NASCAR Then and Now - Ben White [11]
Modern NASCAR tracks feature aluminum bleacher-style seats with fiberglass backs. Not exactly luxurious, but much more comfortable than the bleachers from decades past. Most of the newer NASCAR tracks seat more than 100,000 people. This is Michigan Speedway in June 2008. The crowd shown here is just a fraction of the 160,000 people who attended the race.
Inset: Early NASCAR bleachers weren’t particularly comfortable. These fans are sitting in the freshly laid concrete grandstands at Darlington in 1950. Spectators who had the foresight to bring cushions to sit on were certainly glad to have them by the end of the six-hour race.
Chasing Autographs
Patience, diligence, and a comfortable pair of shoes are all keys to securing the autograph of a favorite driver. When a NASCAR star passes by, it’s usually a quick visit as the driver walks from the garage to the transporter or motorhome. The autograph hunter needs to have pen and items handy to get an autograph at a moment’s notice.
Driver Richie Panch signing autographs for fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway, c. 1975.
Kyle Busch takes a hat from a fan as others slide items through the fence for him to autograph at Las Vegas in 2008.
Fans lined up for autographs outside the JR Motorsports souvenir trailer during a race weekend at Michigan.
Jeff Gordon signs a cast to the delight of one of his fans.
Even security fences don’t discourage fans from getting the best shot possible of their favorite wheelman.
Chapter 3 Horsepower
Gayle Warren (No. 4 Studebaker) battles with Freddie Farmer (No. 51 Nash) during the 1951 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The era’s Strictly Stock cars came right out of family driveways with few modifications. Note the difference in size and shape between the two cars. Today’s Sprint Cup machines are virtually identical and must strictly adhere to rigid NASCAR rules.
The so-called NASCAR Car of Today, introduced in 2007, was created by the sanctioning body, and to keep the teams from modifying the cars to steal an advantage over rivals, the cars must fit more than 160 body templates. Here Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford) runs slightly ahead of Jeff Burton (No. 31 Chevrolet), Reed Sorenson (No. 43 Dodge), and Sam Hornish (No. 77 Dodge) at Dover International Raceway in May 2009.
Stock Cars through the Decades
The concept of stock car racing was born in the mid-1940s, in part by former World War II servicemen who were anxious to find excitement in everyday life. Long before Bill France Sr. officially formed NASCAR, drivers were holding races to determine whose Hudson Hornet or Packard could outrun whose Ford or Chevrolet.
As the sport grew from the dirt tracks to the speedways, increased speeds brought the need for safety innovations. The Strictly Stock cars of the 1950s were no longer viable, and by the 1960s NASCAR Grand National machines were really “stock cars” in name only. They were built just for racing, with floorpans and bodies built around extensive roll cages that spider-webbed throughout the car from front to back. Since then, the basic chassis configuration has been used for many decades, with safety innovations being tested and applied along the way. Today’s stock cars bear little resemblance to the vehicles they represent in dealer showrooms, but they are designed to provide the high- speed thrills NASCAR fans expect while protecting drivers from the dangers of 200-mile-per-hour competition.
Walt Crawford’s No. 64 (1950 Buick) leads Wally Campbell’s No. 33 (1950 Oldsmobile), Bob Smith’s No. 35 (1950 Oldsmobile), Jack Yardley’s No.