American Stock Car Championship (The Stock Car Split)

The American Stock Car Championship (ASCC) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by a coalition of former ARCA team owners in December 2020, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. becoming CEO in 2022. The company is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. Each year, ASCC sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states as well as in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe.
== History ==
=== The Decline of NASCAR ===
The creation of the ASCC wasn't caused by a single factor, but a multitude of factors that eventually added up. The seeds of The Stock Car Split were arguably planted when Brian France became chairman and CEO of NASCAR in 2003. Throughout his tenure, he implemented numerous unpopular changes, including the double-yellow line rule, freezing the field when the yellow flag is shown, the postseason playoffs format, the green-white-checkered finish, the Car of Tomorrow, the overtime line, the Charter system, stage racing, and constantly bending to Toyota's demands (such as strict gear ratio limits and low-horsepower, high-downforce packages).
In 2018, NASCAR acquired ARCA, making the ARCA Racing Series a sanctioned NASCAR series. In 2020, the old fourth-generation car bodies were rendered illegal under that year's rule package, with sixth-generation composite bodies mandated (though the underlying chassis were still fourth-generation cars). This caused costs in ARCA to increase exponentially, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; by the time the ARCA Menards Series season resumed at Talladega in June, there were only 21 cars in the field, as many teams had folded due to a lack of racing opportunities and the exorbitent costs wrought on by no longer being able to rely on just buying old Cup or Xfinity Series cars as they had in the past (in 2008, for example, most of the cars were old Cup Series cars that had been replaced by the Car of Tomorrow), and the racing was sharply criticized as being a "freight train" with next-to-no passing, due to the 2020 rules package; also not helping was that only select few drivers were actually able to compete due to having rich parents, and several also ran for Joe Gibbs Racing, a Cup Series team.
=== The Beginning of the ASCC ===
With NASCAR being radio-silent on any changes to the ARCA package, several ARCA team owners decided that the sport was a lost cause, and that the only way to fix it was by starting from scratch. On December 12, 2020, a coalition of ARCA team owners led by Andy Hillenburg (owner of Fast Track Racing, as well as a former NASCAR driver himself) announced the creation of the American Stock Car Championship (ASCC), with the first sanctioned race scheduled to be held on February 27, 2021 at Pocono Raceway.
The news was picked up by all major sporting publications, and was the main subject of that night's edition of SportsCenter. The formation of the ASCC was immediately compared to the split between Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and Indy Racing League (IRL) in 1995. NASCAR initially issued no response, seemingly confident that the ASCC would fizzle out and die by the middle of 2021.
On January 3, 2021, the ASCC issued a full press release, which included an overview of the organization, as well as a schedule for the first season of the ASCC Grand National Division, cars, rules, and profiles of several drivers and teams. The lineup for the ASCC's first season was comprised of ARCA drivers, running the Chevrolet Camaro SS, Ford Mustang GT, and Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
== Sanctioned series ==
=== National series ===
==== Home Depot Grand National Division ====
The Home Depot Grand National Division (known as simply the Grand National Division in its inaugural 2021 season) is the sport's highest level of competition. It runs on a combination of large ovals, short tracks, and road courses. Grand National cars are stock bodywork on purpose-built race chassis (for the first season, they were ex-Trans Am TA and TA2 cars with the rear wing replaced by a blade spoiler). As of 2023, the car models are the Chevrolet Camaro SS, Ford Mustang GT, Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, Toyota Supra, and Honda Accord.
==== Coca-Cola Sportsman Division ====
The Coca-Cola Sportsman Division is the second-tier series. It runs at many of the same tracks as the Grand National Division, but also runs more short tracks. Sportsman cars are similar to Grand National cars, but are different models. Sportsman cars also have less horsepower. As of 2023, the car models are the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, Dodge Charger, Toyota Camry, and Honda Civic.
==== Craftsman Pickup Truck Division ====
The Craftsman Pickup Truck Division is the third-tier series, running pickup trucks. Unlike the Grand National and Sportsman Divisions, which took elements of the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, the Craftsman Pickup Truck Division is, for all intents and purposes, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, under ASCC management. As of 2023, the truck models are the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150, Ram 1500, and Toyota Tundra (Honda does not participate in this series due to lacking a full-sized pickup truck).
