Hey Racing Fans!! Are your engines revving? Can’t wait till the next NASCAR race? Have you ever wondered where and when this addicting sport got it’s start? It unofficially got started when deep in the back woods, farmers around the depression era made moonshine to earn money to support their families. Money for the bare necessities was hard to come by. They learned to outrun the law by making their cars faster than what the lawmen had. One famous moonshine runner is Junior Johnson from Ingle Hollow, he was never caught while running moonshine (though I bet a lot of them didn’t get caught!).
North Carolina is credited with creating the «Bootleg Turn» in which the driver puts the car in second gear and doing a fast 180 degree turn around, and go back the same way he came to avoid a road block. NASCAR roots are primarily in the southern states. NASCAR is short for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. William France formed NASCAR in 1948. The first official race was held on February 15, 1948 at Daytona Beach, Florida and began to grow in popularity from there. Then in 1970 ABC began to televise racing segments on Wide World of Sports. (I’m dating myself, but I remember when they started doing that! Even as a kid I had speed in my blood!)
Now NASCAR is the fastest growing spectator sport in America. Avid fans follow each race closely rooting for their favorite driver and watching their points standing in the race. All I can say is…
See You At The Races!