Are There Any NASCAR Fans Here

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Road Ruler

I miss the stock car races from the 60's when the cars were more "stock" cars. Back then a Ford looked looked like a Ford and a Dodge looked looked a Dodge. Today the car is whatever image is painted on the body.

Yup, watching Richard Petty drive that 64 Dodge was a treat.

AMEN!

I was in the pits in the 70's at Darlington and Talladega, still remember the races at The Rock, N.Wilkesboro....Nascar is not what it used to be. Wife's family was involved too, JD McDuffie was her cousin. Unfortunately it has become about the big money and less about the racing. JMHO

Aaron

[davidh]

Well Kasey Kahne won and I'm happy for him, he drove a nice clean race, and what about Marky Martin he did well with a 2nd place finnish. What happened to Harvick?

[davidh]

Another bull ring race tomorow, Martinsville ought to be a good bumb and grind race after last weekends race, tempers will again be short.

[WayWard Wind]

I'm not into the Nascar scene, but sometime ago I either read or heard it said that the Nascar races evolved from the soup-up cars of the "White Lighting aka moonshine" runners during the 50's. I remember an excellent movie from that era called "Thunder Road", which was about the "White Lighting aka moonshine" runners in the mountains of the South. Age, at this time, does not let me recall the main actor's name.
Best,

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by WayWard Wind

I remember an excellent movie from that era called "Thunder Road", which was about the "White Lighting aka moonshine" runners in the mountains of the South. Age, at this time, does not let me recall the main actor's name.
Best,

The actor was Robert Mitchum. Fact or fiction? Who really knows but they were racing at Daytona before this movie was made.

[davidh]

Here is a short story on the birth history of NASCAR. Its a good read.
The starting point.

At the end of the World War II, the request for new cars in the USA made a considerable jump with the return of the soldiers. The industry which had produced weaponry for 5 years applied at once their designs to the new cars. The result was the arrival on the market of fast, powerful and robust cars which were enjoyed by the young people of the time. Those started to organize more or less legal races, and soon trends started to form.
The American West was impassioned for the "sports" cars, the Midwest for those with uncovered wheels, whereas South-east chose the stock cars. A lot of these were modified to carry out the illegal alcohol traffic and used in the "races".
This passion for auto racing did not escape the promoters who quickly made an "official" sport out of it, creating many organizations, each with their own rules. Some of them were the NCSCC (National Championship Stock Car Circuit), NSCRA (National Stock Car Racing Association), etc....
Unfortunately, this prevented auto racing from reaching the national level. Moreover, no guarantee of payment was offered to the pilots: if there was money remaining in the pot after the race, so much better, if not...

The birth.

On December 14, 1947, Bill France, who was himself part of the NSCRA, decided to meet with thirty five of the leaders of all associations in place to draw the lines of what was going to become the American national automobile sport.
It took four days for the group to staighten all the rules, to choose the name of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) and the Association was finally officially created on February 21, 1948.The first races.

They were run the same year with modified pre-war cars, which later became the "modified" series. The championship comprised 52 races, and the first winner was Red Byron, who pocketed $1250.
As soon as 1949, Bill France put his very first idea into practice: a "strictly stock" series - no modification accepted. This brought a controversy which one can describe as historical at the end of the first race at Charlotte. Glenn Dunnaway won the race with his 1947 Ford, but was declared illegal because of a modification of the rear springs (Dunnaway used his car to carry moonshine). Jim Roper pocketed the $5000 with his Mercury 1949.
The championship of only eight races, was once again won by Red Byron.

[WayWard Wind]

Thanks DavidH for the info. that's pretty much like the info I had read.
Best,

[davidh]

Your welcome, but it is for sure the moonshiners that hold the spotlight.