NASCAR (Johnsonverse)

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and Tim Johnson has been the CEO since September 2009. The company is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. Each year, NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states as well as in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. It has been owned by Johnson Industries since 1987.
== History ==
=== Early stock car racing ===
===Significant people===
====William France Sr.====
Mechanic William France, Sr., moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, D.C., in 1935 to escape the Great Depression. He was familiar with the history of the area from the land speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth. He took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II. 
France had the notion that people would enjoy watching "stock cars" race. Drivers were frequently victimized by unscrupulous promoters who would leave events with all the money before drivers were paid. In 1947, he decided this racing would not grow without a formal sanctioning organization, standardized rules, regular schedule, and an organized championship. On December 14, 1947, France began talks with other influential racers and promoters at the Ebony Bar at the Streamline Hotel at Daytona Beach, Florida, that ended with the formation of NASCAR on February 21, 1948.
====Erwin "Cannonball" Baker====
The first Commissioner of NASCAR was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker. A former stock car, motorcycle, and open-wheel racer who competed in the Indianapolis 500 and set over one hundred land speed records. Baker earned most of his fame for his transcontinental speed runs and would prove a car's worth by driving it from New York to Los Angeles. After his death, the famous transcontinental race the 'Cannonball Run' and the film that was inspired by it were both named in his honor. Baker is enshrined in the Automotive Hall of Fame, the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. This level of honor and success in each diverse racing association earned Baker the title of "King of the Road".
====Bob "Barky" Barkhimer====
In the early 1950s, the United States Navy stationed Bill France Jr., at the Moffett Federal Airfield in northern California. His father asked him to look up Bob Barkhimer in San Jose, California. Barkhimer was a star of midget car racing from the World War II era, and later ran about 22 different speedways as the head of the California Stock Car Racing Association. Young Bill developed a relationship with Bob Barkhimer and his partner, Margo Burke. He went to events with them, stayed weekends with them and generally became very familiar with racing on the west coast. "Barky", as he was called by his friends, journeyed to Daytona Beach and met with Bill France Sr. In the spring of 1954, NASCAR became a stock car sanctioning body on the Pacific Coast under Barky.
====Wendell Scott====
Wendell Scott was the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series (now the NASCAR RCA Cup Series), NASCAR's highest level. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., January 30, 2015.
===Founding===
On March 8, 1936, a collection of drivers gathered at Daytona Beach, Florida. The drivers brought coupes, hardtops, convertibles, and sports cars to compete in an event to determine the fastest cars, and best drivers. Throughout the race, the heavier cars got bogged down in the sand, while the lightweight Fords navigated the ruts of the course, eventually claiming the top 6 finishes for the race. Of the 27 cars that started the event, only 10 managed to survive the ordeal, as officials halted the event 10 miles short of the scheduled 250-mile distance. Driver Milt Marion was declared the winner, and a young Bill France placed 5th at the end of the day.
By early 1947, Bill France saw the potential for a unified series of racing competitors. France announced the foundation of the "National Championship Stock Car Circuit", otherwise known as NCSCC. France approached the American Automobile Association, or AAA, in hopes of obtaining financial backing for the venture. When the AAA declined support of the venture, France proceeded to announce a set of rules and awards for the NCSCC. France declared that the winner of the 1947 NCSCC season would receive $1000.00, and a trophy. The season would begin in January 1947 at the Daytona Beach track, and conclude in Jacksonville the following December. Nearly 40 events were logged during the season, and attendance often exceeded the venue's capacity. The competitors were paid as promised, and by the end of the season, driver Fonty Flock was declared the season champion after winning 7 events of the 24 that he entered. Bill France delivered the $1000 and 4-foot high trophy to Flock at the end of the season, along with $3000 in prize money to other drivers who competed throughout the season.
At the end of the 1947 season, Bill France announced that there would be a series of meetings held at the Streamline Hotel in Florida, beginning on December 14, 1947. At 1:00 pm, France called to order the 35 men who represented the NCSCC on the top floor of the hotel. The meeting was the first of four seminars in which France would outline his vision of an organized group of race car drivers. The name originally chosen for the series was National Stock Car Racing Association (NSCRA); when it was pointed out that that name was already in use by a rival sanctioning body, "National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing" (NASCAR), proposed by mechanic Red Vogt, was selected as the organization's name.
