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93-513: Constructor cars consisted of NASCAR style Chevrolet , Ford and Pontiac racers with a field that peaked at 37 drivers competing during the 2002 season. John Mickel was the first ever champion with a different driver winning the title over all six-seasons, with Team West-Tec , RML and Torquespeed each winning two drivers championships each. Colin White and John Steward were the only drivers who raced in every season, whilst various drivers from

186-507: A 4.1-mile (6.6 km) course, consisting of a 1.5–2.0-mile (2.4–3.2 km) stretch of beach as one straightaway, and a narrow blacktop beachfront highway, State Road A1A , as the other. The two straights were connected by two tight, deeply rutted and sand covered turns at each end. Stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition , when drivers ran bootleg whiskey made primarily in

279-583: A bit different from the cars seen in America, being more akin to a late model , though steel tube-framed silhouette bodies powered by V8 engines is still the norm. In December 2006, NASCAR also announced the creation of a new series in Mexico, the NASCAR Corona Series (now Mexico Series), replacing the existing Desafío Corona Series, to begin in 2007. In 2004, NASCAR also began to sanction

372-628: A car's worth by driving it from New York to Los Angeles. After his death, the famous transcontinental race the ' Cannonball Run ' and the film that was inspired by it were both named in his honor. Baker is enshrined in the Automotive Hall of Fame , the Motorcycle Hall of Fame , and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. This level of honor and success in each diverse racing association earned Baker

465-500: A full campaign with Max Snegirev as well as part campaigns for Mathieu Maurage, Miky Faccin, Jay Bridger and Ma Qinghua . In 2010 the team continued in the European F3 Open but primarily used their British F3 cars for testing with drivers from F1, GP2 and GP3 – where young drivers get very little track time to develop and hone their skills. However the team continued to make occasional British F3 race starts and took

558-480: A full season in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. These include Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards (who both ran for Roush Racing ). In addition, veteran drivers who have had only moderate success at the other two levels of the sport have revitalized their careers in the truck series, including Ron Hornaday Jr. , Todd Bodine , Mike Skinner , and Johnny Benson . Beginning in 2009, the series became

651-572: A full-time basis. Kevin Harvick was the first Cup series driver to compete full-time in the Busch Series and win a title, actually doing so twice; in 2001, he did this for Richard Childress Racing but only did so out of necessity as Dale Earnhardt 's death forced him into the Cup series ahead of RCR's intended schedule for him. His win in 2006, where he raced three cars for RCR and his race team ,

744-498: A lap, plus the driver who leads the most laps. Another significant change involves the qualifying process for the Chase. The number of qualifying drivers will remain at 12, but only the top 10 will qualify solely on regular-season points. The remaining two Chase drivers will be the two drivers in the next 10 of the point standings (11th through 20th) with the most race wins in the regular season. In 2014, NASCAR announced another revamp to

837-630: A link-up with the American Speed Association and incorporated the Pickup Truck Racing Series under the same banner. Michael Vergers who had been with the series since the inaugural season took the title for Team West-Tec winning three of the twelves rounds which once more were all held at Rockingham. In 2006 the SCSA and Pickup Truck Racing ran at Rockingham as part of the "Thunder Sundays" package organised by

930-575: A mini stock racing series in Mexico, known as the Mexico T4 Series. In early 2012, NASCAR announced that it would sanction the existing European-based Racecar Euro Series as a "NASCAR Touring Series". On July 1, 2013, with partnership from NASCAR Whelen Engineering , the series was renamed the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. In addition to the six main national series, NASCAR operates several other racing divisions under

1023-532: A national class win with young Mexican, Juan Carlos Sistos on his series debut at Silverstone. The team also announced a plan to form a new joint venture with China's motorsport team, Champ Racing, to enter an additional car under the banner of "Champ Motorsport with Team West-Tec". This venture started in September 2010 with experienced driver Michael Ho racing at Brands Hatch, Monza, Jerez and Barcelona. In his second race weekend, at Monza, Ho took third place in

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1116-410: A number of other drivers racing on part programmes during the year such as Fahmi Ilyas, Kotaro Sakurai and Tatiana Calderón . The 2011 season was also successful. Victor Corrêa won two races and Fahmi Ilyas one in the team's newest Dallara F308s, Ilyas having made a debut at Brands Hatch in the car later used by Tatiana Calderón who scored points at Barcelona after she stepped up from Star Mazda in

