View Brief NASCAR History
Brief NASCAR History
By Gregg Leary
Category:NASCAR -> Sprint Cup
1949…first “Strictly Stock” race at Charlotte…9 different car makes…France disqualifies “winner” Glenn Dunnaway’s car for “stiffened springs”…Jim Roper declared winner…decision held up in court…France shows his power
1950 Nash gives car to Points Winner
1951 Nash sponsors 2 drivers
Hudson introduces “Severe Usage Kit” in its parts catalog
NASCAR runs race in Detroit in manufacturer’s backyard
Virtually every American car brand is entered…Chrysler gets its first win
1952…Hudson wins 27 of 34 races
1953…Hudson wins 22 of 37 races…other manufacturers take notice
1955 Carl Kiekhaefer’s Chryslers dominate…without factory support…win 22 of 39 races
GM hires Indy winner Mauri Rose to head factory effort
Ford hires Indy winner Peter DePaolo to head factory effort
1956 Ford and GM spent $6 million trying to keep up with K’s Chryslers…Chryslers won 30 of 56 races…but withdrew at end of season
1957…record highway fatalities cause AMA to ban factory participation in racing
1958…Ford “Unofficially”funneled parts to Holman-Moody, Pontiac to Smokey Yunick
1959 the first Daytona 500 provided unprecedented publicity to the “unofficial” factory teams
1960…GM wins 20 races, Ford 15, Chrysler 9 CBS televises 3 Daytona preliminary races live
1961…GM wins 41 races, Ford 7, Chrysler 4 ABC’s Wide World of Sports showed edited NASCAR highlights
1962:GM won 18 of the first 20 races. In June, Ford pulls out of AMA ban and gets actively involved in racing…officially
1964: Chrysler’s 426 Hemi runs 20mph faster at Daytona than the year before…Richard Petty dominates the season…Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts, Jimmy Pardue killed…NASCAR bans the Hemi for 1965
1965: Petty and Chrysler teams boycott….Ford wins 32 straight races…France lets Hemi back in on short tracks and reinstates Curtis Turner…lets an illegal Chevy start at Charlotte…to try to boost attendance
1966: Hemi is permitted everywhere…but Ford’s overhead cam design is rejected. Ford boycotts…but returns at the end of the season.
1967:Petty’s Hemi dominates…wins 27 races…10 in a row.
1968-70 The aero wars…Ford Torino Talladegas, Mercury Cyclone Spoilers, Dodge Daytonas, Plymouth Superbirds
1970…Ford cuts back drastically on its racing support…restrictor plates are used
1971…Ford withdraws completely…Chrysler cuts back then withdraws…Junior Johnson builds a special Chevrolet for Charlotte…IT wins the pole… R.J. Reynolds…Winston Cup saves the day. Schedule was cut to 31 major races.
1973: OPEC “Energy Crisis”…races cut 10% in length
1975: Small block engines used…Awards and Achievement Plan…appearance money
1981: Downsized cars