NASCAR: The Early Years Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bill France

Bill France was a former driver and visionary who saw an opportunity for stock car racing to be a major spectator sport. He was involved in previous attempts to gain better organization, but in late 1947 he brought people together to take a fresh look at racing which at that time was often disorganized, dangerous, and had a low public profile and image.

Answer: Red Byron

Red Byron's win via the points system was the first for NASCAR. Byron entered 34 races with 11 wins and earned 2999.5 points. Runner-up Fonty Flock entered 40 races with 15 wins, and 2963.75 points. The Flock brothers and sister Ethel were fan favorites and helped to increase the NASCAR image.

Answer: Drivers must commit to race only in NASCAR sponsored races

Hoping to organize the sport, NASCAR tried to bring the sport into some kind of order. Outlawing promoters who reneged on prize money, true recognition of successful drivers, and the beginning of a measure of protection for this dangerous endeavor were steps in this direction.

Answer: dirt

The evolution from dirt to paving came slowly. Driving style also changed from the controlled slides needed on dirt to the balance required for paving.

Answer: First driver to die of injuries in a NASCAR race

On July 25, 1948, Slick Davis lost life in a NASCAR race at Greensboro, NC. He was the first but not the last to die in competition. Fonty Flock, it is legend, was hit by a careening car while napping in the infield.

Answer: 1949

This was a great step forward in wide fan appeal as the cars now resembled the cars the fans drove. It also attracted the major auto manufacturers to inject money into the fledgling racing circuit. Late models, however, debuted third on the racing card after the roadsters and modifieds.

Answer: Among the first female drivers in NASCAR

With early NASCAR fields of over a hundred cars upon occasion, it should not be surprising that many were female. None became full time drivers but the circuit was more open to women at that time. Historically, there are few female drivers in a largely male dominated sport.

Answer: Southeastern

The Southeast was the hot bed of NACAR racing. There were occasional tours of other regions but its heart remained in the South, as it does today. Today NASCAR has moved to be a national entity, but many of the major NASCAR circuit tracks are located in eight Southeastern states.

Answer: AAA who sponsored the Indy, had a rule banning racers from taking part in other circuits

In 1949, Holland entered a three-lap charity race at a NASCAR event. For this act of benevolence, he was suspended in AAA from open-wheeling racing. He became a part-timer on the NASCAR circuit without much success. He returned to Indy racing in 1953 and then retired. AAA refused for years to co-sponsor any racing events with NASCAR.

The rule that took Holland out of competition was later revoked, so that many drivers have had success both in NASCAR and open-wheel racing such as A.J.Foyt and Mario Andretti.

Answer: Lee Petty

Lee Petty was the first winner of the late model division race of NASCAR, driving a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. Red Byron was to win the the division on points. Sara Christian had one 5th and one 6th place finish in races, and was to finish 13th in points.

These were not the late models we see on the track today. The came right out of a dealer's showroom with tape over the tail and headlights, and masking tape for numbers.