NASCAR

Federal revenue agents called the mountain runners. During prohibition, moonshine bootleggers in the Appalachian foothills modified family cars with bigger engines and stiffer suspensions to outrun the treasury men, chasing them down dirt roads. After prohibition ended in 1933, those drivers had nowhere to put the skill. They started racing each other on clear dirt tracks and a long Daytona beach for prize money. Bill France Sr., a Daytona mechanic organized the disparate Southern Racing crews into the National Association for Stockcar Auto Racing in 1948. France made one structural decision that defined the next 75 years of the business. His family would own the sanctioning body and most of the racetrack simultaneously. The drivers would race as independent contractors. The car manufacturers would pay for the privilege of competing.