1209-596: A point-fund money payout and even more goes to the National champion (driver with most points out of the four division winners). The Whelen All-American Series is the base for stock car racing, developing NASCAR names such as Clint Bowyer , Jimmy Spencer , Tony Stewart , the Bodine brothers, and many others along the way. The Whelen Modified Tour races open-wheel "modified" cars in Northern and Southern divisions. This

1302-696: A range of different styles of motorsport competed either single races or single seasons, most notably Colin McRae , Aaron Slight , Jason Plato , Max Papis , and the 2002 champion Nicolas Minassian . The ASCAR Mintex Cup made its debut in 2001 with the first ever race being held at the Rockingham Motor Speedway on 26 May, the race was won by former two-time BTCC champion John Cleland for his Chevrolet -powered Cleland Speedsport team. The event that took part in front of 12,000 fans saw Cleland qualify on pole, however he had to fight back to win

1395-463: A relationship with Bob Barkhimer and his partner, Margo Burke. He went to events with them, stayed weekends with them and generally became very familiar with racing on the west coast. "Barky", as he was called by his friends, journeyed to Daytona Beach and met with Bill France Sr. In the spring of 1954, NASCAR became a stock car sanctioning body on the Pacific Coast under Barky. Wendell Scott

1488-574: A result of that sponsorship, the Grand National Series became known as the Winston Cup Series starting in 1971, with a new points system and some significant cash benefits to compete for championship points. In 1972, the season was shortened from 48 races (including two on dirt tracks ) to 31. 1972 is often acknowledged as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The next competitive level, called Late Model Sportsman, gained

1581-463: A row by Cale Yarborough in the late 1970s, the only other time when a driver has won three or more NASCAR Cup Series championships in a row. The Cup Series had its first title sponsor in 1972. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , which had been banned from television advertising , found a popular and demographically suitable consumer base in NASCAR fans and engaged NASCAR as a promotional outlet. As

1674-478: A season, along with the pre-season Clash and mid-season All-Star race. NASCAR runs races primarily on ovals , including superspeedways, short tracks, and dirt tracks , but also road courses and street circuits . Richard Petty holds the Cup Series wins record with 200. He is tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson for the championship record, with seven each. Entering the 2025 season , Joey Logano

1767-598: A series of meetings held at the Streamline Hotel in Florida, beginning on December 14, 1947. At 1:00 pm, France called to order the 35 men who represented the NCSCC on the top floor of the hotel. The meeting was the first of four seminars in which France would outline his vision of an organized group of race car drivers. The name originally chosen for the series was National Stock Car Racing Association ; when it

1860-432: A staple as teams worked to gain aerodynamics. At racing speeds approaching 200 miles per hour, a modern NASCAR race car can generate enough lift to get airborne if it spins sideways. To keep cars firmly planted, roof flaps were required in 1994. 1994 was also the final year that V6 engines were used in the Busch Series, as many short track series had abandoned six-cylinder engines. In 1995, Chevrolet switched back to

1953-709: A taste for moonshine , and a number of the drivers continued "runnin' shine", this time evading the "revenuers" who were attempting to tax their operations. The cars continued to improve, and by the late 1940s, races featuring these cars were being run for pride and profit. These races were popular entertainment in the rural Southern United States, and they are most closely associated with the Wilkes County region of North Carolina . Most races in those days were of modified cars. Street vehicles were lightened and reinforced. Mechanic William France Sr. , moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, D.C., in 1935 to escape

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2046-451: A three-car team to the reorganised British F3 series in 2013. Ed Jones took five wins from the twelve races in the second tier National Class. In 2014, Yarin Stern, Tanart Sathienthirakul and Wei Fung Thong raced full-time for West-Tec in the renamed Euroformula Open. Nici Pohler did all rounds bar the final at Barcelona due to illness and was replaced by Fabian Schiller. Stern managed to grab

2139-540: A whole, traces its roots back to moonshine runners during Prohibition , who grew to compete against each other in a show of pride. This happened notably in North Carolina. In 1935, Bill France Sr. established races in Daytona Beach, with the hope that people would come to watch races and that racers would race for him, as other organizers tended to fleece the winners of their payouts. This was a success, and

2232-544: A young Bill France placed 5th at the end of the day. By early 1947, Bill France saw the potential for a unified series of racing competitors. France announced the foundation of the "National Championship Stock Car Circuit", otherwise known as NCSCC. France approached the American Automobile Association , or AAA, in hopes of obtaining financial backing for the venture. When the AAA declined support of

