Nascar Racing History

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947, is a family-owned and operated business venture that governs multiple auto racing sports events. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. NASCAR is one of the most watched professional sports in terms of television ratings in the United States, with professional football the only sport in the United States to hold more viewers than NASCAR.

The “NASCAR Sprint Cup Series” is the sport’s highest level of professional championship. It is consequently the most popular and most profitable of the NASCAR series. The 2009 Sprint Cup season consists of 36 races over a 10 month period. Writers and fans often use “Cup” to refer to the Sprint Cup series and the dubious use of “NASCAR” as a synonym for the Sprint Cup series is common. Jimmie Johnson has won the last three consecutive Sprint Cup Series drivers’ championships. His win is second only to Cale Yarborough. The Cup Series had its very first title sponsor in 1972. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which had been banned from television advertising at the time, found a well known and demographically suitable consumer base in NASCAR fans and engaged NASCAR as a publicity outlet. As a result of that sponsorship, the Grand National Series became known as the Winston Cup Series (today called the Sprint Cup Series) starting in 1971, with a new points classification and some significant cash compensation to compete for championship points.

Then in 2004, NEXTEL claimed sponsorship of the premier series from R. J. Reynolds, who had sponsored it as the Winston Cup from 1972 until 2003. It was then formally renamed it the NEXTEL Cup Series. A new championship points system, “The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup” was also put in place, which reset the point standings with ten races to go, making only drivers within the top ten or within 400 points of the leader eligible to win the championship. The “NASCAR Nationwide Series” is the second-highest level of professional competition in NASCAR.

The most recent series champion was Clint Bowyer in 2008. The modern incorporation of this series began in 1982, with sponsorship by Anheuser-Busch Brewing’s Budweiser brand. In 1984 the name changed to the Busch Grand National Series. The Anheuser-Busch sponsorship expired at the end of 2007, and the series is currently sponsored by Nationwide Insurance. Nationwide will also become NASCAR’s official insurance agency replacing all state. The Nationwide Series is the only series of the top three to race outside the United States. The season is a few races shorter than the Sprint Cup, and the prize money is considerably lower. However, over the last several years, a number of Sprint Cup drivers have participated in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series events each weekend, using the Nationwide race as a so called warm-up to the Cup event at the same facility. The ‘”NASCAR Camping World Truck Series” features modified pickup trucks. It is the third of the three national divisions of NASCAR, together with the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup.

The most recent series champion was Johnny Benson in 2008. NASCAR announced the formation of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series in 1994 which is presented by Craftsman. The first series race followed the next year. 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 but eventually grew in popularity. Beginning in 2009 the series became the Camping World Truck Series.