Early racing in the US, the origins of NASCAR

It all started with liquor... I imagine a lot of stories do, some of them good, some of them bad. I guess I should be more specific, it was actually the lack of liquor that makes this story possible.

Starting in 1920, the US government established something called "Prohibition". In case you don't live in the US and aren't familiar with the history, this was a time when the federal government prohibited the production, import, transport, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933.

As is typically the case, humans love their vices and even if there is a law against them, that isn't going to keep them from getting what they want. This led to the introduction of "Bootleggers". These bootleggers were prominent in the Appalachian region of the US transporting liquor from one region to another.

Due to the fact that liquor was illegal (remember prohibition), these bootleggers (or rum runners) would often find themselves being chased by the authorities. It soon became pretty common for them to modify their "stock" cars to increase speed and performance allowing them to avoid capture.

Since no alcohol could be produced legally, individuals would make their own liquor called "moonshine" for the bootleggers to transport. By the time prohibition was repealed in 1933 Southerners had acquired a real taste for the stuff. Even though other forms of alcohol were now available, the bootleggers were still able to make a little money running moonshine only now they were evading the "tax man".

This would only last a short time and eventually the profit just wasn't there anymore to be a bootlegger. What do you do when you have a souped up car and nothing to do with it? You race it of course.

Thus, "stock" car racing was born. Organized races soon became very common and people would run them for "profit and pride". The number of spectators attending these events increased over time as well. Eventually, what was originally known as stock car racing would evolve into the NASCAR that many people know and love today.

Though a very lose interpretation, the Classic Burt Reynolds movie "Stroker Ace" touches on some of the themes of early stock car racing and the memory of this movie was my inspiration for this post.