1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: show that speeds through the mile markers of history one 4 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: day at a time. I'm Gabelusier, and in this episode 5 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: we're talking about the rise of NASCAR, including its unexpected 6 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: connections to bootlegging. The day was February twenty first, nineteen 7 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: forty eight, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing 8 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: was officially incorporated. Now widely known as NASCAR, the small 9 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: regional sport has gone on to become one of America's 10 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: most popular pastimes, not to mention a multi billion dollar industry. 11 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: As strange as it sounds, NASCAR owes its existence to 12 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: the union of two pastimes that generally don't go well together, 13 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: drinking and driving. During the Prohibition era in the nineteen twenties, 14 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: many Appalachian farmers fell on hard times and turned to 15 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: making moonshine as a way to keep their heads above water. 16 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: As their operations grew, the bootleggers began selling their product 17 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: up and down the East Coast. Of course, desperate or not, 18 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: what they were doing was very illegal, so they inevitably 19 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: crossed paths with federal agents. When that happened, it helped 20 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: to have a car that could make some serious tracks, 21 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: something fast enough to evade the law and tough enough 22 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: to withstand the strain of mountain roads. To avoid drawing attention, 23 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 1: bootleggers retained the stock bodies of their cars so they 24 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: would look normal on the outside. The interiors and engines, however, 25 00:01:55,360 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: were heavily modified for speed, handling and storage. Any of 26 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: the cars had their floorboards and extra seats removed to 27 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: accommodate more alcohol. For added security, the bootleggers even installed 28 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: some defensive features straight out of a cartoon, including deployable 29 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: oil slicks and smoke screens. They even rigged up that 30 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: classic gag where a bucket of tacks spills out the 31 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: back to pop the pursuers tires. You're probably wondering, though, 32 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: what does all of that have to do with Nascar? 33 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: Well before prohibition ended, some of the bootleggers started hosting 34 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: informal races and speed competitions just for kicks. I guess 35 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:38,639 Speaker 1: they figured they already had the tricked out cars, so 36 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,079 Speaker 1: why not have some fun with them. In the nineteen thirties, 37 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: bootleggers started taking their moonshine mobiles to local racetracks and 38 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,119 Speaker 1: county fairgrounds, where they started to build an audience. These 39 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 1: weren't just backwoods races either. In fact, the location of 40 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: choice throughout the nineteen twenties and thirties was actually Daytona Beach, Florida, 41 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 1: where drivers could race on a four point one mile 42 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: course that stretched along the beach and a beachfront highway. Eventually, 43 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: tens of thousands of people would show up to some 44 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: of these races, paying for the privilege of watching the 45 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: best drivers in the country get behind the wheel. Stock 46 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 1: car racing may have gotten its start during Prohibition, but 47 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,959 Speaker 1: it continued to grow well after the policy was repealed 48 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty three. Henry Ford's new V eight engine 49 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: was a big help in that regard. The cars got 50 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: smaller and faster than ever, which only further at interest 51 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: in the Daytona racing scene. As stock car racing gradually 52 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: became an organized sport, it continued to have ties to bootleggers. 53 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: In fact, most of the people involved with it in 54 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: the early years had connections to bootlegging in one form 55 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: or another. That was true not only of the drivers, 56 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: but of the early mechanics, car owners, promoters, and track 57 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: owners as well. Even if they weren't bootleggers themselves, they 58 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: were knowingly profit from the proceeds of the illegal alcohol business. 59 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: For example, track owners were known to accept a cut 60 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: of a bootlegger's sales in exchange for the use of 61 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: their track. Of course, the most direct connection were the 62 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: bootleggers who went on to become NASCAR drivers. One of 63 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: the most famous was Junior Johnson, who came from a 64 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: long line of North Carolina bootleggers and went on to 65 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: become a NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner. He 66 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: and plenty of other former Moonshiners were recruited as drivers 67 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: in the late nineteen forties by a fellow stock car 68 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: driver and promoter named Bill France. Senior France had moved 69 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: from Washington, d c. To Daytona in nineteen thirty five 70 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: to escape the Great Depression. A mechanic by trade, France 71 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 1: quickly took an interest in the land speed record competitions 72 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: that the area had become known for. In nineteen thirty six, 73 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: he entered what's now considered to be the first organized 74 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,559 Speaker 1: stock car race, which was held on the Daytona Beach 75 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: Road Course. The rookie driver placed fifth in that event, 76 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: and although the inaugural race had actually lost the host 77 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,279 Speaker 1: city money, France became convinced that the sport could be 78 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: a serious money maker if only it were better organized. 79 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: At the time, racing rules varied drastically from one track 80 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: to another. It was hard for the promoters and drivers 81 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: to keep track of it all, to say nothing of 82 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,359 Speaker 1: how confusing it was for the fans. It took Bill 83 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: France more than a decade to build the support he 84 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: needed to make changes, but eventually his colleagues came around. 85 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: In December of nineteen forty seven, France called a meeting 86 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: of all the top stock car drivers, mechanics, and owners 87 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 1: to discuss the standardization of racing rules. He wanted to 88 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: formalize the sport by establishing a governing body and then 89 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: adopting a single set of rules. By the end of 90 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: the meeting, those present had agreed to form the National 91 00:05:55,839 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR for short. 92 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: Once the new rules had been drafted, the league was 93 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,840 Speaker 1: officially incorporated on February twenty first of the following year. 94 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: Bill France Senior served as NASCAR's first president, and under 95 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: his leadership, the sport slowly began the distance itself from 96 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: its bootlegging routs. The first NASCAR race was held in 97 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:25,040 Speaker 1: Daytona on February fifteenth, nineteen forty eight, a week before 98 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: the league was made official. The winner that day, in 99 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: a modified Ford, was read Byron, a former Moonshine runner. 100 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: As for the first sanctioned NASCAR race that took place 101 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: on June nineteenth, nineteen forty nine, at the Charlotte Speedway 102 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: in North Carolina, roughly thirteen thousand excited fans turned out 103 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: to watch as Glenn Dunaway crossed the finish line of 104 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,360 Speaker 1: the two hundred lap race and his own modified Ford. However, 105 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,559 Speaker 1: the first place finisher was later disqualified for having rear 106 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: springs on his car, which were against NASCAR rules. As 107 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: a result, the two thousand dollar prize instead went to 108 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: the runner up, Jim Roper, who had driven a Lincoln. 109 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: In the decades that followed, NASCAR became incredibly popular in 110 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: the Southeast United States. Then, in nineteen seventy two, Bill 111 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: France Senior handed the reigns of the presidency to his son, 112 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: Bill France Junior. During his three decade run in the position, 113 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: Bill Junior transformed NASCAR into the billion dollar global industry 114 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: it is today. A large component of that success was 115 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: the addition of lucrative TV contracts and long running corporate sponsorships. 116 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: For decades, the sport had maintained a self imposed ban 117 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: on hard liquor sponsorships, but that was eventually repealed ahead 118 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: of the two thousand and five season. As a result, 119 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: things have gone full circle and NASCAR is once again funded, 120 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: at least in part through the sale of alcohol. One 121 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: important difference, though, is this time it's legal. I'm Gabe 122 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: Lousier and hopefully you now know a little more about 123 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you want to 124 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: keep up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 125 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 126 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, you can always send them my 127 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: way by writing to this day at iHeartMedia dot com. 128 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks 129 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,319 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 130 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another Day in History Class.