NASCAR was founded by William France, Sr., on February 21, 1948 with the help of several other drivers of the time. The points system was written on a bar room napkin. The original plans for NASCAR included three distinct divisions: Modified, Roadster, and Strictly Stock. The Modified and Roadster classes were seen as more attractive to fans. It turned out that NASCAR fans wanted nothing to do with the roadsters, which fans perceived as a Northeast or Midwest series. The roadster division was quickly abandoned, while the modified division now operates as the Whelen Modified Tour. The Strictly Stock division was put on hold as American automobile manufacturers were unable to produce family sedans quickly enough to keep up with post-World War II demand. The 1948 schedule featured 52 Modified dirt track races. The sanctioning body hosted its first event at Daytona Beach on February 15, 1948. Red Byron beat Marshall Teague in the Modified division race. Byron won the 1948 national championship. Things had changed dramatically by 1949, and the Strictly Stock division was able to debut with a 20-mile (32 km) exhibition in February near Miami.
The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held at Charlotte Speedway, although this is not the same track as the Charlotte Motor Speedway that is a fixture on current NASCAR schedule. The race was held on June 19, 1949 and won by driver Jim Roper when Glenn Dunaway was disqualified after the discovery of his altered rear springs. Initially, the cars were known as the "Strictly Stock Division" and raced with virtually no modifications on the factory models. This division was renamed the "Grand National" division beginning in the 1950 season. Over a period of more than a decade, modifications for both safety and performance were allowed, and by the mid-1960s, the vehicles were purpose-built race cars with a stock-appearing body.
Early in NASCAR's history, foreign manufacturers had shown interest in entering the series; the British car manufacturer, MG, found a few of its vehicles entered, with some placing. For example, on August 16, 1963 in the International 200, Smokey Cook drove an MG to a 17th-place finish.
The first NASCAR competition held outside of the U.S. was in Canada, where on July 1, 1952, Buddy Shuman won a 200-lap race on a half-mile (800 m) dirt track in Stamford Park, Ontario, near Niagara Falls.
==Sanctioned series==
=== RCA Cup Series===
Main article: NASCAR RCA Cup Series
The NASCAR RCA Cup Series is the sport's highest level of professional competition. It is consequently the most popular and most profitable NASCAR series. The Cup Series season consists of over 40 races over 12 months. Writers and fans often use "Cup" to refer to the NASCAR RCA Cup Series and the ambiguous use of "NASCAR" as a synonym for the series is common. The 2023 NCCCS Champion is Anna Yeun. The record for most championships is 7, held by Richard Petty. Cale Yarborough has the record for most consecutive with three consecutive Cup Series drivers' championships from 1976 to 1978.
The Cup Series had its first title sponsor in 1971; R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which had been banned from television advertising, found a popular and demographically suitable consumer base in NASCAR fans and engaged NASCAR as a promotional outlet. As a result of that sponsorship, the Grand National Series became known as the Winston Cup Series starting in 1971, with a new points system and some significant cash benefits to compete for championship points. In 1972, the season was shortened from 48 races (including two on dirt tracks) to 31. 1972 is often acknowledged as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The next competitive level, called Late Model Sportsman, gained the "Grand National" title passed down from the top division and soon found a sponsor in Busch Beer.
In 1996, RCA took over sponsorship of the premier series from R. J. Reynolds, who had sponsored it as the Winston Cup from 1972 until 1995, and formally renamed it the RCA Cup Series.
===Arby's Convertible Series===
Main article: NASCAR Arby's Convertible Series
The Arby's Convertible Series is a division of convertible cars that ran early in NASCAR's history, from 1956 until 1959, although the signature race for convertibles remained a Convertible Division race until 1962. Two remnants of the original Convertible Division are still used in NASCAR's RCA Cup Series today, the Gatorade 125's (one Daytona 500 qualifying race was reserved for convertibles) and the Southern 500 (started as a convertible race until the end of the division). The series was revived in 1995. The revived series uses convertible variants of SSC models; the tops are down at all tracks except for the restrictor-plate tracks where the tops are up for safety and aerodynamic reasons (some teams just use conventional SSCs for the plate tracks).
===Busch Series===
Main article: NASCAR Busch Series
The NASCAR Busch Series is the second-highest level of professional competition in NASCAR.
