Ever wonder how NASCAR/Winston Cup got its start?
05-31-13, 07:06 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Ever wonder how NASCAR/Winston Cup got its start?
You older people here in CAR CHAT (like me and Bob) probably already know this, but many younger people don't really know NASCAR's history, and how it started from literally almost nothing to become what is considered the second-largest professional sport in the country in attendance/revenue, trailing only the NFL.
It wasn't always like that, of course. Many decades ago, up until World War II, most racing in this country was done with open-wheel cars at tracks like Indianapolis or smaller ovals with midget-racers and similiar cars. The war, of course, with its huge drain on young men and the country's resources (including gasoline and tire-rationing), put a temporary stop to organized racing, but in the years after the war (and after the Korean War) things changed quickly.
Across some parts of the country, but particularly in the southern part of Appalachia (the mountainous parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North/South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama), the practice of bootleg whisky-running in speed-modified stock cars (by "stock", meaning with the bodies pretty much the way they came off the assembly-line) had been going on for some time. Families illegally made and sold corn-whisky (nicknamed "Hootch" or "White Lightning", as it was strong stuff) illegally from backyard stills, often cleverly disguised to try and hide them from agents of the government's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. What they were doing, of course, was illegal (at the time) for a number of reasons. First, some counties in that region were dry to start with, and did not allow alcohol. Second, where alcohol was legal, there were local/state/federal taxes on it, and these taxes, of course, were evaded by the illicit-sales. Third, where home-brewing was legal, there were usually restrictions on the amount allowed, and those were also evaded. The most aggressive driver in the family, with the sharpest-driving skills (often the eldest son) would haul the whiskey to discreet buyers in these powerful Fords, Chevies, Plymouths, etc..... over twisting mountain roads (sometimes in Hudsons, as that car had a lower center of gravity and better handling than the Big Three). These cars were specifically set up to outrun the Detroit-stock government chase-cars that tried to pursue them....and, with that extra power and modified suspension, usually won.
This practice was especially popular with relatively young guys who had flown fighter-planes during the war, were now civilians again, and were looking for some excitement in their lives to replace their planes and the testosterone/adrenalin rush of aerial-combat. Some, of course, organized and/or joined the first motorcycle gangs....others turned to illegal activities with their cars, like drag-racing of whisky-running.
After a while, these whisky-runners figured that, after doing their runs, serving their families and bootleg-whiskey customers, it was then time to have a little fun just among themselves. So, on Friday or Saturday nights (or during periods when the whisky-buisness was down) these guys would organize local meets, decide on a road-course, block off sections of those roads, and have it out among themselves to see who would be King of the local Speed-Runs.
Well, after a while, an astute entrepeneur named Bill France noticed what they were doing, decided that there might (?) be a good chance to make money at it, organized these whiskey-runners and their cars even more, built some local starter-tracks, (some of them dirt tracks), paid them to race at scheduled events, charged admission to the public to watch the races, used the increasing income and resources to build ever-bigger tracks, and, of course, eventually, ended up with the major super-speedways that rivalled or exceed Indy.
But, in a nutshell, it all started with local backwoods stills and the attempts of some bad-a** local drivers to evade government authorities.
One movie, BTW, which was made long ago, but did an excellent job of depicting these late-40s/50s-vintage whiskey runners is "Thunder Road", which was made in 1958 and stars Robert Mitchum (I still have the movie in my car-video collection). If you don't actually want to purchase it, you might be able to watch it on Netflix or some parts of it on YouTube videos. It's an excellent film (though done in black-and-white)....and done without a lot of computer-effects, which makes it much more natural and realistic.....nothing like in the over-digitized Fast and Furious.
It wasn't always like that, of course. Many decades ago, up until World War II, most racing in this country was done with open-wheel cars at tracks like Indianapolis or smaller ovals with midget-racers and similiar cars. The war, of course, with its huge drain on young men and the country's resources (including gasoline and tire-rationing), put a temporary stop to organized racing, but in the years after the war (and after the Korean War) things changed quickly.
Across some parts of the country, but particularly in the southern part of Appalachia (the mountainous parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North/South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama), the practice of bootleg whisky-running in speed-modified stock cars (by "stock", meaning with the bodies pretty much the way they came off the assembly-line) had been going on for some time. Families illegally made and sold corn-whisky (nicknamed "Hootch" or "White Lightning", as it was strong stuff) illegally from backyard stills, often cleverly disguised to try and hide them from agents of the government's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. What they were doing, of course, was illegal (at the time) for a number of reasons. First, some counties in that region were dry to start with, and did not allow alcohol. Second, where alcohol was legal, there were local/state/federal taxes on it, and these taxes, of course, were evaded by the illicit-sales. Third, where home-brewing was legal, there were usually restrictions on the amount allowed, and those were also evaded. The most aggressive driver in the family, with the sharpest-driving skills (often the eldest son) would haul the whiskey to discreet buyers in these powerful Fords, Chevies, Plymouths, etc..... over twisting mountain roads (sometimes in Hudsons, as that car had a lower center of gravity and better handling than the Big Three). These cars were specifically set up to outrun the Detroit-stock government chase-cars that tried to pursue them....and, with that extra power and modified suspension, usually won.
This practice was especially popular with relatively young guys who had flown fighter-planes during the war, were now civilians again, and were looking for some excitement in their lives to replace their planes and the testosterone/adrenalin rush of aerial-combat. Some, of course, organized and/or joined the first motorcycle gangs....others turned to illegal activities with their cars, like drag-racing of whisky-running.
After a while, these whisky-runners figured that, after doing their runs, serving their families and bootleg-whiskey customers, it was then time to have a little fun just among themselves. So, on Friday or Saturday nights (or during periods when the whisky-buisness was down) these guys would organize local meets, decide on a road-course, block off sections of those roads, and have it out among themselves to see who would be King of the local Speed-Runs.
Well, after a while, an astute entrepeneur named Bill France noticed what they were doing, decided that there might (?) be a good chance to make money at it, organized these whiskey-runners and their cars even more, built some local starter-tracks, (some of them dirt tracks), paid them to race at scheduled events, charged admission to the public to watch the races, used the increasing income and resources to build ever-bigger tracks, and, of course, eventually, ended up with the major super-speedways that rivalled or exceed Indy.
But, in a nutshell, it all started with local backwoods stills and the attempts of some bad-a** local drivers to evade government authorities.
One movie, BTW, which was made long ago, but did an excellent job of depicting these late-40s/50s-vintage whiskey runners is "Thunder Road", which was made in 1958 and stars Robert Mitchum (I still have the movie in my car-video collection). If you don't actually want to purchase it, you might be able to watch it on Netflix or some parts of it on YouTube videos. It's an excellent film (though done in black-and-white)....and done without a lot of computer-effects, which makes it much more natural and realistic.....nothing like in the over-digitized Fast and Furious.
Last edited by mmarshall; 05-31-13 at 07:37 PM.