2325-554: Is Cole Custer in 2023. The modern incarnation of this series began in 1982, with sponsorship by Anheuser-Busch Brewing 's Budweiser brand. In 1984 it was renamed to the Busch Grand National Series, then later just the Busch Series. The Anheuser-Busch sponsorship expired at the end of 2007, being replaced by Nationwide Insurance from 2008 to 2014, and the series is now sponsored by Comcast through its Xfinity brand. The season usually has fewer races than

2418-581: Is NASCAR's oldest division, and the modern division has been operating since 1985 as the Winston Modified Series and later in 1994 as the Featherlite Trailers Modified Series. The ARCA Menards Series ' feeder divisions, which consists of East and West divisions, race pro-stock cars that are similar to older Xfinity Series cars, although they are less powerful. The east division was originally divided into

2511-838: Is a motor racing team owned by Gavin Wills and John Miller based in Corby in the United Kingdom , the most successful team in the history of the European F3 Open Championship , it also won two drivers championships in the ASCAR Racing Series . From 2001 to 2006 the team took part in the ASCAR Racing Series which was mainly based locally at the Rockingham Motor Speedway . The team took two consecutive drivers titles in 2005 and 2006 with Michael Vergers and Oli Playle. In 2007 Team West-Tec F3 became

2604-709: Is best known for stock car racing . It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in the world and is one of the largest spectator sports leagues in America. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and his son, Jim France , has been the CEO since August 2018. The company is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida . Each year, NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe. NASCAR, and stock car racing as

2697-563: Is primarily a Midwestern United States series. NASCAR acquired the series on April 27, 2018 after being privately owned for 60 years. The NASCAR Canada Series is a NASCAR racing series in Canada that derives from the old CASCAR Super Series (founded in 1981 and bought out by NASCAR in 2006). The new series has races through six of Canada's provinces for a total of 13 events with TV coverage on TSN . Many drivers are content running in Canada while others move up to bigger NASCAR series including J. R. Fitzpatrick and D. J. Kennington . The cars are

2790-610: Is scheduled to continue as planned. The series was renamed again in 2020 to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series before returning to the Camping World Truck Series name in 2021. On August 26, 2022 it was announced that the original series' sponsor, Craftsman, would return as the title sponsor starting in the 2023 season. The ARCA Menards Series is a racing series that races at big touring series tracks and local racing series tracks. It

2883-491: Is the defending Cup Series champion. In the 1920s and 1930s, Daytona Beach supplanted France and Belgium as the preferred location for world land speed records . After a historic race between Ransom Olds and Alexander Winton in 1903, 15 records were set on what became the Daytona Beach Road Course between 1905 and 1935. Daytona Beach had become synonymous with fast cars in 1936. Drivers raced on

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2976-750: The ARCA Racing Series until 2020, when composite-bodied cars in the style of the Generation 6 were mandated (despite this, modern ARCA cars still use Gen 4 chassis). As of 2022, the Gen 4 car is still legal in the ARCA Menards Series West and East (though Dodge body panels are illegal); Hailie Deegan scored her first NASCAR win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway dirt track in a Gen 4 Toyota Camry in 2019. In

3069-536: The Appalachian region of the United States. Bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity. The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 dried up some of their business, but by then the people of the American South had developed

3162-469: The BRSCC . The series continued to field only the twelve rounds and the participating number of drivers was moved down to 18. Oli Playle took the title with a dominating season scoring eight race wins. The SCSA name remained for 2007; as part of a new sponsorship deal competitors competed for the 'SCSA MAC Tools V8 Trophy'. On Wednesday 5 September, British motorsport publication Motorsport News reported that

3255-791: The Camping World Truck Series. In 2019, per a branding request made by Camping World, the series was rebranded as the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. As noted previously, the Chase format was extended to the Truck Series in 2016. The format is identical to that used in the Xfinity Series, except that only eight drivers qualify for the Chase (instead of 12 in the Xfinity Series) and only two drivers are eliminated at

3348-453: The French race track at Croix en Ternois . In the United Kingdom , Motors TV aired full races of ASCAR, whilst Channel 4 aired a highlight show presented by Helen Chamberlain . In 2004 SCSA coverage reached 44 million viewers. NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC ( NASCAR ) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that

3441-482: The Great Depression . He was familiar with the history of the area from the land speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth. He took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II. France had the notion that people would enjoy watching stock cars race. Drivers were frequently victimized by unscrupulous promoters who would leave events with all

