This Day

September 26, 1909 – NASCAR founder Bill France is born

America’s prohibition era surely fueled the rise of NASCAR, but it took one man to make it official. Drivers who delivered illegal alcohol needed fast cars to outrun police, so they regularly tuned their vehicles for more power and better handling. Following prohibition, these drives still possessed a need for speed. They began to organize races, pitting their hopped up cars against each other, often in hopes of bringing home a cash prize. Daytona mechanic Bill France Sr., born on this day in 1909, loved what the racing scene, but believed it could use more structure. With the assistance of a few partners, he developed a points system and race schedule for stock car racing.

France soon began working with influential racers and race promoters to create a governing body for these races already taking place all over the country. France, with the assistance of several other drivers, founded NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) on February 21, 1948

. The original points system, as with many great ideas in history, had its first iteration drawn out on napkin in a bar

Later, France commissioned the building of Daytona International Speedway, where the first Daytona 500 took place in 1959. He remained CEO of NASCAR up through 1972. At that time the Grand National series became the Winston Cup and all dirt track and sub 100 mile races vanished from the schedule. At that point, France turned the business over to his sun Bill France Jr. About 20 years later, on June 7, 1992, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., passed away at age 82.

Brian Corey

Recent Posts

October 31, 1957 – The Chevrolet Impala is announced

After debuting an Impala show car at the 1956 GM Motorama, Chevrolet used the name…

5 days ago

October 30, 1911 – Little Motor Car Company is founded, later becomes part of Chevrolet

The Little Motor Car Company, founded on October 30, 1911, in Flint, Michigan, is a…

5 days ago

October 29, 1932 – Safarikar builder Bruce Mohs is born

Bruce Mohs with his Opera Sedan following its restoration. (autobild.de) Perhaps you've heard of the…

1 week ago

October 28, 1977 – Tokyo Motor Show opens

First generation Daihatsu Charade. By Charles01 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 The annual Tokyo…

1 week ago

October 27, 1937 – Second generation Cadillac V-16 is introduced

1940 Cadillac V16 90 Town Car To build the ultimate automobile, Cadillac began development of…

1 week ago

October 26, 1966 – Toyota introduces what will become the best selling car ever, the Toyota Corolla

1966 Toyota Corolla debut (Toyota) The Toyota Corolla, one of the most iconic and enduring…

1 week ago