NASCAR today

Stock car was a bit disjointed at this time, lacking professional organization and rules, the rules varied as the drivers went from track to rack, and safety rules were just being thought of as something the sport needed to take into account. Standardization of the tracks was non-existent, many were simply built quickly to provide entertainment at country fairs, other tracks were better suited for the cars and drivers, but weren’t exactly crowd friendly venues. At this time there were only a few tracks that were actually designed and capable of both providing for the cars and drivers and the fans, but they didn’t follow the same rules in place at other tracks.

The first organized meeting was set up and run by a gentlemen named, Bill France Sr., of Daytona Beach, Florida at the Streamline Hotel to talk and discuss the current issues that were facing the sport of stock car racing. A man of strong roots and personal strength, Bill France Sr.’s ambitions were realized by the time this first meeting was complete and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing was born.

The sport started to come together quickly after the setting up of a sanctioning body and this was the exact thing the sport needed to help it grow into the NASCAR we know today. NASCAR started to pick up speed and momentum after that and the first organized and sanctioned race occurred on Daytona’s beach course on February 15, 1948, only two months after the first organized meeting. The first winner of a NASCAR car race was Red Byron, a stock car icon from Atlanta who won in his Ford, just six days after the first race, on February 21, 1948, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing was incorporated and the rest is race history.

Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

The Origins of NASCAR

The love for any sport has to begin somewhere. For me, the love of cricket began when I was 9. Too late, some of you might quip. But there is nothing you can do to change facts. To make it more interesting, I played cricket even before I watched it for the first time, and it had nothing to do with India’s technological backwardness then (I am just 20 now).

One memory which I have strongly etched in my mind is that of the rains. Aarghh! RAINS! Damn Rains! If ever there was something which could stop a cricket match most often, it was the rains. Often, on summer days, when the cricket match would be at its exciting best, or I would be on the verge of a milestone, it would pour. Poor me, I did not even knew how to swear back then!

Post summer, came the monsoons. Living in a monsoon affected country can have its disadvantages too. For over a month, the entire ground where we played on would be submerged by water and algae. Looking at the picture would give you a fairer idea.

People in India who played cricket in their childhood would relate to it. Sometimes, when the water had not fully receded, we would still go out and play. Diving in the puddles to take a really simple catch was one of my favorite actions. Returning home with bruises and stained clothes, was however not one of them. Mom used to be furious. But then, those were the days. These days, practicing in the University’s lush outfields sometimes brings nostalgic tears in my eyes.  I get a feeling of where I was and where I have reached. Such is Life. A corner of my mind still tells me that those were the better days. We played for fun. Today, we play to win. The skills are the same, the attitude has changed. These days, playing a four day match, sometimes we relish some rain, something which would have been criminal during the formative years. I really miss and admire the way I started my cricket. This post is a tribute to the time which taught me the game I am so passionate about.

The love for anything depends a lot on the origins of the love, and I love the origins of my love for cricket

Thanks a lot for reading this article, it is a special one for me.

Post from: EveryJoe

Rain Rain go Away