Crossing the Finish Line: The story of NASCAR

If you read my post yesterday, that introduced you to a rough history of stock car racing in the US and left off right around the late 1930's and early 40's.

William France Sr. was one of the first individuals to realize the potential racing had as a spectator sport. He was a mechanic by trade but eventually ended up racing himself and managing races in the Daytona area.

Racing was kind of like the wild west back in those days with events popping up all across the region. Many of these races were established and promoted by crooked individuals who would "high tail" it with the money leaving the racers unpaid and disgruntled.

France Sr. recognized that there needed to be an organization that could oversee the races create rules, and establish a schedule as well as a championship. This would ensure that things were fair and equitable for the drivers and everyone else involved.

The first iteration of this new organization was the National Championship Stock Car Circuit (NCSCC) and was established in 1947. The inaugural season of the NCSCC consisted of 40 races and Fonty Flock was awarded a grand prize of $1000 for winning 7 of the 24 races he participated in.

Throughout the first season, spectator number often exceeded the capacity of the venues. The need for consistency with drivers also led France Sr. to decide to make some changes.

In 1948 he held some meetings at a hotel in Florida with the 35 representatives from the NCSCC. Over the course of these meetings the new rules and points system for the racing organization were written down on a napkin.

France Sr. initially wanted to change the name of the organization to the National Stock Car Racing Association, but that name was already taken by a rival sanctioning body that had popped up, so they settled on National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) suggested by mechanic Red Vogt.

NASCAR has grown into a multi-million dollar business over the years. It now has worldwide reach with 10+ different divisions across the globe and races broadcast in over 150 different countries. Even today, the France family still has a member on the board of directors.