The modern incarnation of this series began in 1982, with sponsorship by Anheuser-Busch Brewing's Budweiser brand. In 1984 it was renamed to the Busch Grand National Series, then later just the Busch Series.
The season is usually a few races shorter than that of the NASCAR RCA Cup Series, and the prize money is significantly lower. However, over the last several years, a number of Cup Series drivers have run both the Busch and Cup Series events each weekend, using the Busch race as a warm-up to the Cup event at the same facility, though Cup drivers are restricted to only running five races at most and not eligible for Busch points.
These dual-series drivers have been labeled "Buschwhackers", a play on words which combines the original series sponsor's name with the notion of being bushwhacked. 
The series began using the Strictly Stock Car in 2015.
===Craftsman Truck Series===
Main article: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series features modified pickup trucks. It is one of the national divisions of NASCAR. The most recent series champion is Zane Smith in 2022.
In 1994, NASCAR announced the formation of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman. The first series race followed in 1995. 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 or a "senior tour" for NASCAR drivers, but eventually grew in popularity and has seen drivers move straight to the Cup Series without running a full season in NASCAR Busch Series competition. These include Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards (who both ran for Roush Racing). In addition, veteran drivers who have had only moderate success at the other two levels of the sport have revitalized their careers in the truck series, including Ron Hornaday Jr., Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner, and Johnny Benson.
=== ARCA Menards Series ===
Main article: ARCA Menards Series
The ARCA Menards Series is a racing series that races at big touring series tracks and local racing series tracks. The series has developed a reputation for being a dumping ground for old Cup Series cars, and for the severity of its crashes due to drivers seemingly forgetting that the brake pedal exists, creating the derogatory term "ARCA Brakes". It is primarily a Midwestern United States series, though it does race on some of the same tracks as the Cup Series such as Daytona, Talladega, and . NASCAR acquired the series on April 27, 2018 after being privately owned for 60 years.
===Camping World Mid-Size Series===
Main article: NASCAR Camping World Mid-Size Series
On October 12, 2008, NASCAR announced the Camping World Mid-Size Series, which is for smaller classes of pickup trucks such as midsize, coupe, and compact. The series primarily runs on short tracks and road courses, with the series' premier event being held at Daytona on the Wednesday before the Coke Zero Sugar 400. SST models include the Chevrolet Colorado, Dodge Ram 1200, Ford Ranger, Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier, and Toyota Tacoma. Manny Brown was the inaugural champion.
===Howard Johnson's SUV Series===
Main article: NASCAR Howard Johnson's SUV Series
The Howard Johnson's SUV series has run since 2005, with SUVs running in slightly shorter distances than Busch races. 20 races are run every year across nine months, with the majority of the races on dirt tracks (the first race of the season is run at Daytona on the Friday before the Busch Clash). The idea came to Sheldon Johnson, Jr. one night when he noticed the popularity of SUVs and started driving his Dodge Journey around San Jose Motorplex before a race in 2002. Models include the Chevrolet Equinox, Dodge Journey, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, and Toyota RAV4.
=== Monster Energy E-Series===
Main article: NASCAR Monster Energy E-Series
In August 2018, a touring series for electric cars was announced. Created in the wake of the popularity of the FIA Formula E Championship, the series primarily runs on road courses and short tracks, with an annual event at Tokyo Superspeedway. The series uses plug-in hybrid SSCs, these being the Chevrolet Volt, Ford Fusion Energi (marking the return of the Fusion to NASCAR competition), Toyota Prius Prime, and Honda Clarity.
===Powerade Drag Series===
Main article: NASCAR Powerade Drag Series
The idea of a drag racing division came about in 1990 when Phil Stacker suggested that NASCAR should branch out to drag racing. The first season for the Powerade Drag Series came in 1992. The series competes with the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series (with both series hosting a joint event at Bristol annually), and uses SSCs.