3534-641: The Monte Carlo , which started the trend of rounder body shapes in Cup and the then-Busch Series. In 1998, Ford introduced the Taurus , which was the first four-door stock car model approved for NASCAR competition in the modern era. The Gen 4 car was used full time until 2007, and it was retired in the Cup Series after the 2007 season (in which Toyota , who had already competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series , made their debut in

3627-634: The roadsters , which fans perceived as a Northeast or Midwest series. The roadster division was quickly abandoned, while the modified division now operates as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour . The Strictly Stock division was put on hold as American automobile manufacturers were unable to produce family sedans quickly enough to keep up with post-World War II demand. The 1948 schedule featured 52 Modified dirt track races . The sanctioning body hosted its first event at Daytona Beach on February 15, 1948. Red Byron beat Marshall Teague in

3720-682: The "Grand National" title passed down from the top division and soon found a sponsor in Busch Beer . In 2004, Nextel Communications took over sponsorship of the premier series, and formally renamed it the Nextel Cup Series. A new championship points system, the " Chase for the Nextel Cup ," (renamed "Chase for the Sprint Cup" in 2008) was also developed, which reset the point standings with ten races to go, making only drivers in

3813-479: The 16 participating in the Cup Series Chase. Four drivers are eliminated at the end of each preliminary round of the Chase in the Xfinity Series, which also mirrors the Cup Series Chase. This means that four drivers are eligible for the series title entering the final race, as in the Cup Series. Similar to Cup, starting in 2017 "The Chase" moniker was dropped and the final seven races are now referred to as

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3906-511: The 2004 season, and fellow motoring journalists Tiff Needell and Amanda Stretton raced in the debut 2001 season. Toby Scheckter the son of 1979 F1 champion Jody competed in the 2002 season. The nationalities of every driver who participated in an ASCAR race from 2001 to 2007. Between 2004 and 2007 all of the ASCAR races were held at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in England . The circuit

3999-461: The 2011 season, drivers would be allowed to compete for the championship in only one of NASCAR's three national series in a given season, although they could continue to run in multiple series. This change was officially confirmed by France in a press conference less than two weeks later, and has remained in the NASCAR rules ever since. Beginning in 2010, the Nationwide cars adapted somewhat to

4092-539: The Brands Hatch Copa podium in Luca's place on his debut in the series. The team won the overall 2011 Teams' Championship. For 2012, Sam Dejonghe returned with a single win before being dropped at the end of the year, to be replaced by Ed Jones. Manu Bejarano started the season but stopped with no budget after two rounds, although Roberto La Rocca, from Venezuela, joined the team. Jordan Oon and Luca Orlandi drove

4185-764: The Busch North series, which raced in Northeastern states, and the Busch East Series, which raced throughout Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. The west division was originally known as the Winston West Series and raced throughout Southwestern and Coastal Pacific states. In 2008, the series came together in east and west divisions under sponsorship from Camping World as the Camping World Series. K&N Filters took over

4278-441: The Chase format, expanding the Chase pool to 16 drivers, and eliminating four drivers after every three races, leaving four drivers to compete for the championship at the season finale at Homestead . In addition, wins were given an increased emphasis, with the 16 drivers with the most wins (15 if the points leader is winless; points leader will receive an automatic berth) gaining a spot in the chase. If there are fewer than 16 winners,

4371-516: The Copa class, fifth overall. The team was successful in the European F3 Open in 2010, challenging at the front in both classes and winning races with more than one driver, eventually finishing as runner-up in both the driver's and teams' championships. For 2011 the European F3 Open team featured four full-season drivers in Victor Corrêa , Fabio Gamberini , Luca Orlandi and Sam Dejonghe, plus

4464-483: The Cup Series, and the prize money is significantly lower. However, over the last several years, a number of Cup Series drivers have run both the Xfinity and Cup Series events each weekend, using the Xfinity race as a warm-up to the Cup event at the same facility. Furthermore, several drivers not only participated in both Cup and Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity events on the same weekend but also began to compete in both series on

4557-468: The Cup and the then-Busch Series with the Camry ), while the other sixteen races were run by the fifth-generation Car of Tomorrow . The Car of Tomorrow went full-time in 2008, with the second-tier series adopting their own Car of Tomorrow first part-time in 2010 and full-time the following year. Body panels in the style of the Gen 4 car continue to be manufactured by Five Star Race Car Bodies, and were legal in

