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The recent opening of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame in North Carolina got me to thinking about the history of auto racing. NASCAR today is a mega-business, with the new Hall, sponsor-owned racing teams that are ultra-competitive and superstar drivers who are marketed like rock stars. Who hasn’t seen a commercial with Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson in it? Even older NASCAR legends like Richard Petty and Mark Martin have cashed in on the sport’s popularity. I love exploring the historic past of sports, and the history of NASCAR racing is amazing. Pictured above is an old Ford racing in the Daytona 500, when the race still took place on the actual beach at Daytona. A legend of the sport from that early era is Junior Johnson, who, like many of the early drivers, learned their craft by running moonshine in Appalachia. Johnson’s NASCAR career began in 1953 and was briefly interrupted in 1956 when he was arrested while working on the family still and spent time in prison. The sport was, and in many ways still is, a Southern good ol’ boy sport. And of course, when you’re talking good ol’ boys, you know there’s going to be a “Junior” among the group. You have to love some of the other names and nicknames of the early drivers – Speedy Thompson, Fonty Flock and Fireball Roberts, who was tragically killed in an accident in 1964. I’ve never been to a NASCAR race but they say when you’re down near the track during the race that the cars produce a thunderous roar that is amazing. I’ve been to local tracks in Ransomville and Lancaster and been in the area down near the track, and I thought that was pretty great. I can’t imagine what it’s like at the NASCAR races. There’s no doubt the sport has become extremely popular today. I hope today’s drivers appreciate the pioneers who made it what it is, just like the early players in all sports. I’m not a big racing fan, but I still smile at seeing old grainy black and white films of the former moonshine runners racing on the beach at Daytona.