What’s a completely useless fact you love sharing?
Mine is that NASCAR basically started with a bunch of people trying not to get arrested for transporting booze. Which, honestly, is a pretty iconic origin story.
I grew up watching NASCAR with my family, but it wasn’t until much later that I learned about its connection to moonshine running. During Prohibition, moonshiners would modify their cars to make them faster so they could outrun the police while hauling illegal liquor. Because apparently, bootlegging wasn’t dangerous enough without adding a little Fast & Furious to the equation.
These drivers became pretty skilled at building fast cars, and once Prohibition ended, they still had all these souped-up vehicles and apparently too much time on their hands. So they started racing each other.
Those informal races eventually helped lay the foundation for NASCAR.
I don’t know why, but I find it absolutely hilarious that a major American motorsport has roots in people running from the law with a trunk full of moonshine.
Anyway, welcome to another episode of things my brain has decided are important enough to remember forever. Do with this information what you will.
Cool!