4650-779: The Division in recent years. In 2003, NASCAR standardized rules for its AutoZone Elite and Grand National divisions regional touring series as to permit cars in one series to race against cars in another series in the same division. The top 15 (Grand National) or 10 (AutoZone Elite) in each series will race in a one-race playoff, called the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to determine the annual AutoZone Elite and Grand National champions. This event has been hosted at Irwindale Speedway in California since its inception. Team West-Tec Team West-Tec F3

4743-682: The Modified division race. Byron won the 1948 national championship. Things had changed dramatically by 1949, and the Strictly Stock division was able to debut with a 20-mile (32 km) exhibition in February near Miami. The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held at Charlotte Speedway , although this is not the same track as the Charlotte Motor Speedway that is a fixture on current NASCAR schedule. The race

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4836-764: The NASCAR Regional banner. Many local race tracks across the United States and Canada run under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner, where local drivers are compared against each other in a formula where the best local track champion of the nation wins the Whelen All-American Weekly Series National Championship. The Whelen All-American series is split into four car divisions as well as state and track championships separately. Each division champion receives

4929-424: The NCS and the ambiguous use of "NASCAR" as a synonym for the series is common. The 2023 NCS Champion is Ryan Blaney . The record for most championships is 7, held by three drivers: Richard Petty , Dale Earnhardt , and Jimmie Johnson . Johnson has the record for most consecutive with five consecutive Cup Series drivers' championships from 2006 to 2010. Previously, the most consecutive championships had been three in

5022-403: The SCSA would come to an end after the final race of this season. However, the teams, and the organisers of the Mac Tools V8 Trophy vowed to continue in 2008, whether as a MSA Sanctioned championship, or just as a "series". The final recognised oval racing season was won by Colin White , with the field reduced once more to seven rounds, competed by only 15 drivers. 2008 heralded a new direction for

5115-443: The US was in Canada, where on July 1, 1952, Buddy Shuman won a 200-lap race on a half-mile (800 m) dirt track in Stamford Park, Ontario , near Niagara Falls . The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) is the sport's highest level of professional competition. It is consequently the most popular and most profitable NASCAR series. Since 2001, the Cup Series season has consisted of 36 races over 10 months. Writers and fans often use "Cup" to refer to

5208-410: The USA. Fabio Gamberini also won a race outright at Spa and also won an impressive ten times in the Copa class, where he was champion as well as being third overall. Sam Dejonghe twice featured on the overall podium and took four Copa class wins to finish as Copa runner-up and Luca Orlandi, despite missing two races, secured third in Copa for an unprecedented 1-2-3 for the team. Kotaro Sakurai featured on

5301-409: The Xfinity Playoffs. Even with restrictions limiting points earnings to one national series, Cup drivers were still running and winning a vast majority of Xfinity series races through 2015. Starting with the 2015 season finale, NASCAR began to add additional restrictions in regards to Cup drivers running Xfinity races. Beginning in the 2020 season, Cup drivers with more than three years of experience in

5394-460: The current " Car of Tomorrow " (or COT) design used by Cup cars, with different bodies from the Cup Series. In 2016, the Chase format was extended to both the Xfinity and Truck Series. Instead of the four-round, 10-race format used in the Cup Series, the Chase in each of the two supporting series consists of three rounds and seven races in all, with each preliminary round consisting of three races. The Xfinity Series Chase involves 12 drivers instead of

5487-507: The end of each preliminary round (instead of four in the Xfinity Series). As in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series, four drivers are eligible for the series title entering the final race. Similar to Cup, starting in 2017 "The Chase" moniker was dropped and is now simply referred to as the Truck Series Playoffs. On May 8, 2018, NASCAR and Camping World announced the Truck Series title sponsor would be moved to Camping World subsidiary Gander Outdoors starting in 2019. The contract through 2022

5580-467: The final eight rounds of the season. In 2004 the ASCAR label was dropped completely and the series was labelled as the "Days of Thunder Racing Series", the series also dropped the Germany races due to the costs involved and the projected grid numbers of cars willing to make the journey. The season which now ran exclusively from Rockingham was won by Stevie Hodgson of TorqueSpeed. 2005 saw the series renamed once again "Stock Car Speed Association" (SCSA) after

