NASCAR, and stock car racing as a whole, traces its roots back to moonshine runners during Prohibition, who grew to compete against each other in a show of pride.

[11] The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 dried up some of their business, but by then the people of the American South had developed a taste for moonshine, and a number of the drivers continued "runnin' shine", this time evading the "revenuers" who were attempting to tax their operations.

These races were popular entertainment in the rural Southern United States, and they are most closely associated with the Wilkes County region of North Carolina.

[14] On December 14, 1947, France began talks with other influential racers and promoters at the Ebony Bar at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, that ended with the formation of NASCAR on February 21, 1948.

[15] 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 set over one hundred land speed records.

Baker earned most of his fame for his transcontinental speed runs and would prove a car's worth by driving it from New York to Los Angeles.

[20] At the end of the 1947 season, Bill France announced that there would be a series of meetings held at the Streamline Hotel in Florida, beginning on December 14, 1947.

The Strictly Stock division was put on hold as American automobile manufacturers were unable to produce family sedans quickly enough to keep up with post-World War II demand.

The race was held on June 19, 1949 and won by driver Jim Roper when Glenn Dunaway was disqualified after the discovery of his altered rear springs.

[24][25] The first NASCAR competition held outside the US was in Canada, where on July 1, 1952, Buddy Shuman won a 200-lap race on a half-mile (800 m) dirt track in Stamford Park, Ontario, near Niagara Falls.

[29] With Monster Energy's title sponsorship, NASCAR also abandoned "The Chase" name and now refers to the last 10 races simply as "the playoffs" similar to most other sports.

These dual-series drivers have been labeled "Buschwhackers", a play on words which combines the original series sponsor's name with the notion of being bushwhacked.

Starting with the 2015 season finale, NASCAR began to add additional restrictions in regards to Cup drivers running Xfinity races.

In addition, veteran drivers who have had only moderate success at the other two levels of the sport have revitalized their careers in the truck series, including Ron Hornaday Jr., Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner, and Johnny Benson.

The Whelen All-American Series is the base for stock car racing, developing NASCAR names such as Clint Bowyer, Jimmy Spencer, Tony Stewart, the Bodine brothers, and many others along the way.

In 2018, iRacing announced a new, sanctioned qualifying ladder system for the NPAiS, the Road to Pro Series, using virtual Chevrolet and Toyota Camping World Trucks.

[54] Fire-retardant driver suits were required after the death of Fireball Roberts, who died from complications of burns suffered in a crash when flames engulfed his car during a Charlotte race.

[55][56] After the deaths of Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin and Tony Roper in 2000 and Dale Earnhardt in 2001, NASCAR revisited the idea of decreasing the G-forces a driver sustained during a crash.

[57] The "kill switch" throttle, was mandated after the death of Adam Petty, along with the requirements of an anti-spill bladder in fuel cells.

The mandate came about in October after Blaise Alexander, racing for the ARCA series, died in a crash that resulted in the same injuries sustained as Earnhardt.

Another general area of criticism, not only of NASCAR but other motorsports as well, includes questions about fuel consumption,[62] emissions and pollution, and the use of lead additives in the gasoline.

[75] On June 10, 2020, in the wake of protests related to the murder of George Floyd, NASCAR announced that the display of the Confederate flag will be prohibited from all of its events and properties.

[74] In February 2022, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a lawsuit against Bitconnect that the Securities Act of 1933 extends to targeted solicitation using social media.

[76] In April 2022, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Florida against the LGBcoin cryptocurrency company, NASCAR, stock car racing driver Brandon Brown, and political commentator Candace Owens alleging that the defendants made false or misleading statements about the LGBcoin and that the founders of the company had engaged in a pump and dump scheme.

[80] Juan Pablo Montoya, Patrick Carpentier, Dario Franchitti, Kimi Räikkönen, and Jenson Button are among the foreign-born big names who have crossed over from Formula One and the Indy car circuit.

[81] In 2023, to celebrate their 75th anniversary, NASCAR partnered with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports to enter a Next Gen Camaro ZL1 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Jimmie Johnson and Button were joined by German WEC veteran and Mike Rockenfeller – a 2010 LMP1 category and overall winner at Le Mans – as the drivers.

[86] Chad Knaus, Johnson's crew chief during each of his Cup Series championships, was project manager, while the car bore #24 in honor of Jeff Gordon.

[102] Movies about NASCAR racing include Days of Thunder (1990), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007), and Logan Lucky (2017).

NASCAR drivers have made appearances in many television series and TV movies, including The Cleveland Show,[103] Sullivan & Son, and Last Man Standing.