February 6, 2002

My love affair with racing is lifelong and I have been faithful, but recently I discovered the joy of professional hockey and followed the Detroit Red Wings as they won their hard fought Stanley Cup battle. The National Hockey League, like my beloved NASCAR, is rich in history and tradition. Hockey fans revere the game’s history, they speak with pride and awe of the "original six" NHL teams and the vision of the league’s founding fathers. Avid NASCAR fans are the same; we cherish the whiskey beginnings of our sport and the athletes who risk their lives in the name of competition.

NASCAR has experienced phenomenal growth in the past two years; a multi-billion dollar broadcast package and the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500 have combined to aim the spotlight squarely on NASCAR, resulting in an unprecedented influx of new fans. Some will satisfy their curiosity and move on; others will contract race fever, an incurable condition. To the latter I say, "Welcome to the family, enjoy the ride. We’re glad to have you."

For the next few weeks, we’ll take a casual look at NASCAR’s formative years. I hope new fans will enjoy and embrace the story of a Washington D.C. Yankee who came south for the mild winters and ultimately revolutionized automobile racing.

Life in a southern mill town during the 1930’s was a hard life, factory jobs were scarce and those fortunate few with jobs were grossly underpaid and frequently worked in deplorable conditions. For many of the unemployed men the choice was not difficult, run moonshine or watch your children starve. So they ran ‘shine; a man could make over $200.00, truly a small fortune, for safely delivering only one 120-gallon load of white lightning. The demand for high quality homemade spirits was heavy in the predominately dry south, business was good and there were many loads to be delivered.

The "whiskey trippers", as they were called, required vehicles capable of exceeding the 95 mph top end speed of the police vehicles of the day. The cars also had to be agile; handling well over unmapped, winding mountain roads and the drivers had to be wily and fearless to elude capture. Naturally, competition sprang up between such men, for little more than bragging rights they raced over county roads or tore around crude, quickly fashioned dirt tracks. It was not long before enterprising promoters were hawking these races. The contests were a welcome diversion and with gate prices of ten to twenty-five cents these spectacles were accessible to most people.

In 1934, mechanic and dirt track racer William H.G. France, withdrew his life savings, less than $100.00, packed up his wife and son and pointed the family sedan south. "Big Bill" France had been infected with race fever at an early age, the Washington D.C. native began his racing career by sneaking his father’s Model T Ford away to the speedway in Laurel, MD. As a man, Bill worked hard to support his family by operating a small service station. Somehow, he was able to save enough money to purchase his first racecar. From the automotive Jurassic period, it was a one seat, open-wheeled vehicle. Powered by a modified Model T engine, the car sported a woven canvas body.

Competing on the dirt tracks in the Washington area Big Bill honed his driving skills and learned the business of auto racing. In order to escape the cold, wet Washington winters, France headed south. He helped finance this exodus by repairing the cars of motorists he found stranded on the way to Florida. The reason the France family decided to settle in Daytona instead of continuing on to Miami as planned has been lost in history. I prefer to believe that like most greatness, it was simply meant to be.

Daytona Beach and speed had been synonymous for decades. Speed trials had been run on nearby Ormond Beach since 1902. In his quest to reach the 300-mph mark Sir Malcolm Campbell moved his pursuit of the land-speed record to the Utah salt flats in 1934. This left Daytona residents and tourists starving for speed. Sig Haugdahl, a dirt track champion from the Midwest, found support from the city of Daytona Beach and the American Automobile Association (AAA) to stage a 250-mile race along Highway A1A and portions of the beach. Twenty-seven strictly stock cars took to the course, including cars driven by 1934 Indy winner Bill Cummings, AAA dirt track champion Doc MacKenzie and a local mechanic named Bill France. The posted purse was $5000.00.

From a financial standpoint this race was a dismal failure as were several other similar attempts. However, Bill France felt the idea had merit, with backing from local restaurateur Charlie Reese, he promoted shorter 150-mile races several times that summer, making money each time. Over the next few years France and Reese promoted three more races, showing a profit after all three. They were on to something big, very big.

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor shut down all forms of motorsports to reserve precious materials for the war effort. While the war dragged on, Big Bill worked at the Daytona Beach Boat Works and built submarine chasers. Shortly after the end of the war, France began promoting races in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Mr. France found the "whiskey tripper’s" races were being governed by numerous "sanctioning bodies", each with it’s own rules and technical specifications. In addition, many unscrupulous promoters preyed upon the infant sport; often departing with the gate and prize money while the cars still raced. Knowing credibility would only come if he could legitimize stock car racing, Bill France dared to dream. He dreamed of a strictly stock racing league that would hold a series of races with drivers accumulating points towards a season championship. In 1946 the National Championship Stock Car Circuit (NCSCC) was born. The sport of stock car racing was in such a state of chaos, that year’s champion Fonty Flock, was genuinely and pleasantly surprised when France actually paid him the $3000.00 prize money.

After tasting success William Henry Getty France convened a meeting of drivers, mechanics, car owners, promoters and a few lawyers. On December 12, 1947, in the smoked filled Ebony Room of the Streamline Hotel the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, was formed. The first sanctioned event, a 150-mile race was run on the Daytona road/beach coarse on February 21, 1948. Over 14,000 fans watched as Red Byron took the checkered flag. The rest, as they say, is history.

Next week we’ll get acquainted with the Flock family.

You can contact Orlena at: Insider Racing News