5673-401: The final race by 0.2 seconds, winning the title despite only two wins to Vergers three. Following his championship win, Mickel stated "I owe it all to my crew. We've grown up around the short ovals together and most of them have been with me since I was 10, they didn't let me down. They won it for me." The 2002 season saw the peak number of drivers racing in the series with 37 taking part during

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5766-454: The first British team to compete in the Spanish Formula Three Championship , purchasing assets from leading GP2 team Racing Engineering . In 2009 the series was renamed the European F3 Open . Since 2007 the team has taken 44 wins and 116 podiums and three championship titles – including winning the support race at the 2008 European Grand Prix at Valencia. In 2009 the team also returned to British Formula 3 International Series completing

5859-412: The formation of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman . The first series race followed in 1995. In 1996, the series was renamed the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to emphasize Craftsman's involvement. The series was first considered something of an oddity or a "senior tour" for NASCAR drivers, but eventually grew in popularity and has seen drivers move straight to the Cup Series without running

5952-535: The generation's final years, aerodynamic development led to some of the cars (otherwise known as "offset" bodies) being called "twisted sisters" in reference to the asymmetrical shapes of the car's body. The Car of Tomorrow, by contrast, featured a symmetrical body in order to curb aerodynamic development wars in an attempt to cut costs. The inaugural championship in 2001 was won by future NASCAR driver John Mickel racing for Torquespeed. In 2002 French driver Nicolas Minassian of RML Group arrived from CART and took

6045-475: The main area and apron of the circuit. In 2002 and 2003 the series also raced in Germany at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz but the venue was eventually dropped due to the costs involved and the projected grid numbers of cars willing to make the journey. The entire 2008 season was a road racing based series as opposed to the Oval circuits. This incorporated trips to Snetterton , Cadwell Park , Lydden Race Circuit , Brands Hatch , Pembrey Circuit , Mallory Park and

6138-423: The mid-1960s, the vehicles were purpose-built race cars with a stock-appearing body. Early in NASCAR's history, foreign manufacturers had shown interest in entering the series; the British car manufacturer, MG , found a few of its vehicles entered, with some placing. For example, on August 16, 1963 in the International 200, Smokey Cook drove an MG to a 17th-place finish. The first NASCAR competition held outside

6231-544: The money before drivers were paid. On December 14, 1947, France began talks with other influential racers and promoters at the Ebony Bar at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida , that ended with the formation of NASCAR on February 21, 1948. The first Commissioner of NASCAR was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, a former stock car, motorcycle, and open-wheel racer who competed in the Indianapolis 500 and set over one hundred land speed records. Baker earned most of his fame for his transcontinental speed runs and would prove

6324-571: The original series sponsor's name with the notion of being bushwhacked. In May 2007, NNS director Joe Balash confirmed that NASCAR was exploring options to deal with the Buschwhacker controversy. One of the most often-cited proposals was for Cup Series drivers participating in the Nationwide Series to receive no points for their participation in a Nationwide race. In 2007, NASCAR chairman Brian France indicated that all options, except an outright ban of Cup competitors, were still being considered. On January 11, 2011, NASCAR.com reported that beginning with

6417-515: The past, NASCAR also sanctioned the AutoZone Elite Division, which raced late-model cars that were lighter and less powerful than Cup Series cars, and was originally split into four divisions: Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest. At the end of 2005, NASCAR announced that the AutoZone Elite Division would be discontinued after the 2006 season due to having trouble securing NASCAR-sanctioned tracks to successfully host AutoZone Elite Division events, plus escalating costs of competing and downsizing of

6510-425: The pit garages. The 1.48 mile American-style banked oval circuit was 18.3 metres (60.0 ft) wide and had a maximum bank angle of seven degrees and comprised four very distinct corners. Rockingham's oval was unique in the UK and one of only two speedways in Europe (the other is Lausitzring). The oval circuit could also be converted to a road course layout for events by positioning temporary chicanes and curves both on

6603-471: The premier series title name became the Sprint Cup Series, as part of the merger between Nextel and Sprint . In 2011, NASCAR announced a number of major rules changes, the most significant being abandoning the points system. The winner of a race now receives 43 points, with one-point decrements for each subsequent position (42 for second, 41 for third, and so on). The winner also receives 3 bonus points, and single bonus points are awarded to all drivers who lead

6696-627: The race which had seen six-different race leaders Further rounds at Rockingham, Knockhill Racing Circuit in Scotland , EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany and Mondello Park in Ireland were cancelled due to a fuel pickup issue, so Round 2 didn't hit the calendar until 26 August back at Rockingham. The initial season saw 14 teams fielding 21 cars with the season eventually being won by John Mickel of Torquespeed, by beating Dutchman Michael Vergers in

