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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) was cofounded by William H.G. France and Ed Otto in 1948 in the USA. Officially incorporated on February 21, its purpose was to organize and promote the sport of stock car racing on sanctioned high-speed oval circuits and a few road courses.

The early NASCAR drivers were originally involved in the illegal transportation of alcohol. The drivers would modify their cars in order to create a faster and more maneuverable car. It was a logical step for the owners of these cars to race them. Thus, NASCAR was created as an officiating body. Even though they were in a league, many of the early drivers were still involved in moonshining and bootlegging.

Contrary to common belief, NASCAR races are not all conducted on identical oval tracks. Tracks vary in length from 0.526 ( Martinsville Speedway ) to 2.66 miles ( Talladega Superspeedway) (0.847 to 4.281 km). While most tracks are ovals, others are tri-ovals, quad-ovals, triangular, or ovals with unequal ends. Courses also differ in degree of banking on the curves, with differences in degree of banking and course length contributing to different top speeds on various courses. Two courses are complex shaped road courses. Nevertheless, fans of other series such as Formula One ridicule NASCAR races as "taxis turning left."

Race speeds vary widely based on the track. The fastest track is Talladega Superspeedway where the record race speed is 188 mph (303 km/h) with the record qualifying lap of 212.809 mph/44.998s (342.483 km/h) set by Bill Elliott. The slowest tracks are Infineon Raceway, a road course, with a record race speed of only 81 mph (130 km/h) and qualifying lap of 99 mph (159 km/h); and Martinsville Speedway , a very short, nearly flat oval, with a record race speed of 82 mph (132 km/h) and a qualifying lap of only 97 mph (156 km/h). As a safety measure to reduce speeds at the two fastest tracks ( Daytona International Speedway and Talladega), a restrictor plate must be placed between the carburetor and intake manifold to restrict air and fuel flow and, therefore, power. Today, the highest speeds in NASCAR are found at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is the fastest track where restrictor plates are not mandated. Unrestricted, NASCAR cars run at over 750 horsepowerThe horsepower hp is the name of several non-metric units of power. In scientific discourse the horsepower is rarely used due to the various definitions and the existence of an SI unit for power, the watt (W). However, the idea of horsepower persists as a (560 kW).

The closest EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sean equivalent is Touring car racingTouring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct automobile racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Britain, Germany, and Australia. What constitutes a touring car? While rules vary from country to countr, although the European circuits are on road courses. The first NASCAR competition held in JapanJapan (, Nippon/Nihon literally "the origin of the sun") is a country in East Asia situated on a chain of islands east of the Asian continent on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The largest of these islands are, from north to south, Hokkaido , Honsh was the Suzuka NASCAR Thunder 100 at Suzuka Circuitland in Suzuka City on November 24November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 37 days remaining. Events 380 Theodosius I makes his adventus or formal entry, into Constantinople. 642 Theodore succeeds John IV as Pope. 1639 Jeremiah Ho, 19961996 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty''. Events January January 5 Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone Jan. It was won by Rusty WallaceAdvance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Rusty Wallace (born August 14, 1956) is a professional NASCAR driver. His #2 Miller Lite Dodge is owned by Roger Penske. Wallace joined the Winston Cup circuit in 1984, winning Rookie of the Year honors..

While the manufacturers and models of automobiles for Nextel Cup racing are named for production cars ( DodgeAlternate use: Dodge (disambiguation Dodge is an automobile and light to heavy duty truck brand name. History In 1901 John Francis Dodge and Horace Elgin Dodge moved their Dodge Brothers Bicycle & Machine Factory to Detroit, Michigan. Their bearings and o Intrepid, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and Ford Taurus, with the Charger replacing the Intrepid for 2005, and the Fusion replacing the Taurus for 2006), the similarities between Nextel Cup cars and actual production cars are limited to some shaping of the nose and grill areas. The cars are high-powered low-tech hot rods with a roll cage chassis and thin sheet metal covering, and are powered by carbureted engines with 4 speed manual transmissions. The automobiles suspension, brakes, and aerodynamics components are also selected to tailor the cars to different racetracks.

NASCAR racing has its share of great finishes. The closest finish in NASCAR history was at Darlington Raceway between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch. Craven came in ahead by .002 seconds. See the picture here.

In the United States, television broadcast rights are split between FOX and NBC/ TNT, with FOX airing the first half of the season and NBC/TNT airing the second half. The networks alternate coverage of the first and most famous race of the season, the Daytona 500, with Fox getting the odd years and NBC the even ones. The current television contract was signed for six years and is valued at $2.4 billion [1].

In addition to the Nextel Cup, NASCAR operates two other racing circits: the minor league Busch Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series, which races pickup trucks.