=== International series ===
====Kmart Australia Series====
Main article: NASCAR Kmart Australia Series
The Kmart Australia Series, formerly known as AUSCAR (Australian Stock Car Auto Racing), was owned by Bob Jane, which ran American-style Superspeedway racing in Australia. The initial AUSCAR venue was the 1.801 km (1.119 mi), high-banked (24°) Calder Park Thunderdome Superspeedway in Melbourne, but over time the series expanded to include the Jane owned 1/2 mile (805 metre) Speedway Super Bowl at the eastern end of Adelaide International Raceway which first saw AUSCAR racing in 1990 (the Super Bowl was only other paved oval circuit in Australia with only 7° banking in the corners making it essentially a traditional flat track), the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, and eventually several Australian road racing circuits including Calder Park's road course and the Oran Park Raceway in Sydney where racing was held under lights on the short version of the circuit. In the early 1990s, Jane and television station Channel 7 announced plans to turn the old Granville Showground trotting track which circled the Parramatta Speedway in Sydney into a paved, banked 1/2 mile track, but unfortunately this did not happen. The series was acquired by NASCAR in 2015 and revived the following year. The series runs the same SSC bodies as the American series.
====Pinty's Series====
Main article: NASCAR Pinty's Series
The NASCAR Pinty's Series is a NASCAR racing series in Canada that derives from the old CASCAR Super Series (founded in 1981 and bought out by NASCAR in 2006). The new series has races through six of Canada's provinces for a total of 13 events with TV coverage on TSN. Many drivers are content running in Canada while others move up to bigger NASCAR series including J. R. Fitzpatrick and D. J. Kennington. The cars were a bit different from the cars seen in America, being more akin to a late model, though steel tube-framed silhouette bodies powered by V8 engines was still the norm. The series switched to the SSC in 2018.
====Dodge Mexico Series====
Main article: NASCAR Dodge Mexico Series
In December 2006, NASCAR also announced the creation of a new series in Mexico, the NASCAR Corona Series (now Dodge Mexico Series), replacing the existing Desafío CoronaSeries, to begin in 2007. The Dodge Mexico Series was the final series still using the Gen-4 chassis, which was replaced by the SSC in 2019.
====Pontiac Euro Series====
Main article: NASCAR Pontiac Euro Series
In early 2012, NASCAR announced that it would sanction the existing European-based Racecar Euro Series as a "NASCAR Touring Series". On July 1, 2013, with partnership from Whelen Engineering, the series was renamed the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. The series adopted the SSC in 2018. Starting in 2019, Pontiac became the series' new sponsor. The series switched to the SSC in 2017, using all-European cars including the BMW M3, Audi R8, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Opel Insignia, Porsche Boxter and 991, Volkswagen Passat, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Ferrari 812 Superfast, Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, Bentley Continental GT, Jaguar XE, Rolls-Royce Wraith, and Lotus Exige.
===Regional series===
In addition to the six main national series, NASCAR operates several other racing divisions under the NASCAR Roots banner.
====Blue Emu Dash Series====
Main article: NASCAR Blue Emu Dash Series
The Blue Emu Dash Series (previously known as the NASCAR Baby Grand National, NASCAR Goody's Dash Series, IPOWER Dash Series, ISCARS Dash Touring Series among others) was created by NASCAR in 1973, running solely at North Wilkesboro Speedway, that involved V-6 powered cars raced over relatively short distances. In 1975 the series branched out to other tracks besides North Wilkesboro Speedway. The series uses Gen-4 bodies on SSC chassis with V-6 engines, and primarily races on Cup tracks. The series is notable for lacking any one body template, and as a result, Gen-4 bodies dating back to 1996 are frequently seen, meaning that in addition to the Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion, Dodge Charger, and Toyota Camry (these bodies provided by Five-Star Racing Bodies), older Chevrolet (Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo SS, and Impala, with a 1992 Lumina being run by Richard Childress Racing during the 2018 season), Ford (Thunderbird and Taurus), Dodge (Intrepid and Stratus), Toyota Camry, and Pontiac Grand Prix bodies are frequently seen, usually by way of Busch and ARCA teams that still had the bodies. In 2019, V-8 engines were made an option.