6789-404: The race, the heavier cars got bogged down in the sand, while the lightweight Fords navigated the ruts of the course, eventually claiming the top 6 finishes for the race. Of the 27 cars that started the event, only 10 managed to survive the ordeal, as officials halted the event 10 miles (16 km) short of the scheduled 250-mile (400 km) distance. Driver Milt Marion was declared the winner, and

6882-450: The remaining spots will be filled based on the conventional points system. Monster Energy became the title sponsor in 2017, which changed the series' name to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. With Monster Energy's title sponsorship, NASCAR also abandoned "The Chase" name and now refers to the last 10 races simply as "the playoffs" similar to most other sports. After the 2019 season, NASCAR declined an offer from Monster Energy to remain

6975-606: The season but having missed the opening five-rounds he would only place 7th in the Championship with the title going to French driver Nicolas Minassian of RML Group who only won the one race back in Round 2. In 2003 the series took on the additional name of "Days of Thunder" after the film of the same name , the season was reduced to 13 rounds spanning over 8 events at both Rockingham and Lausitz. Minassian's replacement at RML, Ben Collins took six race victories, all coming in

7068-489: The series as a day out for all the family and had appearances from bands such as Busted and The Darkness . ASCAR fielded the latest NASCAR Generation 4 variant race machines at the time, a combined field of 5.7 litre V8s tuned to 470 bhp & sporting Ford Taurus , Chevrolet Monte Carlo or Pontiac Grand Prix body shells. In 1992, the Gen 4 car arrived at the sport when steel bodies became primarily custom made instead of using stock pieces, and wind tunnels became

7161-686: The series was founded in 1948. Races were held in several divisions, which eventually morphed into what is the "ladder:" the Cup Series at the top, the Xfinity Series second, and the Truck Series third, with smaller series spread out below. Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota compete in each series. The vast majority of NASCAR drivers are American, but drivers from Canada, Mexico, Europe, and other places have competed. All Cup Series races are held across America. There are 36 points-paying races in

7254-565: The series with a focus on road courses due to a lack of dates offered by the oval tracks. The cars ran as part of the VSR Series , with the stock cars known as the VSR V8 Trophy. In 2009 the series joined with CAMSO V8 to form the new European Late Model Series . In 2003 the series took on the additional name of "Days of Thunder" after the film of the same name . This was done as a marketing tool as starting in this year they promoted

7347-669: The sponsorship in 2010. 2019 was the last season for both of the series before they are to go under the ARCA banner in 2020 as part of the unification of the NASCAR K&;N Pro Series East and West and the ARCA Menards Series. The series became known as the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West starting in 2020, meaning 2019 was also K&N's last year as the series title sponsor. In

7440-700: The team's Copa F308 entries, with Orlandi replaced by Kiwi Chris Vlok after an injury at Brands Hatch. After a much improved end to 2012, with Dejonghe and new signing Ed Jones taking second place at each of the last three meetings, Team West-Tec F3 remained the most successful team in the history of the series. Team West-Tec had eight drivers in 2013, with Ed Jones winning the championship and Nelson Mason and finishing third. Two further F312 cars were campaigned by Orlandi and La Rocca. The team also operated four Copa F308 cars for Sean (son of Tom) Walkinshaw, South African Liam Venter, Chinaman Huan Zhu and young British driver Cameron Twynham. Team West-Tec F3 also returned with

7533-843: The title of "King of the Road". In the early 1950s, the United States Navy stationed Bill France Jr. , at the Moffett Federal Airfield in northern California. His father asked him to look up Bob Barkhimer in San Jose, California . Barkhimer was a star of midget car racing from the World War II era, and later ran about 22 different speedways as the head of the California Stock Car Racing Association. Young Bill developed

7626-502: The title sponsor of the top series. On December 5, NASCAR revealed their new sponsorship model. Instead of a singular title sponsor, four "premier partners" ( Coca-Cola , Xfinity , Busch Beer and GEICO ) would be closely affiliated with the top series, which was simply renamed the NASCAR Cup Series. The NASCAR Xfinity Series is the second-highest level of professional competition in NASCAR. The most recent series champion

