| Shortly after the invention of the | | | | Americans did not want to give up their |
| automobile, Americans fell in love with | | | | fast cars. Many Americans living in the |
| car racing. Europe started the | | | | South East of the United States started |
| tradition of setting speed records, but | | | | to set up races featuring their tricked |
| starting in the 1920s America started | | | | out cars. Once these races started |
| setting many of these speed records. In | | | | being held, the fans started pouring in |
| fact, most of these world records were | | | | to watch the car races. From this |
| being set in Daytona Beach. | | | | moment, stock car racing was born. The |
| That's right, even in the early days car | | | | birth place of these early races was |
| racing centered around Daytona Beach. | | | | North Carolina. To this day NASCAR is |
| Racing fans from all over the United | | | | huge in North Carolina. |
| States and the rest of the world started | | | | Today, NASCAR is popular all across the |
| coming to Daytona Beach to watch the | | | | country. While many of the nascar |
| Daytona Beach road course. For those of | | | | drivers still come out of North Carolina |
| you who don't know you NASCAR, the | | | | and Tennessee, many more are coming from |
| Daytona 500 is the biggest race in | | | | states like California, New York and |
| NASCAR today. | | | | Indiana. No longer is the sport just |
| As many know, stock car racing spawned | | | | enjoyed in the south. Cities like |
| out of America's Prohibition period. | | | | Philadelphia are now some of the largest |
| The bootleggers needed fast cars to out | | | | markets for television viewers of the |
| run the police when they were | | | | sport. Race tracks have been built in |
| transporting illegal whiskey throughout | | | | Las Vegas, New Hampshire and many |
| the south and in particular the | | | | non-southern states. |
| mountains of Appalachia. These | | | | While the South East region of the |
| bootleggers started to modify their cars | | | | United States was the birthplace of |
| to increase their speed and performance. | | | | NASCAR, today the sport is loved |
| In order to out run the law, you needed | | | | throughout the county. Today there are |
| to have a great car. And, as the | | | | race tracks all across America and it is |
| bootleggers upped the ante, the police | | | | the fastest growing sport in the |
| did so too. These suped up cars | | | | country. Despite its regional roots, |
| eventually turned into the stock cars | | | | NASCAR is today the most popular sport |
| that we recognize today. The real life | | | | in the United States. Every Sunday |
| game of cops and robbers turned into the | | | | during race season, over 100,000 |
| sports that millions of Americans love | | | | screaming fans show up to see the NASCAR |
| today. | | | | drivers start their engines. Not bad |
| After the end of Prohibition in 1933, | | | | for a bunch of bootleggers. |