| > | | | | 2004, the sport decided to get an image-friendly |
| All you need to know about Nascar racing. | | | | sponsor in NEXTEL. When they merged with Sprint, |
| Today, the most watched sport in America is | | | | the new name was born. |
| football. But the next sport on that list is no longer | | | | Drivers set out on a 26-race schedule that paves the |
| baseball, not is it basketball – auto | | | | way for a 10-race championship push known as the |
| racing...specifically, NASCAR racing...has skyrocketed in | | | | Sprint for the Cup. Whoever has emerged with the |
| growth and popularity. What was once a small | | | | best point total once those 10 races are over is the |
| operation in the South has turned into a global | | | | champion. Only the top 12 regular season finishers |
| phenomenon raking in billions annually – an | | | | are eligible for championship contention. |
| amazing feat for a sport where disaster can be the | | | | For many, NASCAR racing is linked to the faces and |
| main attraction. | | | | characters involved in the sport – legendary |
| NASCAR racing has a long, storied past. Beginning | | | | drivers like the late Dale Earnhardt, as well as Richard |
| with its roots in the Prohibition Era, the sport began in | | | | Petty and others. In addition, the current set of |
| earnest when Bill France created the sanctioning body | | | | drivers – like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl |
| known as NASCAR in 1948. The sport that used to | | | | Edwards, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – help power |
| be a bootleggers’ paradise had turned into a | | | | the sport now. |
| real sport – and the big rush would come | | | | In 2001, at the season-opening Daytona 500, the |
| three decades later, culminating at the Daytona 500 | | | | sport lost a legend when Dale Earnhardt died on the |
| in 1979. That year, the contest came down to the | | | | final lap, while holding off other competitors to keep |
| final laps, between drivers Cale Yarborough and | | | | his son’s car and another teammate’s |
| Donnie Allison. The bad blood shared between the | | | | vehicle out in front on the final lap of the race. His |
| two in this close finish brewed over into a post-race | | | | loss touched racing fans around the country and the |
| fight that actually endeared a generation of new fans | | | | world, and few losses have ever been reflected on in |
| to the sport. Millions of TV viewers had become a | | | | the way The Intimidator’s loss still is to this |
| captive audience due to a huge snowstorm in the | | | | day. If there was any good to come from the |
| East – now, the race itself made them captive | | | | passing of a NASCAR racing legend, it was that the |
| in a whole new manner. | | | | sport began a push to improve the safety of the |
| NASCAR racing is made up of a host of series, | | | | drivers and the tracks. |
| including the well-known truck series, and the | | | | Now, NASCAR racing is pushing forward to this |
| Nationwide Series. However, most mentions of the | | | | generation of drivers – and new innovations |
| sport of NASCAR racing are referring to the Sprint | | | | that will continue to grow and diversify this sport |
| Cup Series, the top series on the circuit. The Sprint | | | | now enjoyed by countless numbers of people. |
| series was once called the Winston Cup Series; in | | | | |