 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The History of NASCAR Tom T  |
| |
The History of NASCAR
NASCAR racing can trace its roots back to 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." Bootleggers were men who illegally ran whiskey from hidden stills to hundreds of markets across the Southeast.
These men were the real "Dukes of Hazzard" if you will, only there was nothing funny about their business. Driving at high speeds at night (often with the police in pursuit) was dangerous. The penalty for losing the race was jail or loss of livelihood. As bootlegging boomed, the drivers began to race amongst themselves to see who had the fastest cars. Bootleggers raced on Sunday afternoons and then used the same car to haul moonshine Sunday night. People would come to see the races and thus, racing moonshine cars became extremely popular in the back hills of the South. Bootlegging continued even after the end of the Prohibition era, because of the huge tax placed on whiskey upon repeal of the Volstead Act in 1933.
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 received 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). France was a visionary; he realized that for stock car racing to grow, an official organization had to exist to list champions, keep statistics, and memorialize records and record-holders. Then World War II broke out, bringing stockcar racing to a halt. The drivers went to war and the production of new cars ceased. At the end of the war, some drivers came back and ran occasional, haphazard races at places like the beach at Daytona.
By 1948, Bill France realized it was high time for a national sanctioning body to govern stock car racing. On December 12th of that year he gathered promoters from the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest to the Ebony Bar atop the Streamline Inn at Daytona. Over the next three days rules were drawn up and specifications agreed upon. The name of the organization would be NASCAR- the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The first NASCAR race in the division that would lead to the present-day Winston Cup Series was held at the Charlotte, North Carolina Fairgrounds on June 19, 1949. The division of NASCAR, in which this race was held, was called the "Strictly Stock" division. The "Strictly Stock" division was open to competitors 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).
That first official Strictly Stock Division race had nine makes come to the line, including Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Ford, Hudson, Kaiser, Lincoln, Mercury and Oldsmobile. Some of the biggest problems were tire, wheel, and suspension failures brought on by stresses that were typical of normal road use. These concerns brought about novel solutions, such as one detailed by two-time Grand National (forerunner of Winston Cup) champion Tim Flock. He described a trap door in the floorboard of his race car that he could open with a chain to check right front tire wear (high tech huh?). "When the white cord was showing, we had about one or two laps left before the tire would blow," said Flock of his 'early-warning system.' The winner of that first race was Glenn Dunnaway in a '47 Ford. After the race, however, inspectors found an illegal part in the shocks of his car. The car had been used for bootlegging earlier that week, and the illegal shock wedge was used to increase the handling speed of the bootlegging car. Dunnaway's car owner sued, but the NASCAR lawyer kept using the word "bootlegger" repeatedly in court. Consequently, NASCAR won the case. 2nd place driver Jim Roper, driving a '49 Lincoln, went down as the winner of the first NASCAR race. At the end of the season Red Byron became NASCAR's first national champion.
On September 4, 1950, the concept of the "Superspeedway" became a reality at Darlington, South Carolina. The first Southern 500 was held that day, on a track larger, wider, and faster than any stock car driver had ever seen. Johnny Mantz won in a 1950 Plymouth. This event, which is now a Labor Day tradition, helped bring people to the sport that previously had no interest in it.
Through the 1950's NASCAR continued to grow. Corporate sponsors, such as Pure Oil and Champion Sparkplugs took an active role in the sport. Even the major automobile manufacturers, such as Ford, Chevrolet, and Chrysler gave factory backing to individual drivers. The drivers would receive money from the manufacturer to drive their products. When Fords, Chevys, or Chryslers won on Sundays the carmakers would realize sales of those cars on Mondays; hence the phrase was born, "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday." The car companies realized the potential of racing to sell cars and poured even more money into their respective racing programs. In the 1950's, NASCAR held races in such places as Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia and Soldier Field in Chicago.
There's a saying that goes like this, "All Boats Rise With the Tide." Such was the case with automotive related parts. Tire development boomed. Firestone was the dominant tire company, and Goodyear was involved to a limited degree. After market ignition component research and development as well as engine parts boomed. Increasing speeds made these developments important and necessary ... NASCAR was the catalyst to fuel growth in these industries.
Another big issue during development of the sport ...what was in the engine compartment? For example, noted mechanical team of Fox & Yunick was the mastermind behind Chevrolet's legendary so-called "mystery engine," the 427-cubic inch high performance engine that replaced the 409-cubic inch engine (often referred to as a "boat anchor" because of its excessive weight). Ford claimed it spent in excess of $1 million in research trying to figure out what made this engine such a powerful contender on the racetrack.
In 1964 the "engine wars" reached a peak when Richard Petty brought a Plymouth hemispherical combustion chamber engine to the racetrack. Nicknamed the "hemi," cleaned house at Daytona, including winning the first of seven Daytona 500s. The Plymouth and Dodge body styles had been streamlined for the least wind resistance. Chrysler engineers also came up with a double rocker arm system used in conjunction with the hemi heads. This combination created a free-breathing combustion chamber, producing a significant bit of top end horsepower, particularly on high-speed tracks.
Here we are and it's year 2002. NASCAR is the largest spectator sport in the US with no signs of slowing down in sight. And the developments keep on coming! Gentlemen... Start Your Engines!
'Til next time...Keep Rollin'
|
|
 With over 27 years in the automotive industry and nearly a decade in automotive talk radio, Tom Torbjornsen makes learning about cars easy with his personal manner, his expert advice, and his high energy and entertaining style. Tom has the unique gift of simplifying the complex and tearing down the technical, meeting you at your level of understanding. You will be encouraged as you gain the confidence to deal with problems related to the second most expensive purchase you will make in a lifetime your automobile.
Email Tom
Click here to visit the America's Car Show website
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|