NASCAR racer explains the sport's rich history and passionate fan base

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NASCAR racer explains the sport's rich history and passionate fan base image

Why is NASCAR popular? Originally answered on Dec. 14th, 2015

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Answer by Parker Kligerman, NASCAR driver since 2009:

Well, to be honest, from the start I will say that this question is completely subjective to who you ask. I guarantee you a poll of 1000 fans might garner 1000 different answers as to why they like NASCAR. With this said, I will try to give a few examples of how NASCAR rose to national prominence.

There are a couple angles we can take in examining its popularity, but we will start with the general reasons. For the sake of brevity, I will be as succinct as possible. 

1. History: It's fairly well known that NASCAR rose out of the 1930's, as prohibition created a need for "moonshine runners," guys who could drive the illegal booze across state lines and outrun the cops doing it.

Naturally this led to attempting to find out who was the best or fastest, so as a moonshine creator you could be sure the product was getting to its destination. Eventually they started having little races in farm fields in the south, as a way to judge the speed of their cars and the drivers' abilities.

Racing than started to gain an interest amongst the general public as speed contests were being held on Daytona Beach and eventually organized races.

This led to the formation of a governing body of these races called NASCAR (National Association Of Stock Car Auto Racing).

Soon racing would become a proving ground for manufacturers of cars to show the speed, durability, and handling of their cars to the general public -- their consumers. This is where the old saying "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" was born.

From a spectator's point of view, racing was astonishing because of the death-defying acts the drivers of this time were achieving every time they were on the track. As the sport grew out of little dirt tracks in farm fields to the beaches of Daytona and eventually the high banks of Darlington and Daytona, the speeds increased. The danger increased and the stardom of drivers increased. This increased the popularity, the popularity increased the exposure, and the exposure increased the money.

At this time (1960's) NASCAR was second fiddle to the more popular Indy 500, which had stars coming from F1 and sports cars to race in its premier race. Although this was happening a little in NASCAR (Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt), it wasn't as prevalent.

TV also played a part here. As TV became more prevalent, these races were reaching a wider audience. ABC's Wide World of Sports would show some of these races, exposing these star drivers and cars to millions.

Fast forward to 1979 when the Daytona 500 (NASCAR's biggest race) was televised live for the first time. Famously, there was a massive snowstorm along the east coast during this race, and therefore millions of people were stuck inside their homes and exposed to NASCAR for the first time.

The race culminated with a crazy finish and a fistfight between the top two drivers. The result? NASCAR was thrust onto the national stage.

2. Drivers: Unlike the superstars of Formula 1 or other premier sports, the stars of NASCAR were relatable. As the saying goes, "Good ol' boys out of the South." This perception was rampant throughout the sport.

This was evident in the way NASCAR always made it a point to keep the drivers accessible to the fans. If you wanted to meet your favorite driver, there weren't too many hoops to hop through.

As NASCAR's popularity grew, these "everyman" relatable stars identified with their fans and vice versa. As NASCAR's founder Bill France Sr. said, "Common men in common cars could appeal to common folk en masse." The result was a fan base that became increasingly devoted to their favorite driver.

The connection wasn't always about results or flashiness, but a truly emotional connection of the thought process. That their favorite driver may be a death-defying superhero, but as a person, he was no different from them.

This bond would never be more evident than it was with NASCAR's biggest star of all time: Dale Earnhardt. He was a personification of the American dream. Born to very humble beginnings, he rooted and gouged his way out of the pre-determined life of a southern cotton factory worker to becoming an American hero and an international icon.

His attitude and aggressive style would polarize the fan base. As one of his most famous quotes says, "The winner ain't the one with the fastest car; it's the one who refuses to lose."

He ushered in an era of inexplicable growth. If you liked NASCAR or dreamed of being a driver, you dreamed of being Dale Earnhardt.

His death in the 2001 Daytona 500, as NASCAR launched into its first national TV contract, would thrust the sport to new heights of the mainstream consciousness. The sport's biggest star ever loses his life in the sport's biggest race, on the dawn of its largest TV contract. (Side note: Jeff Gordon is widely attributed to being responsible for bringing the sport out of its predominately Southeastern roots, which is correct. But explaining this would make this post very long!)

3. Entertainment: This is a hard one to explain, but it's at the root of what has separated NASCAR from other racing series since its inception.

Many racing series have struggled with the balance of technical prowess and engineering ingenuity over fair competition. For example, Formula 1 has always kept a stringent grip on the fact that it is a constructor's championship. Engineering ingenuity is a part of the show and will continue to be, even at the expense of the entertainment factor (although in F1's time of malaise at the moment, this could soon change).

NASCAR has always been about "the show." This has ensured that entertainment of the fans has been the biggest importance to the sanctioning body. Therefore, when other races' series had eras of dull racing or struggles with power amongst the owners and sanctioning body (look up Indycar split) NASCAR ruled with an iron fist.

No one person, team, or manufacturer was bigger than the show of NASCAR. This ensured healthy competition, which ensured the fans would leave feeling that It was worth the price of admission.

It's a mantra that has guided the sanctioning body through many massive decisions.

There are many more reasons, although to me these have to be some of the largest responsible for NASCAR's rise.

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