Motorsports is one of the most popular sports in the U.S. (Hughes, 2007). According to Fielden (2015), stock car racing is the largest category of auto racing in the U.S., especially in regards to sponsorship, attendance, and media exposure. Motorsport is a type of automobile racing that is prominent in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, and it involves the auto racing of various forms of stock cars. The races are largely performed on oval trucks and are governed by the American NASCAR (Fielden, 2015).
The history of stock car racing can be traced back to the 1930s and 1940s in the American South. The sport began with incredible driving skills and modified cars that were involved in the illegal trafficking of “moonshine whiskey” (Kennedy, 2012). The involved men focused on improving their driving skills so that they could outpace the federal agents. As a competitive motorsport, stock car racing emerged when their drivers organized a competition against each other on dirt trucks in fairgrounds and open fields (Michaels, 2012). Research indicates that the early days of the sport were widely dominated by unscrupulous promoters (Easton, 2014). However, the scenario has changed significantly over the years.
Its governing body, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), was established when Bill France, a promoter, rallied other promoters to form the Association (Miller, 2014). NASCAR hosted the first “Strictly Stock” race in 1949 (Thompson, 2007). The strategies of controlling the conduct of the race events as well as the technologies employed in the competitions were important for building profitability and respectability while projecting stock car racing as a phenomenon form of entertainment (Bledsoe, 2005).
Over the past 50 years, American has experienced a significant increase in NASCAR enthusiasm because of tobacco, racetracks, and television commercials associated with NASCAR organized races. Bledsoe (2005) suggests that the legacy of stock car racing has grown beyond the South due to the growth of its TV audience. NASCAR remains the world’s largest governing body in the stock car racing industry.
References
Bledsoe, J. (2005). World's Number One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book. Chicago: Rutledge Press.
Easton, F. (2014). Stock Car Racing in the '50s: Pictures and Memories From Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania. New York: Prentice Hall Press.
Fielden , G. (2015). NASCAR The Complete History 2015 Edition. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Hughes, J. (2007). Motorsports In America, The Men And Machines Of American Motorsports 2006- 2007. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
Kennedy, S. (2012). Modified Stock Car Racing of the '60s and '70s: An Illustrated History Featuring the Drivers, Cars, and Tracks. Cornwall: Polity Press
Michaels, F. (2012). The American Pastime Adventure and Obsession with Stock Car Racing. Retrieved. Feb 23, 2016 from <http://www.greatamericandays.com/experience/driving/stock_car_racing/american_past ime_adventure_and_obsession_stock_car_racing>
Miller, D. (2014). Motorsports and American Culture: From Demolition Derbies to NASCAR New York: Prentice Hall Press.
Thompson, N. (2007). Driving with the devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR. Chicago: Rutledge Press.
