It was created by Humpy Wheeler in 1989 to give short track drivers superspeedway experience.

In 1989, Humpy Wheeler, the president of Charlotte Motor Speedway, announced the creation of the Sportsman Division, a series in which drivers from short tracks could gain experience on superspeedways.

As Steve McEachern came through the turn, he was unable to avoid David Gaines, and struck his car, killing him.

During a Sportsman race at Charlotte in May of that year, Ed Gartner Jr. was t-boned by Tom D'Eath.

Gartner cracked his sternum and fractured his leg, and D'Eath, a nationally renowned hydroplane racing champion who won the APBA national championship and Gold Cup events, best known for piloting Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser, broke his neck.

Another severe crash that month took place at Charlotte Motor Speedway, when Philip Ross' car spun coming out of turn 4 and backed into the Armco pit guardrail.

At the end of the 1991 season, the Armco guardrail on pit wall was replaced with a concrete barrier.

In 1992, the series was renamed the Igloo Sportsman Challenge and began awarding a points based championship.

Red Everette and a few other drivers spun coming out of Turn 4, and Neil Connell, who had driven high to avoid the accident, came into contact with Gary Batson, who was forced onto his driver's side door and dragged along the wall.

Connell managed to escape his car, but Batson was trapped due to being on his driver's side.

[1][2] (h) denotes a NASCAR Hall of Fame member, primarily for his work as a crew chief.