====Western Auto Weekly Series====
Main article: NASCAR Western Auto Weekly Series
Many local race tracks across the United States and Canada run under the Western Auto Weekly Series banner, where local drivers are compared against each other in a formula where the best local track champion of the nation wins the Sears All-American Weekly Series National Championship. What cars are used to score points in the weekly series is up to the discretion of the individual participating tracks, within Weekly Series guidelines. As of 2017, sportsman, two classes of pavement Late Model chassis (Super Late Models, which have offset chassis, and Late Models, which have perimeter chassis), pavement Modifieds (both the "Tour Type" and the SK formula), dirt Modifieds and Late Models, super stocks, and touring stocks AKA Strictly Stock (car, full-size truck, mid-size truck, convertible, SUV, and electric) are considered eligible categories. Participating tracks are mainly short tracks, ranging from 1/4 mile to 5/8 mile; most are paved, but a significant number of dirt tracks also participate, and starting 2017, larger venues including Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, Rockingham, and Darlington began participating (for Daytona and Talladega, Late Models, super stocks, and touring stocks are the only categories allowed, as the pavement Modified, being open-wheel vehicles, are considered too dangerous for the high speeds; Sears All-American races at Daytona and Talladega also utilize restrictor plates). Each division champion receives a point-fund money payout and even more goes to the National champion (driver with most points out of the four division winners). The Western Auto Weekly Series is the base for stock car racing, developing NASCAR names such as Clint Bowyer, Jimmy Spencer, Tony Stewart, the Bodine brothers, and many others along the way.
The series was originally known as the Winston Racing Series, then the Dodge Weekly Series, and from 2005 until 2019 as the Whelen All-American Series. Beginning in 2020, it received new title sponsorship from Johnson-owned Western Auto.
====Whelen Modified Tour====
Main article: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
The Whelen Modified Tour races in Northern and Southern divisions. This is NASCAR's oldest division, and the modern division has been operating since 1985 as the Winston Modified Series and later in 1994 as the Featherlite Trailers Modified Series. From 1985 to 2017, the series used open-wheel "modified" cars; in 2018, the series returned to the pre-1985 format in that, aside from cars having to be sedans or coupes, and meeting NASCAR safety regulations, drivers could use whatever cars they wanted; the Whelen Modified Tour thereafter came to be known as a dumping ground for old NASCAR cars that had outlived their usefulness in ARCA. The series also expanded its schedule from primarily northeastern tracks to all across the United States, including Cup Series venues such as Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Darlington.
====ARCA Menards Series East and West====
Main articles: ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West
The ARCA Menards Series' feeder divisions, which consists of East and West divisions, race pro-stock cars that are similar to older Busch Series cars, although they are less powerful. The east division was originally divided into the Busch North series, which raced in Northeastern states, and the Busch East Series, which raced throughout Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. The west division was originally known as the Winston West Series and raced throughout Southwestern and Coastal Pacific states. In 2008, the series came together in east and west divisions under sponsorship from Camping World as the Camping World Series. K&N Filters took over the sponsorship in 2010. 2019 was the last season for both of the series before they are to go under the ARCA banner in 2020 as part of the unification of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West and the ARCA Menards Series. The series became known as the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West starting in 2020, meaning 2019 was also K&N's last year as the series title sponsor. Both series race almost exclusively on short tracks, though the West division annually visits Sonoma Raceway (a Cup Series venue) a week before the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The series adopted the SSC in 2017, and added races at Walt Disney World Speedway and Tokyo Superspeedway in 2019.
====Sears Elite Series and other series====
Main articles: NASCAR Sears Elite Series Southeast; NASCAR Sears Elite Series Northwest; NASCAR Sears Elite Series Southwest; and NASCAR Sears Elite Series Midwest''
NASCAR also sanctions the Sears Elite Series, which races late-model cars that are lighter and less powerful than Cup Series cars, and is split into four divisions: Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest. In 2003, NASCAR standardized rules for its AutoZone Elite and Grand National divisions regional touring series as to permit cars in one series to race against cars in another series in the same division. The top 15 (Grand National) or 10 (Sears Elite) in each series will race in a one-race playoff, called the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to determine the annual AutoZone Elite and Grand National champions. This event has been hosted at Irwindale Speedway in California since its inception. Sears replaced AutoZone as the title sponsor in 2012.
Many drivers move up through the series before reaching the Cup Series. In 2002, over 9,000 drivers had licenses from NASCAR to race at all levels.
The winners of the All-American Series National Championship, the K&N Pro Series East and West championships, the two Whelen Modified and Grand National Divisions, and the three national series are invited to Las Vegas in December to participate in Champions Week ceremonies.
