Like any other sport NASCAR has it's beginnings. Throughout the years the sport has changed and been formed by the athletes that race and the fans that come to races or watch on TV.
But this sport's history is much more diverse and goes back to a point in history where are country was reeling with a economic disaster, men lost their jobs and couldn't feed their families, much less themselves.
Men and women working all day and night, the American dream was becoming a nightmare and with no escape ahead.
In the rural south, men and women made their livelihood in the fields—working long days in the hot southern sun.
On the weekends, men would travel to farm fields where the farmer would turn an empty pasture into a dirt track allowing men to come and race each other—an early form of escapism for a society that could barely afford food.
During the week they worked for someone else, but on Sunday afternoon these men were their own bosses and only answered to God.
In the mid 1930's Raymond Parks, a man you can compare to Rick Hendrick in racing smarts and business savvy, found there was money to be made racing. Parks who owned his own business, Parks Novelty Co., was able to fund his cars.
Two of Parks cousins encouraged him into racing. Lloyd Seay and Roy Hall ran moonshine on back country roads, teaching them how to handle a car at high speeds and quick turns.
Parks carried the philosophy that every driver today beleives—good equipment, a good driver, and you will and should win races. So Parks insured that his cousins had just that.
He found Red Voight and Buckshot Morris in Georgia. Two very good mechanics who could find a little something extra to make Parks' cars have an edge. With two of the best mechanics, whenever Parks needed something he could turn to Voight and Morris.
Parks won at Lakewood Speedway in Georgia in 1938. Seay was his driver in a Ford. In a few years tragedy and World War II would put a halt to Parks' racing plans.
Seay was shot and killed in September of 1941 over a moonshine deal, and the attack on Pearl Harbor in December—Parks' racing dreams took a back burner to the war effort.
In 1946, after serving in the army, he returned to the South and to racing. As a successful business man, funding racing wasn't as difficult for Parks as it was for other aspiring racers.
His drivers included NASCAR's first champion Red Byron, Bob Flock, Frank Mundy and Curtis Turner.
In 1947 his car won the Modified Championship with Fonty Flock and repeated as Modified champion in 1948 with Byron. This would be a relationship that would be very successful. In 1949 Byron would become NASCAR's first Champion.
In 1951 Parks ended his racing career. Drivers didn't make enough money to support their families. He still needed to work and run his business.
But Parks' legacy had already been written he would always be remebered as the first owner to win a NASCAR championship.
Parks' business model has been copied by dozens of drivers and owners. Drivers without the support of major sponsors and big money.
Teams that owners and drivers sell everything they have to race each week and hope to find their car in victory lane.
NASCAR has always tried to distance themselves away from the bootleggers that raced before NASCAR was a sanctioning body. But these men needed to make a living and racing was more of a passion then a livelihood for these men.
It was these bootleggers that raced and the farmers that made the dirt tracks that fueled stock car racing in the south.
“At the time, I didn’t know what I was getting into,” said Parks. “I might have had a vision, but I certainly never saw where NASCAR was going. It surpassed anything I imagined. I’m just glad to have been in it at the beginning."
NASCAR's body and its fans can't forget that before Bill France Sr.'s fateful meeting in Daytona Beach, Florida. Raymond Parks was one of NASCAR's real pioneers.
Background infomation from www.legendsofnascar.com
12 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Ben Bomberger 5 months ago
Awesome story Patti, as a fan who has only been watching since about 2002, I love reading stories about the history behind NASCAR and where it got started at. Guys like Parks are the reason NASCAR is what it is... But people tend to forget that and just look at all the 'super-stars' of today's league...
Great read, I really enjoyed it!
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Patti Rodisch 5 months ago
thanks yea..i never heard of him and I was watching thoase ESPN inside Nascar movies and they mentioned him in a ten sec. clip and I was hooked..so iread all this stuff about him and there is so much info on him. I love the history behind this sport becuase it is so in line with the economy.. we forget that Bill France Sr. is the famous face but there was racing going on long before 1948. Actually the first automobile race is said to have happend in Illinois in the late 1800's from the city of chicago to Evanston,Il so there is so much more to this sport and auto racing period. thanks for your comment
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Mary Jo Buchanan 5 months ago
This was a great piece Patti - thanks for keeping the history alive and fresh for all of us.
