A Look Into the Sport Richard Patton & Nick Cruz-Hope sportcenter.com

AGENDA NASCAR’s History NASCAR’s Progression Most Memorable and Influential NASCAR Drivers Impacts on the NASCAR Fans Tragic Deaths Changes in NASCAR Conclusion

NASCAR’S HISTORY: THE BEGINNING -In the 1920s and 1930s during the Prohibition, drivers were running illegal moonshine to supplement the family income. NASCAR Hall of Famer, and former bootlegger, Robert Glen “Junior” Johnson, started running moonshine at age 14. sports.espn.go.com

NASCAR’S HISTORY: THE BEGINNING CONT. -At that time, these drivers had to have cars that were able to go faster that the police cars that would go after them. Niedermeyer, Paul. When The New 1960 Compacts Went Racing Photograph. Daytona Beach Florida

NASCAR’S HISTORY : THE BEGINNING CONT. -This became such a huge influence in the south.. -A dirt track racer named Bill France even came from Washington D.C. and learned all of the rules and regulations. Bill France Sr. (left) with son Bill France Jr. (right)

NASCAR’S HISTORY: THE BEGINNING CONT. -In 1946, he established the National Championship Stock Car Circuit. Grissom, Jim. NASCAR's First Hall of Fame Photograph. Daytona Beach Florida

NASCAR’S PROGRESSION -In 1947, it eventually became known as the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, which is NASCAR. -It was official on February 21, Red Byron was one of NASCAR’s first drivers.

MOST INFLUENTIAL DRIVERS Richard Petty Lucy, Michael. NASCAR Drivers Photograph. Bristol, Tennessee. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Lucia, Joe. NASCAR Drivers Photograph. Bristol, Tennessee. bbs.hupu.com

RICHARD PETTY Inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Championships: 7 Most Wins: 200 Most wins in a season: 27 Most consecutive wins: 10 Also has 7 Daytona 500 wins to his name Also known as “The King” sports.espn.go.com rubbingsracing.com

DALE EARNHARDT, SR. Also known as “The Intimidator” for his driving style and black number 3 car Inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class inductee Championships: 7 Wins: 76 1 Daytona 500 win Odom, Harry. NASCAR Influentials Photograph. Bristol, Tennessee. bleacherreport.com “Lead, follow, or get the Hell out of the way!” – Dale Earnhardt Career Stats 25+ years of memories Starts676 Poles23 Wins76 Top 5's281 Top 10's428 NASCAR Titles7 Earnings$42mil. IROC Titles4 Bumps & Cage Rattlingslost count "THE Car."

DALE EARNHARDT, SR. The 1998 Daytona 500 is considered to be Dale Earnhardt’s proudest moment. proudest moment. Phillips, Frank. NASCAR Influentials Photograph. Bristol, Tennessee.

SAFETY With teams always trying to make their car faster, cars started becoming more aerodynamic. This was great! More exciting for fans But it also posed a problem. Faster cars = harder, more violent wrecks violent wrecks What’s left of Michael Waltrip’s car after crash at Bristol in 1990.

SAFETY CONT. It was things like this that prompted NASCAR to look into better safety equipment. One of the things NASCAR would do is add restrictor plates to the cars at superspeedways. This cuts down the amount of air that can get to the carburetor, causing the car not to be able to go as fast as easily if at all. sports.espn.go.com

1987 WINSTON 500 AT TALLEDEGA Bobby Allison’s wreck that drove NASCAR to use restrictor plates at superspeedways.wreck "May 3, Allison Stories Rule The Day at Dega - STOCK CAR RacersReunion."

In the 2000s, a lot of drivers were wearing full racing helmets. These helmets were said to be lighter, safer, and more comfortable SAFETY CONT. Elliott Sadler’s full racing helmet "Elliott Sadler full-scale racing promotional display helmet."

-But for Dale Earnhardt, he was too stubborn and old-fashioned to accept those new kinds of protective head gears. -He still continued to race with his aggressive style. Right: Dale sits in his car waiting for the command to start his engine. Left: Dale and Ken Schrader racing each other. boards.sportslogos.net IMPACT ON THE FANS

Died on February 18, 2001 in a crash in the last corner of the 2001 Daytona 500. He was in third, fighting to give the team he owned a 1-2 finish. The crash that changed NASCAR IMPACTS ON THE NASCAR FANS CONT.

