Stock car racing / NASCAR originated from moonshine running?

Question

The story I was told that in the south, during Prohibition, moonshine runners would race their cars on Sunday after doing their runs of white lightning and outrunning the law during most of the previous week.

Then people started to bet on the car races like betting on horse races. This created the original stock car racing circuit. This true or BS?

Answer 1

True. They fixed up their cars to outrun Cops. Then they got together to race eachother .

Answer 2

Moonshiners got tired of racing with the law so they started racing each other. Junior Johnson was one of them and recently did a piece on SPEED before a race. And the NASCAR of today does not sweep it under the rug. They have made it public knowledge in a number of ways. They love the history of their sport and are true to it. It's the newest people in NASCAR that are the problem. Bunch of arrogant whiners with no respect!

Answer 3

Basically

Answer 4

generally yes

Answer 5

The NASCAR of today would like to sweep all of that under the rug.  But it is basically the truth.  Here's an interesting link:

http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2...

You have to take it all with a grain of salt.  Like all legends, it's been altered with the passing of time.

Answer 6

I will be attending my fathers induction into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame this October during the "moonshine festival" in Dawsonville Georgia.

Yes it is very true.

Answer 7

Junior Johnson, one of the pioneers of Nascar, did jail time for hauling and making moonshine. His biography is very colorful. Yes, stock car racing evolved from hauling moonshine.

Answer 8

Yes it is basically true.

Answer 9

It's true.

Answer 10

Somewhat true.

Answer 11

There is a show on A&E called Rumrunners, Moonshiners and something else and yes it talks to all the moonshiners like Junior Johnson who started out running shine then became very successful in NASCAR.

Answer 12

Kinda True