=== Online racing series ===
====eNASCAR Coca-Cola Ultimate Series====
Main article: eNASCAR Coca-Cola Ultimate Series
In 2010, NASCAR officially sanctioned its first sim racing series, partnering with iRacing.com to form the NASCAR iRacing.com Series. This sim racing series is made up of five "Amateur Series" divisions (similar in nature to the Western Auto Weekly Series, allowing drivers to choose which track to race), the NASCAR iRacing.com SuperTruck Series (self-explanatory), the NASCAR iRacing.com Pro Series (similar to the Busch Series), and the NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series (similar to the RCA Cup Series). Each year, the champion of the NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series is invited to NASCAR's Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway to receive their prize money and championship at the track. Races in this series are broadcast on WBC, with Tim Johnson, Jerry Nadeau, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Darrell Waltrip commentating.
In 2016, the series switched to using the Johnson Games-made Ultimate NASCAR, and has much more advanced physics and rules than iRacing (such as red flags, sector cautions on road courses, damage modeling, and computer-controlled Lend-Lease entries randomly picked from a list of over 10,000 drivers and cars of different makes, models, and years); as a result, the series' name was changed to the eNASCAR Coca-Cola Ultimate Series.
==== eNASCAR Ignite Series ====
The series was created as a developmental league by NASCAR for aspiring gamers ages 13–16. The simulator begins with US Legends cars before moving to Modified Tour cars.
==Driver Safety==
Although NASCAR frequently publicizes the safety measures it mandates for drivers, these features are often only adopted long after they were initially developed, and only in response to an injury or fatality. The impact-absorbing "SAFER Barrier" that is now in use had been proposed by legendary mechanic Smokey Yunick during the 1970s, but his idea had been dismissed as too expensive and unnecessary. Only after Johnson's 1987 acquisition of NASCAR did the sanctioning body revisit the idea of decreasing the G-forces a driver sustained during a crash. Other examples of available safety features that were slow to be implemented include the mandating of a throttle "kill switch, along with the requirements of an anti-spill bladder in fuel cells. Fire-retardant driver suits were required only after the death of Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, who died from complications of burns suffered in a crash when flames engulfed his car during a Charlotte race. Likewise all drivers have been prompted to use the "HANS device" (Head And Neck Support Device), a device that keeps the driver's neck from going forward in a wreck. In the 2014 season, NASCAR redesigned the racing vehicle with safety improvements, calling it the Strictly Stock Car (SSC) in 2014. The SSC combines the best elements of the previous generations of cars, such as the speed and added safety features of the fourth generation, and the brand identity of the first three generations, but mostly the SSC is a modernized version of the second generation.
== Criticism ==
Main article: Criticism of NASCAR
NASCAR has been the target of criticism on various topics from various sources. Some critics note the significant differences between today's NASCAR vehicles and true "stock" cars. Others frequently cite the pre-2003 dominance of the France family in NASCAR's business structure, policies, and decision making. Recently, the increased number of Cup drivers competing consistently in the Busch Series races was hotly debated (an issue that was addressed in 2016 when they were banned from competing in the series, and were allowed a maximum of five races the following year). Another general area of criticism, not only of NASCAR but other motorsports as well, includes questions about fuel consumption, emissions and pollution, and the use of lead additives in the gasoline. Originally scheduled for 2008, NASCAR adopted the use of unleaded fuel in all three of its top series in 2007. In 2011, NASCAR switched to E15 "green" fuel (15% ethanol and 85% gasoline) for all four touring series.
There have been a few accidents involving fans during races and even some off the tracks, but no spectator has ever been killed during a race in an accident relating to the race, although a fan was killed by a lightning strike in 2012 after the 2012 Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono was called short due to the storm. It was revealed in 2008 that a wrongful death lawsuit against NASCAR stemming from the crash of a company plane was settled for $2.4 million.
For years, NASCAR had been under criticism for allowing the Confederate flag to be flown during races. In 1998, NASCAR banned the flying of the Confederate flag at races.
== Global expansion ==
In 2006, Toyota announced they would be joining NASCAR's ranks. Toyota generated early success winning several races off performances from Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. In 2014, fellow Japanese States manufacturer Honda joined.
Another topic on the NASCAR circuit is the increase in foreign born drivers and the effects they may have on the future of NASCAR. Juan Pablo Montoya, Patrick Carpentier, and Dario Franchitti are among the foreign-born big names who have crossed over from Formula One and the Indy racing circuit. These drivers have made an impact on NASCAR not only by winning races and dominating road courses, but by expanding NASCAR's point of view.
NASCAR included a race at the Mexican road course Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the Busch Series schedule from 2005 through 2008, as well as a race in Montreal, Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from 2007 through 2012, with the Craftsman Truck Series adding a date at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2013. There has been talk of possible expansion with a return to Canada.