7719-960: The title. Further Champions were Ben Collins in 2003, who also worked as The Stig on Top Gear during his ASCAR tenure, Stevie Hodgson, Michael Vergers, Oli Playle and Colin White . Although most of the field often included a field of British professional and semi-professional stock car drivers, a number of well-known racing drivers from across a wide variety of series competed, often racing either single races or for one full season. They included former WRC champion Colin McRae , ex Formula 1 drivers Max Papis and Kelvin Burt , former IndyCar series driver Darren Manning , former World Superbike Championship rider Aaron Slight , American Nascar drivers Randy Tolsma , Brandon Whitt and Steve Grissom also took part, as did former BTCC champions Jason Plato , Matt Neal and John Cleland . Aside from Ben Collins, future Top Gear presenter Chris Harris took part in

7812-431: The top series were limited to five races per season. Furthermore, those same drivers are ineligible to run the regular season finale, NXS playoff races, or Dash 4 Cash races. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series features modified pickup trucks . It is one of the three national divisions of NASCAR, together with the Xfinity and Cup Series. The most recent series champion is Ben Rhodes in 2023. In 1994, NASCAR announced

7905-410: The top ten or within 400 points of the leader eligible to win the championship. In 2007, NASCAR announced it was expanding "The Chase" from ten to twelve drivers, eliminating the 400-point cutoff, and giving a ten-point bonus to the top twelve drivers for each of the races they have won out of the first 26. Wins throughout the season would also be awarded five more points than in previous seasons. In 2008,

7998-521: The venture, France proceeded to announce a set of rules and awards for the NCSCC. France declared that the winner of the 1947 NCSCC season would receive $ 1000.00 (equivalent to $ 13645 in 2023) and a trophy. The season would begin in January 1947 at the Daytona Beach track, and conclude in Jacksonville the following December. Nearly 40 events were logged during the season, and attendance often exceeded

8091-445: The venue's capacity. The competitors were paid as promised, and by the end of the season, driver Fonty Flock was declared the season champion after winning 7 events of the 24 that he entered. Bill France delivered the $ 1000 and 4-foot high trophy to Flock at the end of the season, along with $ 3000 in prize money to other drivers who competed throughout the season. At the end of the 1947 season, Bill France announced that there would be

8184-648: The year, representing a total of 13 teams. Each race event would partner the BRSCC Pickup Truck Racing , with the series being split between six-events at Rockingham, and two in Lausitz consisting of a total of 20 rounds. The season saw its first American competitors compete as NASCAR drivers Randy Tolsma and Brandon Whitt both drove the no.48 Deuce Racing car, whereas Colin McRae , Darren Manning , Matt Neal and Jason Plato all joined XCEL Motorsport. Darren Turner registered six-wins during

8277-461: Was held on June 19, 1949 and won by driver Jim Roper when Glenn Dunaway was disqualified after the discovery of his altered rear springs. Initially, the cars were known as the "Strictly Stock Division" and raced with virtually no modifications on the factory models. This division was renamed the "Grand National" division beginning in the 1950 season. Over a period of more than a decade, modifications for both safety and performance were allowed, and by

8370-487: Was overlooked by the 6280 seat Rockingham Building, a steel-framed, glass-fronted grandstand building containing suites, offices, bars and kitchens, and by four grandstands. Together the building and grandstands offered a total seating capacity of 52,000. The inner pit and paddock complex was accessed from the Rockingham Building via two pedestrian tunnels and there was a further spectator viewing area on top of

8463-555: Was pointed out that that name was already in use by a rival sanctioning body, "National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing", proposed by mechanic Red Vogt , was selected as the organization's name. NASCAR was founded by William France, Sr. on February 21, 1948 with the help of several other drivers of the time. The original plans for NASCAR included three distinct divisions: Modified, Roadster, and Strictly Stock. The Modified and Roadster classes were seen as more attractive to fans. It turned out that NASCAR fans wanted nothing to do with

8556-560: Was the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series, NASCAR's highest level. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina , January 30, 2015. On March 8, 1936, a collection of drivers gathered at Daytona Beach, Florida . The drivers brought coupes , hardtops , convertibles, and sports cars to compete in an event to determine the fastest cars, and best drivers. Throughout

8649-476: Was the first of five consecutive titles in NBS/NNS that were won by Cup series regulars. The practice received criticism because it was thought to give the Cup Series teams an unfair advantage, and that the presence of the Cup Series drivers squeezes out Nationwide Series competitors who would otherwise be able to qualify. These dual-series drivers have been labeled " Buschwhackers ", a play on words which combines

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