Racing all but stopped during World War II, but shortly after V-J Day, France decided to organize and promote a national championship at the local fairgrounds. They split $2,200 in profits this time around. This time they charged a dollar, and the same number of people showed up. They sold 5,000 tickets and split $200 in profits when it was over. Along with Charlie Reese, a local restaurant owner, he organized a race and charged a 50-cent admission. The race was handed over to the local Elks Racing Club for the following year, but again suffered financial losses and seemed like an ill-conceived idea.įortunately for the sport of stock car racing, Bill France stepped in. Unfortunately, the city lost $22,000 on the event and chalked it up as a failure. In 1936, he took fifth place in the town's first stock car race. As you read on, you'll learn more about the beginnings of stock car racing and see how it has evolved into the global force it is today.Ĭall it luck or call it fate, but France set up roots in Daytona Beach, Fla. The organization has also made other changes for safety reasons - each automotive and technological advance made the cars faster, but with increased speed came increased danger. When the "aero wars" of the '70s put two automotive giants consistently in the winner's circle, NASCAR stepped in to level the playing field by placing restrictions on all cars. NASCAR has done what it can to maintain the integrity of the original sport. These days, the cars still have a semistock build, but they're a bit different under the hood than the cars on your local dealer's lot. But as times changed and technology advanced, the sport evolved. Stock car racing was originally a competition between cars that hadn't been altered from their original factory build. Not many professional sports can claim that women make up almost half of their audience. It continues to grow in popularity, and roughly 40 percent of its fan base is now female. NASCAR is the No.1 spectator sport in the United States and the second most popular televised sport broadcast worldwide.
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