such need and soon began to smuggle liquor across the country.
To successfully transport alcohol from one place to another without being caught by law enforcement, the bootleggers had to have high-performing cars. Adding on to this necessity, hidden compartments and extra reinforcement were indispensable for the big loads carried by the vehicles.
These demands called for alterations to the machinery used. The moonshiners began to improve the engine of their cars, adding modified suspensions and hidden compartments with the purpose of making them faster, easier to drive on curvy roads at high speed and capable of containing as many loads as possible without looking any different on the outside.
The high speed of the cars and thrilling driving style soon began to amuse the traffickers who in their free time began to race each other as a demonstration of the great work done on their own vehicles. These informal contests were the first occurrences of stock car racing.
With the decriminalization of alcohol in 1933, informal car racing did not end, on the contrary, it began to develop further. The first ever stock car race open to the public was held at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1936, but given the poor organization behind such competition, there were many complaints and controversies.
For this reason, Bill France Sr. took matters into his own hands and discussed with drivers and promoters to provide the races with rules, a schedule and a point system, which resulted in the creation of NASCAR.
The first NASCAR race was held on the 19th of June 1949. From that moment onwards the sport continued its development in safety and performance, and the supporters grew from race to race.
From its roots to this day NASCAR is rich with thrilling and dramatic racing, which makes it easy for motorsports enthusiasts to fall in love with a sport as incredible as this one. It has cultivated a rich and dedicated fan base that comes to show how incredibly breathtaking each competition really is. After all, with a background as spectacular as this one, what did you expect?
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