The earliest racers were actually drivers for bootleg whiskey made in the Appalachian mountains of the American South. Stock car racing as a sport developed out of the need for fast and efficient delivery of illegal alcohol. The company is privately held by descendants of its founder, Bill France. The company brings in revenues through racing fees, licensing of its name, corporate sponsorships, and television rights. Its Winston Cup series draws over six million fans annually, and 17 of the top 20 best-attended sporting events in 1998 were NASCAR races. Branching out from its base in the South, NASCAR runs races at tracks across the nation. Stock car racing had a tremendous rise in popularity in the 1990s, and it is now the second most popular televised spectator sport in the United States, second only to major league football. Stock car racing is a competition between cars that use standard auto bodies instead of specially designed exteriors. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, known as NASCAR, is the official sanctioning body for the sport of stock car racing.

What is a stock car