==== Hershey's SUV Division ====
Inaugurated in 2023, the Hershey's SUV Division was created in response to the rapidly-growing SUV market (though the widespread popularity of the Grand National Division, and a more environmentally-conscious public, have led to a resurgance in the popularity of sedans in the United States, leading the Detroit automakers to announce that they would be bringing back several models, including the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Ford Taurus, and Dodge Intrepid). The series races the same day as the Craftsman Truck Division, usually as a doubleheader. The series runs compact crossover SUVs. As of 2023, the SUV models are the Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Escape, Dodge Hornet, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Buick Envision (marking Buick's return to American stock car racing).
==== Peloton Late Model Division ====
Formerly the ARCA Menards Series, the Peloton Late Model Division mainly runs in the Midwest, but also races on some of the Grand National tracks, including Daytona, Talladega, and Charlotte. The Late Model Division is a low-cost feeder for the higher divisions, and is considered a "retirement home", due to running older NASCAR and ASCC cars from multiple generations, dating back to at least 1992. As of 2023, there is a wide variety of car models:
Company 	Marquee 	Model 	Original Series 	Generation 	Model Year(s)
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Lumina 	Winston Cup 	4 	1992-94
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Monte Carlo 	Winston Cup 	4 	1995-2005
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Monte Carlo SS 	Nextel Cup 	4 	2006-08
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Impala SS 	Nextel Cup 	5 	2007
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Impala SS 	Nationwide 	4 	2009
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Impala 	Nationwide
ARCA 	4 	2010 (Nationwide)
2010-19 (ARCA)
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Impala 	Nationwide 	Nationwide CoT	2010-12
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	SS 	Sprint Cup
ARCA 	6 	2013-17 (Cup)
2015-21 (ARCA)
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Camaro SS 	Nationwide 	Nationwide CoT	2013-21
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Camaro SS 	Trans-Am 	TA2 	2021
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Camaro SS 	Grand National 	7 	2022-present
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Camaro ZL1 	Monster Energy Cup	6 	2018-19
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	Camaro ZL1 1LE 	Cup 	6 	2020-21
General Motors 	Pontiac 	Grand Prix 	Winston Cup 	4 	1992-2003
General Motors 	Oldsmobile	Cutlass Supreme	Winston Cup 	4 	1992
General Motors 	Buick 	Regal 	ARCA 	4 	1992-96
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Thunderbird 	Winston Cup 	4 	1992-97
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Taurus 	Winston Cup 	4 	1998-2005
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Fusion 	Winston Cup
Busch
ARCA	4 	2006-07 (Nextel Cup)
2006-2010 (Busch)
2006-19 (ARCA)
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Fusion 	Nextel Cup 	5 	2007-12
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Fusion 	Sprint Cup 	6 	2013-18
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Mustang 	Nationwide 	Nationwide CoT	2010-21
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Mustang GT 	Monster Energy Cup	6 	2019-21
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Mustang GT 	Trans-Am 	TA2 	2021
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Mustang GT 	Grand National 	7 	2022-present
Ford Motor Company 	Ford 	Focus 	Sportsman 	7 	2022-present
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Avenger 	ARCA 	4 	1995-2000
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Intrepid 	Winston Cup 	4 	2001-03
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Stratus 	Nextel Cup 	4 	2004
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Charger 	Nextel Cup 	4 	2005-07 (Cup)
2005-10 (Busch)
2005-19 (ARCA)
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Charger 	Nextel Cup 	5 	2007-12
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Charger 	Sportsman 	7 	2022-present
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Challenger 	Nationwide 	Nationwide CoT	2010-18
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Challenger 	Trans-Am 	TA2 	2021
Stellantis 	Dodge 	Challenger 	Grand National 	7 	2022-present
Stellantis 	Chrysler 	LeBaron 	ARCA 	4 	1992-98
Toyota Motor Corporation	Toyota 	Camry 	Nextel Cup 	4 	2007 (Cup)
2007-10 (Busch)
2007-19 (ARCA)
Toyota Motor Corporation	Toyota 	Camry 	Nextel Cup 	5 	2007-12
Toyota Motor Corporation	Toyota 	Camry 	Nationwide 	Nationwide CoT	2010-18
Toyota Motor Corporation	Toyota 	Camry 	Sprint Cup 	6 	2013-21
Toyota Motor Corporation	Toyota 	Camry 	Sportsman 	7 	2022-present
Toyota Motor Corporation	Toyota 	Supra 	Xfinity 	Nationwide CoT	2019-21
Toyota Motor Corporation	Toyota 	Supra 	Grand National 	7 	2022-present
Honda Motor Company 	Honda 	Accord 	Grand National 	7 	2023-present
Honda Motor Company 	Honda 	Civic 	Sportsman 	7 	2023-present
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Category:The Stock Car Split