On Dec. 14, 1947, France and 35 other men assembled in the Ebony Bar at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach to hammer out the format for this organization. For three days and nights, they worked out the details until finally they emerged with a charter and a name: the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing – NASCAR. France was installed as NASCAR’s first president, and became its majority stockholder.

The newfound body ran its first sanctioned race at Daytona Beach on February 15, 1948, with Red Byron beating Marshall Teague to the checkered flag in the Modified Division race.

During the inaugural 1948 season, many of the drivers used modified prewar hot rods, but France insisted that racers only use “strictly stock” cars, like those found on any showroom floor. In June 1949, at a race in Charlotte, North Carolina, NASCAR ran its first-ever all-stock-car field.

Immediately, France’s power was tested when the winner of the race, who drove a ’47 Ford, took France to court when he was disqualified after it was discovered that he had used an illegally modified suspension setup. When the judge sided with France, his power was solidified, and to this day the France family remains the only judge and jury that matters in NASCAR racing.

Bill France, Sr. served as President and CEO of NASCAR until 1972, when he handed over the reigns to his son, Bill France, Jr., or “Little Bill.” In 2003, Bill France, Jr. continued the tradition and named his son, Brian France, as NASCAR’s Chairman and CEO. The family holds four of the five seats on the NASCAR Board of Directors.

Initially, the cars in the Strictly Stock Division (the name was changed to “Grand National” for the 1950 season) were virtually identical to factory models. But over the next decade, NASCAR allowed modifications for both safety and performance, until, in the mid-1960s, the vehicles were entirely purpose-built, with the body being the only thing that preserved the “stock” image.

See also:

• America's Fastest-Growing Sport
• Bootlegging Roots
• NASCAR History
• NASCAR Lore: The Call
• Organization
• Television
• The Daytona 500
• The Growth of the Sport