NASCAR Tickets

NASCAR is one of the most popular sports around today, trailing only the NFL in television rankings and boasting over 75 million fans. Of the top 20 attended sporting events in the U.S., 17 are NASCAR events. Fortune 500 companies sponsor NASCAR events more than any other governing body because NASCAR fans are thought to be the most brand-loyal in all of professional sports, which makes sense. After all, NASCAR is the every man’s sport. Unlike most other pro sports, you don’t have to be genetically blessed with super strength or speed. NASCAR’s stars are normal people who worked hard and made it big, and it’s an inspiration to all of us.

NASCAR was actually started for the average Joe. Founded in 1948 by Bill France, Sr., the idea of NASCAR racing sprung from a desire to race “stock” cars (i.e. cars that anyone can purchase from a car dealer) rather than the ultra-expensive race cars that only a lucky few can afford. NASCAR was designed to be racing for the masses. Of course, the NASCAR of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s was a far cry from what it is today. In the beginning, safety wasn’t exactly a priority – there were no roll bars, the windows had glass and seatbelts weren’t always used. Sometimes drivers even rented a car for the race!

It wasn’t until 1952 that roll bars became mandatory, and it was also in 1952 that NASCAR somewhat relinquished the stock car ethos when they started using specialized, “high performance” tires, though they were only allowed because they promoted safety. With the flood gates now open, and manufacturers seeing the value of cars using their parts winning races, NASCAR cars began their evolution to the high performance vehicles of today. And it wasn’t just the cars that began to evolve – the racetracks began to change as well. Early NASCAR races were held on dirt tracks, but because of the growing popularity of the sport, people began building professional racetracks that were longer, wider and had higher banks, and in 1950 in Darlington, South Carolina, the first superspeedway was built. In 1959 the Daytona International Speedway was opened, and it immediately became the preeminent track in stock car racing, a title it still holds today.

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