CHANGES IN NASCAR Because of this accident, all NASCAR drivers became required to use regulated safety head gear, fire suits, and restraints. Along with driver equipment, NASCAR has also implemented Safer Barriers Even with all these precautions, there have still been injuries but there have been very few deaths in NASCAR*. *-In other levels Sherman, Don Mulhern, Mike

"NASCAR and Sports Betting." Sport Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov "ANSWERED: Do They Really Hold NASCAR Races At Night These Days?." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov Long, Mark. "NASCAR's redesigned race cars receive rave reviews." AP Online [Concord] 21 Feb. 2013: n. pag. Concord Monitor. Web. 22 Nov Hinton, Ed. "At least go back to making moonshine in the woods, Junior." ESPN.com. N.p., 19 Dec Web. 24 Nov WORK CITED

Hinton, Ed. "Junior Johnson: The boys at JGR were just doing their jobs... with creative flair." ESPN.com. N.p., 23 Aug Web. 24 Nov Niedermeyer, Paul. When The New 1960 Compacts Went Racing Photograph. Daytona Beach Florida "France Sr., France Jr., Earnhardt, Petty And Johnson Set For Induction To The NASCAR Hall Of Fame."NASCAR Hall Of Fame Induction. N.p., 21 May Web. 5 Dec Grissom, Jim. NASCAR's First Hall of Fame Photograph. Daytona Beach Florida WORK CITED

Lucy, Michael. NASCAR Drivers Photograph. Bristol, Tennessee. Lucia, Joe. NASCAR Drivers Photograph. Bristol, Tennessee. "'King Richard,' Queen Elizabeth II to meet at Derby?." ESPN: Sprint Cup. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov Christie, Toby. "NASCAR Hall Of Fame Profile: Richard Petty | RubbingsRacing.com."RubbingsRacingcom RSS. N.p., 20 May Web. 27 Nov Times-Union. Richard Petty stands in Victory Lane at Daytona in July 1984 after capturing his 200th win All-time Greatest NASCAR Rivalries, Daytona Beach, Florida. CMT. Web. 8 Dec WORK CITED

ESPN. "How restrictor plates work." ESPN.com. N.p., 4 June Web. 6 Dec Odom, Harry. NASCAR Influentials Photograph. Bristol, Tennessee. "The Earnhardt Connection -- Dale Earnhardt NASCAR News." The Earnhardt Connection -- Dale Earnhardt NASCAR News. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec Balton, Michael. "Hendrick Motorsports." Bleacher Report. N.p., 21 Jan Web. 27 Nov WORK CITED

Phillips, Frank. NASCAR Influentials Photograph. Bristol, Tennessee. Elliott Sadler full-scale racing promotional display helmet." Worlds largest online auction and online gallery site of l'art et l'automobile. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec "THE Car." THE Car. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov "Unique equipment." Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Community. N.p., 30 May Web. 27 Nov WORK CITED

Pearce, Al. "Earnhardt tragedy highlights Daytona 500's five most memorable crashes on video."Autoweek. N.p., 16 Feb Web. 27 Nov Youtube.com. N.p., 3 Jan Web. 6 Dec Youtube.com. N.p., 31 Jan Web. 6 Dec Youtube.com. N.p., 3 Jun Web. 6 Dec Youtube.com. N.p., 13 Jan Web. 6 Dec Sherman, Don. "The Physics Of: How the HANS Device Saves Lives." Car and Driver Jan. 2012: n. pag.Car and Driver. Web. 8 Dec WORK CITED

"May 3, Allison Stories Rule The Day at Dega - STOCK CAR RacersReunion." May 3, Allison Stories Rule The Day at Dega - STOCK CAR RacersReunion. N.p., 3 May Web. 8 Dec Mulhern, Mike. "NASCAR cuts the Sprint Cup ribbon at Kentucky Speedway....but just how safe is this track? Tony Stewart raises questions." NASCAR Racing Breaking News: Trackside Live, Every Week, Every Sprint Cup Race. N.p., 7 July Web. 8 Dec