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Nascar Betting History
History - Betting Tips - Winners - Glossary
Truly NASCAR history has evolved to a point where racing is no longer a sport just for Southern "rednecks". It has grown from its Southeastern roots to places nationwide. Winston Cup races are now held in New Hampshire, Michigan, California, Arizona, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas and Nevada. There is even an exhibition race to be held in Suzuka, Japan, at the end of the 1996 Winston Cup schedule, called the NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special 100.
NASCAR history can trace its roots back to 1794. Of course, that's a whole century before the invention of the automobile, but it was the year of the Whiskey Rebellion. This was a protest of a federal tax on whiskey by frontier farmers. Instead of being subject to the tax, many frontiersmen built secret stills, manufactured, and delivered their product in secret. Not often mentioned, but this is the true origin of NASCAR history.
During the Prohibition era of the 1920's and early 30's, the undercover business of whiskey, or "moonshine", running began to boom. More of a problem than secret manufacture of moonshine was the secret transportation of it. The common term for moonshine runners was "bootleggers". As bootlegging boomed, the drivers began to race among themselves to see who had the fastest cars. Bootleggers raced on Sunday afternoons and then used the same car to haul moonshine Sunday night. Inevitably, people came to see the races, and racing moonshine cars became extremely popular in the backroads of the South.
In the summer of 1938 a man named William H.G. "Bill" France organized a race on the wide, firm sands of Daytona Beach, Florida. The winner recieved such items as a bottle of rum, a box of cigars, and a case of motor oil (precursors to present-day sponsor involvement in the sport) - NASCAR history had begun. France was a visionary; he realized for stock car racing to grow, an official organization had to exist to list champions, keep statistics, and memorialize records and record-holders.
By 1947, Bill France realized it was high time for a national sanctioning body to govern stock car racing. On December 12 of that year he gathered promoters from the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest to the Ebony Bar atop the Streamline Inn as Daytona. Over the next three days rules were drawn and specifications agreed upon. The name of the organization would by NASCAR- the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
The first "true" NASCAR race, in the division that would lead to the present-day WInston Cup Series, was held at the Charlotte (N.C.) Fairgrounds on June 19, 1949. The division of NASCAR in which this race was held, at that time, was called the "Strictly Stock" division. "The 'Strictly Stock' division was open to competitiors who drove full-sized, American made passenger cars, with complete bodies, hoods, fenders, bumpers, and grilles- all parts were required to be listed in the manufacturer's catalog for each model."
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