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Patti Rodisch 5 months ago
thank you so much. I love writing topics like this, the history and where we stand today. It's very interesting to see the similarities that racing today has to what it was like early on. I love the research aspect, I really am proud of this piece and it gave me a ton of new ideas to cover. Thank you for reading.....and your comments.
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Crabber 1967 . 5 months ago
Nice work Patti.
Perhaps you'd like to read my last piece here on B/R:
>>Raymond Parks: NASCAR's Double Inaugural Championship Car Owner<< that I published here in October 2008.
link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/70156-raymond-parks-nascars-double-inaugural-championship-car-owner
After I surfed the Web for many sites for info, and published above article, I finally added an excellent book to my personal library that I had on my "wish list" for quite a while:
>>"Driving with The Devil, Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR." by Neal Thompson.
This is an excellent book and I have read it TWICE in the last month or so. Check out the authors website page for the book [you can read the entire first chapter there].
http://nealthompson.com/book_driving.html
By the way, I do have a new historical piece in the works, and I will try to finish it soon, as my computer was 'down' from November 7 to December 5; and then I was out of town for Christmas, so I'm now just getting back into the swing of things, what with working retail [my work location is open from 9 AM to 8 PM, so if I 'close' I don't get home until about 8.30 pm].
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Patti Rodisch 5 months ago
Thank you very much. I worked hard on this piece. And like I said it was difficult at first to find a focus, I was going to cover each decade but I was watching those ESPN DVDs about the sport, and they mention Mr.Parks and I was hooked. I think it's so important that we know our past and this sport is drenched with history. I am going to check out your piece on Mr. Parks after this. The internet while it has many perks worried me I was nervous about getting the wrong info, I trust books more than anything when it comes to research but I had heard of this site before so I went to it. I was telling Mary Jo in writing this piece i found a area that i really seem to write well in. I am going to try and find that book. Thanks you for your comment!!
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Crabber 1967 . 5 months ago
OH!
In regard to the first auto race [at least in the US!] it was the "Chicago Times-Herald Contest" on November 28, 1895. (This info from a book in my library >>The American Car Since 1775<< by the editors of Automobile Quarterly. {That's NOT a mis-type! 1775} )
The event was first proposed by the Chicago Times-Herald newspaper on July 9, 1895. Due to many problems [mainly, most of the entrants' vehicle were not ready] a consolation event was run on the original date of November 2, 1895, with the contest re-scheduled for Thanksgiving Day November 28, 1895.
Needless to say there was snow, and many 'adventures' by the contestants! The event course was from Jackson Park - World's Fair Grounds in northern Chicago, north to Evanston IL and return. The event was more like a rally or even such events as the legendary Mille Migilia, with cars sent off at intervals. The first vehicle off {Duryea} was sent out at 8:55 AM and stayed in front of the others for most of the course and was first back to the finish line at 7:18 PM.
All the vehicles suffered problems, broken parts, off course drives, and the cold snowy weather. There was not a winner in the sense of what we talk about today, as several awards were given out for various design features on several vehicles as well as performance parameters all as 'awarded in strict compliance with the rules', with $10,000 in prizes given out.
In today's way of thinking, since the Duryea received the biggest monetary prize of $2000, some might consider it the winner.
The early competitors were a VERY hardy bunch, enduring hardships which are difficult to imagine today.
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Patti Rodisch 5 months ago
the first time I even heard aboout this was on a local PBS special. I was amazed here I thought stock car racing was orignally from the south. I am actually going to do some research on this event and see what if any influence it has on the stock car development in the 1930's. Chicago winters are hard up here on todays drivers and cars i can only imagine what it must have been like in the cars of the late 1800's. Could you imagine if a race today took 12 hours to complete? if you have any suggestions as in websites to check out I would appreciate it!!
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Crabber 1967 . 5 months ago
Patti,
Thanks you for your kind reply.
When I get my next day off I'll try to stop my your page with some suggestions, regarding websites, etc.
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S M Napier 5 months ago
Great read, Patti. Always love reading history pieces like this one.
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Patti Rodisch 5 months ago
thank you very much this was fun to write!!
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Saraswathi Siriginia 5 months ago
Lovely piece...
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