NASCAR roots create a tremendously popular sport today

NASCAR fans love to talk racing at their favorite site The NASCAR Circuit

From grass roots origins in the deep Southland, NASCAR racing has matured to unbelievable heights around the entire uSA. Over the many years, from the first races held in 1948, NASCAR has turned into arguably the number 1 spectator event in The USA. NASCAR, with the current NEXTEL Cup and Busch series, counts 75 million loyal devotees. Fascinating demographics indicate that 40% of these are ladies and 53% work in white-collar or skilled labor jobs. Not your typical racing buff that virtually all americans expect. The other areas of fan interest are robust also; yearly attendance at the tracks is Over 7 million, upwards of 275 million Americans view on tV, and the products arena exceeds $2 billion. Internet sites have also turned up carrying key NASCAR news items.

The conclusion of World War II had an affect on the beginning of NASCAR. At the conclusion of the war, the demand for new autos in the US made a great jump with the reappearance of the military personnel. The manufacturing power that brought forth the “weapons of war” changed to producing cars. Next followed the arrival on the marketplace of fast, muscular and robust automobiles which were loved by the young americans of the time. The American West was fervent for the "sports" cars, the Midwest for those with uncovered wheels, while the South-east chose the stock cars. A number of these were modified to carry out the illegal booze traffic and employed in the "contests" that sprung up all over the Southland.

NASCAR history has evolved to a point where racing is no longer a event just for Southern "rednecks". The success of the sport has grown from its Southeastern roots to points across the nation producing NASCAR fans all across the country. NEXTEL Cup contests 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 venues.

The American zeal for auto racing that evolved in the 1940’s did not elude the attention of promoters who rapidly made an "official" event out of it, creating a number of organizations, each with their own regulations. Then on December 14, 1947, Bill France, determined to gather with thirty five of the leaders of all racing associations in existence to produce the lines of what was going to become the American national automobile sport. It took four era for the group to concur on all the rules, to select the name of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) and the Association was in the end officially born on February 21, 1948.

The initial races of what was to ultimately become the NASCAR series were conducted in 1948 with customized pre-war automobiles, which later became the "modified" series. Some key milestones for the NASCAR Racing world across the years include: --The inaugural 500 mile race takes place at Darlington in 1950 --The initial Daytona 500 takes place at Daytona International Speedway in 1959. --first tV report by CBS in 1960. --Buddy Baker passes the 200 mph barrier at Talladega in 1970. --A Gallup poll reveals that 28% of Fans are “race devotees” in 1976.

The lineage of NASCAR in the “bootlegging” times and the modest start of numbers of of its initial headliners seems to be a positive factor to buffs currently. In this day of the spoiled, pampered, arrogant pro athlete, NASCAR racing fans seem to be looking for a normal, more grounded type of hero to give their loyalty to.

How does NASCAR track its roots back to bootlegging? The business of bootlegging continued even after the finish of the Prohibition days, because of the incredible tax laid on hard liquor upon reversal of the Volstead Act in 1933. As bootlegging prospered , the drivers began to race among themselves to learn who had the swiftest automobiles. The bootleggers raced on Sunday afternoons and then utilized the same cars to haul moonshine Sunday night. As more and more observers came to see the competitions, racing moonshine autos became extremely popular in the backroads of the Southern US.

Those who closely keep up with the NASCAR races attribute a number of reasons for its incredible success over the decades. One major cause is a combination that virtually no other spectator competition utilizes. Week in and week out, the tp[ teams (drivers) are contending head to head against each other. Different from, for instance the NFL, in which you may have to hold off weeks for a big contest between leading teams, you can view number 1 versus number 2 every week. It’s nearly like getting the World Series of this sport every week.