Car racing is popular all over the world, but each region has its own favorite. In Europe it’s clear that Formula 1 racing is the favorite car race. But in the United States, the favorite type of car racing is NASCAR: the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Many Europeans have never heard of this sport.
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NASCAR races started at Daytona Beach, Florida in 1948, but drivers have been racing since the invention of cars. In the early 1900s, Florida was a popular place to race cars and also a popular place to set speed records. The long straight beaches and long straight roads provided a safe place to go fast.
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The time of prohibition also influenced car racing. Prohibition is the name for the time period when it was illegal to drink alcohol in the United States (from 1920 to 1933). Although alcohol wasn’t legal, people still drank it of course – they just had to be careful. -ABCDEFG Police were always chasing them. To escape the police, bootleggers drove fast cars. They were famous for their aggressive driving. Bootleggers made a lot of money selling alcohol illegally so they purchased faster and faster cars. This tradition helped NASCAR become a popular sport.

-ABCDEFG The company behind NASCAR decides the official design of the cars. All the drivers drive the same type of car. In a single race, drivers will race between 650–800 kilometers and reach speeds of 320 kilometers per hour.  -ABCDEFG