Tragedies That Changed NASCAR Forever
The National Association for Stock Car Racing, or NASCAR for short, started on February 21, 1948, and has since transcended into a multi-billion dollar industry and a global phenomenon. William “Bill” France Sr. was heavily involved in racing cars and promotion races in Daytona Beach, Florida, when he realized the rules of races varied from one event to the next and that not all promoters were honest. To regulate the races, France formed NASCAR and served as its first president.
From the very first stock race on June 19, 1949, at the Charlotte Speedway in North Carolina to it becoming one of the most popular sports in the world, NASCAR has a long history of growth. Nowadays, the average top speed for a NASCAR race car is about 200 miles per hour. The competitors behind the wheel of these speed machines are highly skilled and surrounded by strict safety regulations regarding every action taken on or near the track. Over the decades, the safety protocols taken in NASCAR have grown and adjusted to meet the needs of an ever-progressing industry. However, in NASCAR, accidents are never entirely unavoidable, and there’s a list of notable tragedies that occurred throughout the years which have changed the sport forever.