There is no sport more shaped entirely by its origin in the South than NASCAR. A sport built on southern tradition, southern rebellion, and the spirit of the southern common man. That “spirit” was driven by moonshiners, who were transporting moonshine during the prohibition era. These Appalachian moonshiners were not just driven by rebellion, but by survival. Moonshine was the only way these poor, isolated southern farmers were able to make ends meet. They would soup up the Ford V-8 engine in order to outrun police and deliver their mountain dew wherever they needed to.
These cars began to run so fast, that they would start to race each other in the 1930’s. As the 1940’s came about, a stock car racer named Bill France, would recruit stock car racers and eventually found what would become the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing or NASCAR. The founding of NASCAR took place in Daytona Beach, Florida where the early pioneers of the sport would form the organization and rules for this new motorsport. Bill France’s goal was to go away from the moonshiner image, focus on corporate sponsors, and become the leading figure for stock car racing.
The charm of NASCAR, became the individual drivers. The majority of which were southern. Drivers that included Dale Earnhardt from North Carolina, Darrell Waltrip from Kentucky and Tennessee, and Richard Petty from North Carolina. These southern personalities would charm their audiences the likes of which was not seen in Indianapolis’ open wheel racing.
The other staple of NASCAR, were the racetracks, which in the early days, were primarily based in the south. Like Daytona Superspeedway in Florida, Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, Darlington in South Carolina, Martinsville in Virginia, Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, and Talladega Super Speedway in Alabama.
Stock car racing became the premier racing in the southeast since the racing in Indiana was focused more on Indy Car racing, which is open wheel. When stock car racing was in its infancy, open wheel racing was the most popular racing in America. What differentiated stock car racing from open wheel, was the fact that these were cars that the public could see race on Sunday, and buy on Monday. Stock car racing represented the common man, a vehicle that was accessible to the public.
The tide turned for the sport of NASCAR at the 1979 Daytona 500, often deemed the most important race in NASCAR history. It was the first ever nationally televised race on CBS. During this time, a major snowstorm hit the Midwest and Northeast of the US and it increased the viewership for a race that featured a Richard Petty victory and a major fight after a wreck between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison. This race introduced to the rest of America, the racing of the south, the Appalachian style feuds, and stock car racing all in one.
NASCAR would overtake Indy Car as the most popular motorsport in America, and never look back. The sport would eventually outgrow its southern only audience to become so popular, that it would become the second most watched sport in America in the 2000’s after the NFL. It would even attract drivers not from the south like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Tony Stewart due to its greater prospects for success and money over open wheel racing.
For a sport that was primarily southern based, was not based in major hubs like Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago, this was impressive. Today, NASCAR is not as popular as it once was, but continues to be the most watched motorsport in America with the Daytona 500 still attracting over 7 million viewers each year. The spirit of the South still lives on, even if the spirit is not being delivered up and down state lines in a car trunk full of moonshine.
The views expressed at AbbevilleInstitute.org are not necessarily those of the Abbeville Institute.
