Stock car racing in the United States traces its roots to bootlegging during Prohibition, when drivers in the Appalachian region modified small, fast vehicles to evade law enforcement. After Prohibition's repeal in 1933 a culture of competitive driving persisted, particularly associated with the Wilkes County region of North Carolina.
Bill France Sr. moved to Daytona Beach from Washington, D.C. in 1935, drawn by the area's history of land speed record attempts. He entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth, and took over running the course in 1938. On 14 December 1947, France convened meetings at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach with influential racers and promoters. The name "National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing", proposed by mechanic Red Vogt, was chosen after the initially preferred name was found to be already in use by a rival body. NASCAR was formally founded on 21 February 1948.
The first NASCAR event was held at Daytona Beach on 15 February 1948. Red Byron won the Modified division race and the 1948 national championship. The first NASCAR Strictly Stock race was held at Charlotte Speedway on 19 June 1949; Jim Roper was declared winner after Glenn Dunaway was disqualified for altered rear springs. The Strictly Stock division was renamed Grand National for the 1950 season.
NASCAR's three national series are the Cup Series, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series, supported by regional and international divisions. Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota compete in each national series; RAM also competes in the Truck Series.
The NASCAR Cup Series is the sport's highest level of competition. Richard Petty holds the record for Cup Series wins with 200. The championship record of seven titles is shared by Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson holds the record for most consecutive championships, winning five in a row from 2006 to 2010.
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company became the first title sponsor in 1972, when the Grand National Series was renamed the Winston Cup Series and the season was shortened from 48 to 31 races. 1972 is widely regarded as the start of NASCAR's modern era. Nextel Communications replaced Reynolds as sponsor in 2004, renaming the series the Nextel Cup and introducing the "Chase for the Nextel Cup" points format. The series became the Sprint Cup in 2008 following the Nextel–Sprint merger. Monster Energy sponsored the series from 2017 to 2019. From 2020, the series reverted to the plain NASCAR Cup Series name with four premier partners. Prior to the 2026 season, NASCAR announced a return to a single points-reset format under the revived name "The Chase", covering the final ten races of a 36-race season.
The second tier dates to 1982, when it launched with Budweiser sponsorship. It was known as the Busch Series, then the Nationwide Series (2008–2014), then the Xfinity Series (2015–2025), and was renamed the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series for 2026. Kevin Harvick was the first Cup driver to compete full-time in the series and win a title, doing so in 2001 and 2006. The practice of Cup drivers racing in the second tier spawned the term "Buschwhackers". Beginning in 2020, Cup drivers with more than three years of experience were limited to five second-tier races per season.
The NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman was announced in 1994 and held its first race in 1995. It features modified pickup trucks and operates as the third national division. The series has been known as the Camping World Truck Series, the Gander Outdoors Truck Series, and the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at various points; Craftsman returned as title sponsor for 2023. Drivers including Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards moved directly to the Cup Series from the truck series without completing a full Xfinity/Nationwide season.
NASCAR acquired the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) on 27 April 2018 after it had been privately owned for 60 years. The ARCA Menards Series races at both major touring tracks and local facilities, primarily in the Midwestern United States. Its East and West feeder divisions were unified with the K&N Pro Series in 2020.
NASCAR has sanctioned series in Canada (derived from the CASCAR Super Series, bought in 2006), Mexico (NASCAR Mexico Series, launched 2007), Europe (NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, renamed in 2013), and Brazil (launched 2012 as Sprint Race, received NASCAR sanctioning in 2023).
The first Commissioner of NASCAR was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, a former stock car, motorcycle, and open-wheel racer who competed in the Indianapolis 500 and held over one hundred land speed records.
Wendell Scott was the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on 30 January 2015.
NASCAR has typically implemented safety measures in response to incidents. Fire-retardant suits were required after Fireball Roberts died from burns sustained in a crash at Charlotte. Following the deaths of Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, and Tony Roper in 2000, and Dale Earnhardt in 2001, NASCAR mandated the HANS device (Head And Neck Support Device) and the SAFER barrier, and required anti-spill fuel cell bladders. Earnhardt died from a base-of-skull fracture in the 2001 Daytona 500 after his car struck the concrete wall. The Car of Tomorrow, introduced in 2007, featured a higher roof, wider cockpit, and a more central driver seat position. As of 2024, no NASCAR driver has been involved in a fatal accident since Earnhardt's death.
Toyota joined NASCAR in 2006 and generated early success with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Several Formula One and IndyCar drivers have competed in NASCAR, including Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Kimi Räikkönen, and Jenson Button.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series raced at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico from 2005 to 2008, and at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal from 2007 to 2012.
In 2023, to mark NASCAR's 75th anniversary, the sanctioning body partnered with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports to enter a Next Gen Camaro ZL1 as a Garage 56 entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, coinciding with that race's 100th anniversary. Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button, and Mike Rockenfeller drove the #24 car.
In 2010, NASCAR sanctioned its first sim racing esports series in partnership with iRacing. Coca-Cola became the entitlement sponsor in 2020, when the series was renamed the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series with a prize pool of $300,000.
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