Expanding into international markets could increase NASCAR's popularity and allow foreign sponsors and manufacturers to get involved in the sport. Some think this could be a very positive move for NASCAR, which has seen its television ratings drop 21 percent between 2005 and 2007. During the same 2-year period, NASCAR also saw the greatest drop in tickets prices observed in over a decade. In 2010, NASCAR saw television ratings drop 10% from the year before, which was down 33% off its peak in 2005. Some think that an increase in international diversity would translate into growth and generate greater opportunities for NASCAR fans.
== NASCAR.com ==
In October 2000, Turner Sports acquired the digital rights to NASCAR, and subsequently took over its website, which features news, information, and interactive features (such as RaceView and RaceBuddy) surrounding its series. While NASCAR had extended Turner's contract to operate the site through 2016, the association announced in January 2012 that it would take operation of the site back in-house in 2013. As a result, a new NASCAR.com was launched on January 3, 2013, which features a multimedia-oriented design enhanced to provide a higher level of fan interaction, and provide an improved second screen experience for viewers on mobile devices.
On May 7, 2019, NASCAR announced a sports betting content partnership with The Action Network to provide editorial content and analysis to NASCAR.com, including recommended picks and value bets. NASCAR said the partnership was intended to prepare for the spread of legal sports betting in the U.S. following the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the federal PASPA sports betting prohibition. NASCAR previously struck an exclusive deal with sports data solutions provider Genius Sports to develop an official NASCAR gaming offering for legal sportsbooks.
== Subsidiaries and 'sister' organizations ==
=== NASCAR Digital Media ===
NASCAR Digital Media is a television production company located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The company is a subsidiary of NASCAR and produces programs designed to promote the sport of professional stock car racing. It also manages the NASCAR website, as well as some websites related to the sport such as Racing-Reference and Jayski's Silly Season Site (as of 2019, after ESPN.com stopped hosting the website).
===NASCAR Network===
On January 1, 2002, NASCAR Network was launched to simulcast NASCAR events and broadcast other NASCAR-related content.
=== International Speedway Corporation ===
While originally not officially connected to NASCAR, International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1953 to construct and manage tracks at which NASCAR holds competitions. In 1987, it was announced that NASCAR would purchase ISC and inherit 12 tracks. On October 18, 1987, the acquisition of ISC by NASCAR was completed. This made the company a division within NASCAR.
=== ARCA ===
The Automobile Racing Club of America was purchased by NASCAR in 2018.
=== Grand-Am ===
The Grand American Road Racing Association (Grand-Am) was a sanctioning body of sports car racing. While it was founded independently of NASCAR by several members of the France family, NASCAR took over Grand-Am, but allowed it to operate autonomously. The series merged with the American Le Mans Series in 2014 as a part of NASCAR's purchase of IMSA.
=== IMSA ===
Main article: International Motor Sports Association
=== Education ===
NASCAR Technical Institute located in Mooresville, North Carolina, is the country's first technical training school to combine a complete automotive technology program and a NASCAR-specific motor sports program, and is the exclusive educational partner of NASCAR.
NASCAR Kinetics was established in 2009 with the mission of connecting college students nationwide to NASCAR, and mentored its last round of students in 2013.
== NASCAR in culture ==
Movies about NASCAR racing include Days of Thunder (1990), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), and Logan Lucky (2017).
NASCAR drivers have made appearances in many television series and TV movies, including The Cleveland Show, Sullivan & Son, and Last Man Standing.
== See also ==
* Sports portal
* Closest NASCAR RCA Cup Series finishes
* Criticism of NASCAR
* List of foreign-born NASCAR race winners
* List of NASCAR champions
* List of NASCAR drivers who have won in each of top three series
* List of NASCAR drivers
* List of NASCAR race tracks
* List of NASCAR seasons
* List of NASCAR series
* List of NASCAR teams
* NASCAR Angels
* NASCAR dad
* NASCAR Hall of Fame
* NASCAR in Australia
* NASCAR lore
* NASCAR Rookie of the Year
* NASCAR rules and regulations
* NASCAR Video Games
* NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers
== Notes ==
* The largest NASCAR tracks can accommodate upwards of 190,000 people in the stands and infield, far larger than any non-motorsport venue in North America.
Category:Johnsonverse