NASCAR1925-1970 "Gentlemen, start your engines!"
NASCAR, (National Association for Stock Car Racing), was officially started by Bill France Sr. in 1948. However, its roots first sprouted in the 1920s. Its birthplace is Daytona Beach, Florida. During this period, Daytona Beach had replaced France and Belgium as the preferred location for setting new land speed records. A total of 8 records were set between 1927 and 1935, making Daytona Beach a paradise for racing and speed enthusiasts. In 1936, the Bonneville Salt Flats became the new main place for setting land speed records, but now Daytona was the place for racing. During this time, the track at Daytona was a 4.1-mile elongated oval, with a 1.5-mile stretch of beach as one straightaway and a flat, narrow, paved road as the other. The two were connected by two tightly corrugated, furrowed, sand-covered curves. Why is NACAR so popular in the south? The origins of stock car racing are deeply rooted in ‘bootleg’. During “Prohibition”, bootleg whiskey operators (better known as Moonshiners), who were mostly located in the Appalachian area of the US, needed to distribute their illegal product to other parts of the South. To do this, they used fast cars and daring drivers, who could evade or simply outrun the authorities. In 1933, the ban was repealed, putting some bootleggers out of commission. But the money and continued demand kept many in business. Now it was the ‘Tax’ collectors they were trying to outrun. This need caused drivers to modify their cars to make them lighter and faster. In the late 1940s, many of these “brilliant” vehicles competed with each other for pride and profit. These racing events were great entertainment in the rural segment of the South, especially in the Wilkes County area of North Carolina.
In 1935, mechanic William France Sr. moved to Daytona Beach, Florida from Washington DC to escape the evils of the “Great Depression”. France was familiar with Daytona’s racing history and speed records. He even entered a race in 1936, placing fifth. In 1938 he began running the course. France sponsored some races before the start of World War II. France had always seen the entertainment value of “stock car” racing. In 1947, he began to push for racing to be sanctioned and organized into a ‘formal sport’, with rules and regulations for honest owner management and driver protection, on and off the track. In the past, corrupt promoters took all the money earned in the race, before the driver crossed the finish line. In December 1947, France met with other influential movers and shakers to work out some sort of plan for the company. The historic meeting took place at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach. It took more than 2 months, but on February 21, 1948, everyone involved reached a unique agreement and NASCAR was born.
NASCAR Baby She’s Hot 1949-1970 “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!”
Now it was official, there was a sport known as ‘stock car racing’, with a governing body called NASCAR. The first commissioner of this new organization was Erwin “Cannonball” Baker. In addition to being one of the founders who was at that famous meeting in Daytona Beach, Baker was a legend in the racing world. He was the winner of the first race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, as well as winning a host of car and motorcycle races. He also set over a hundred land speed records in his career. The cross-country race, “Cannonball Run,” and the movies of the same name that followed, were named after him as he drove from New York to Los Angeles. Baker passed away in 1960 at the age of 78.
In the early 1950s, a major development was about to take place. William’s son, Bill France Jr., was serving in the Navy and had been stationed in California at Moffet Federal Airfield. France Sr. asked his son to contact Bob Barkhimer in San Jose, California. During World War II, Barkhimer gained fame racing midget cars. He now owned and operated 22 different highways, which had earned him the position of director of the California Stock Car Racing Association. France Jr. met and developed a close friendship with Barkhimer. Bill Jr. enjoyed and immersed himself in West Coast racing. “Barkey,” as his friends knew him, traveled east to Daytona to meet with France Sr. The meeting was a success for both men. In the spring of 1954, NASCAR became a bi-coastal organization, with races sanctioned in California under Barkhimer’s leadership.
One of NASCAR’s first elite drivers was Ralph Earnhardt. Earnhardt began racing on the side in 1949, but by 1953, racing was his full-time job. In 1955, Earnhardt was runner-up in the NASCAR Sportsmen’s Championship. The following year he won the title, and in ’57 he was third. In 1956, Earnhardt competed in his first Grand National race (now known as the Sprint Cup), where he took the pole and finished second. In ’61, he was ranked 17th in the National Point rankings. In ’67, he became the South Carolina state champion, winning races at Columbia and on the Greenville-Pickens speedway. One of NASCAR’s original legendary drivers, he is the father of the late and also legendary Dale Earnhardt, as well as the grandfather of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his brother, Kerry Earbhardt. Ralph Earnhardt died in 1973 of a heart attack.
Another great pilot of that time was Fred Lorenzen. The “Golden Boy,” as he was called, won all five of the original Southern “big tracks.” It took another great, Richard Petty, two decades to reach this milestone. From 1961 to 1967, Lorenzen won a quarter of the races he entered and finished in the top 10 half the time. A remarkable feat considering the conditions of the tracks, as well as the low survival rate of the cars of the time. He retired at the young age of 32. Bobby Allison picked up where Lorenzen left off as Ford’s number one driver. He and his rival Richard Petty went toe-to-toe many times with Allison, getting the better of even races. Allison won races well into her forties, even scoring a victory in the Daytona 500 at age 50. However, a serious accident in 1988 finally forced his retirement.
Then there is “The King”. Of course I am referring to Richard Petty. One of the greatest drivers of this era to ever sit behind the wheel. He is called “The King” due to his 200 professional wins. There is no other NASCAR driver better known than Petty. During the early part of NASCAR’s modern era, Petty was the face of stock car racing. Another generational racing family like the Earnhardts, Richard’s son Kyle (now retired) was also a driver, as was his son Adam. Tragically, Adam was killed in a practice accident at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2000. Two years later, Kyle would retire from racing to focus on behind-the-scenes efforts at Petty Enterprises.
NASCAR was growing and maturing. The 60’s were coming to an end and with the new decade, there was about to be a new development. It would bring NASCAR into the national spotlight, in a big way.