From humble beginnings to huge growth, NASCAR stays exciting

NASCAR fans visit  http://www.the-nascar-circuit.com every day for the latest news and discussions.

From humble beginnings in the deep South, NASCAR racing has grown to huge popularity throughout the entire united States. Over the decades, from the beginning races attended in 1948, NASCAR has grown to arguably the number one spectator event in The United States. NASCAR, with it’s current NEXTEL Cup and Busch series, counts 75 million truehearted followers. Interesting demographics indicate that 40% of fans are female and 53% work in white-collar or skilled labor jobs. Not your normal racing buff that virtually all people expect. The other areas of fan interest are solid also; yearly attendance at courses is Above 7 million, upwards of 275 million Americans watch on the tube, and the product market exceeds $2 billion. Websites have also cropped up featuring key NASCAR news items.

The initial contests of what was to finally become the NASCAR series were attended in 1948 with modified pre-war autos, which later became the "modified" series. Some key milestones for the NASCAR Racing world across the years include: --The initial 500 mile race takes place at Darlington in 1950 --The inaugural Daytona 500 takes place at Daytona International Speedway in 1959. --initial television report by CBS in 1960. --Buddy Baker surpasses the 200 mph barrier at Talladega in 1970. --A Gallup poll brings out that 28% of Fans are “compete devotees” in 1976.

The end of World War II had an impact on the beginning of NASCAR. At the end of the war, the call for for new cars in the Nation made a large jump with the coming back of the troops. The manufacturing capability that created the “weapons of war” switched to making automobiles. Next came the arrival on the marketplace of fast, powerful and robust automobiles which were enjoyed by the young masses of the time. The American West was fervent for the "sports" automobiles, the Midwest for those with uncovered wheels, while the South-east preferred the stock cars. A lot of these were changed to carry out the illegal booze traffic and utilized in the "contests" that sprung up all over the Southern US.

The American craving for auto racing that grown in the 1940’s did not elude the attention of promoters who promptly made an "official" competition out of it, creating a number of organizations, each with their own rules. Then on December 14, 1947, Bill France, decided to meet with thirty five of the organizers of all racing associations in place to draw the lines of what was going to turn into the American national automobile sport. It required four days for the group to finalize on all the rules, to pick out the name of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) and the Association was in the end officially created on February 21, 1948.

How does NASCAR trace its origins back to bootlegging? The business of bootlegging continued even after the finish of the Prohibition period, due to the considerable tax set on whiskey upon reversal of the Volstead Act in 1933. As bootlegging prospered , the drivers started to compete among themselves to determine who had the fastest automobiles. The bootleggers battled on Sunday afternoons and then used the same cars to haul corn liquor Sunday night. As more and more people came to watch the races, racing moonshine automobiles became really popular in the backroads of the South.

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

Those who closely follow the NASCAR sport assign various reasons for its great success over the years. A substantial reason is a convention that almost no other spectator sport uses. Each Week, the best teams (drivers) are brawling directly against each other. Different from, for instance the NFL, in which you may have to wait weeks for a very big matchup between top tier teams, you can watch number 1 versus number 2 every week. It’s virtually like having the World Series of this sport every week.

The roots of NASCAR in the “bootlegging” era and the modest roots of a lot of of its first aces seems to be motivating to fans in todays world. In this era of the spoiled, pampered, arrogant pro athlete, NASCAR racing devotees seem to be searching for a down to earth, more grounded type of champion to give their allegiance to.