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90-688: Some manufacturing is in Fond du Lac, while 40-60 HP engines are made in China. Smaller engines are Tohatsus that have been rebadged . The Kiekhaefer Mercury company began in 1939 when engineer Carl Kiekhaefer purchased a small outboard motor company in Cedarburg , Wisconsin . Kiekhaefer's original intention for the Kiekhaefer Corporation was to make magnetic separators for the dairy industry. The purchase included 300 defective outboard motors . Kiekhaefer and

180-500: A 4.1-mile (6.6 km) course, consisting of a 1.5–2.0-mile (2.4–3.2 km) stretch of beach as one straightaway, and a narrow blacktop beachfront highway, State Road A1A , as the other. The two straights were connected by two tight, deeply rutted and sand covered turns at each end. Stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition , when drivers ran bootleg whiskey made primarily in

270-703: A Kohler free-air engine and succeeded in dominating the 400cc class. In 1975 Mercury introduced 340cc and 440cc versions of the Sno-Twister and both were dominant at the track. 1976 saw a change in the Sno-Twister, this time 250cc, 340cc, and 440cc versions were all introduced. These were radical for their time and were the result of Mercury Sno Pro sleds developed and raced the previous year. These 1976 sleds were featured water-cooled Kohler engines. The chassis were small, lightweight, very low profile, with curved handlebars and seat cushions that were designed for left turns (oval tracks). In 1975 and 1976 Mercury also produced

360-565: A bit different from the cars seen in America, being more akin to a late model , though steel tube-framed silhouette bodies powered by V8 engines is still the norm. In December 2006, NASCAR also announced the creation of a new series in Mexico, the NASCAR Corona Series (now Mexico Series), replacing the existing Desafío Corona Series, to begin in 2007. In 2004, NASCAR also began to sanction

450-601: A car's worth by driving it from New York to Los Angeles. After his death, the famous transcontinental race the ' Cannonball Run ' and the film that was inspired by it were both named in his honor. Baker is enshrined in the Automotive Hall of Fame , the Motorcycle Hall of Fame , and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. This level of honor and success in each diverse racing association earned Baker

540-413: A chute at the rear of the cavitation plate above the propeller. Thru-hub exhaust was claimed to be more efficient by omitting the added drag of an exhaust chute, and using the low-pressure area necessarily created by the gear housing and propeller moving through the water to assist in exhaust evacuation. Over the next several years, thru-hub exhaust became a standard feature of all Mercury models, and later

630-650: A deal to make smaller engines ranging from 15 HP and down with Evinrude decals. All outboard engines sold in North America by the now-defunct Nissan Marine were rebadged Tohatsus. Tohatsu four stroke outboard engines above 50 HP sold in North America after 2013 are rebadged Honda, though at some point after that Tohatsu introduced their own 60 HP model which is an up-rated variant of their 40/50 HP engine. As of at least 2022 all outboards up to 60 HP are designed and built by Tohatsu. NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC ( NASCAR )

720-471: A full season in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. These include Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards (who both ran for Roush Racing ). 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 . Beginning in 2009, the series became

810-558: A full-time basis. Kevin Harvick was the first Cup series driver to compete full-time in the Busch Series and win a title, actually doing so twice; in 2001, he did this for Richard Childress Racing but only did so out of necessity as Dale Earnhardt 's death forced him into the Cup series ahead of RCR's intended schedule for him. His win in 2006, where he raced three cars for RCR and his race team ,

900-494: A lap, plus the driver who leads the most laps. Another significant change involves the qualifying process for the Chase. The number of qualifying drivers will remain at 12, but only the top 10 will qualify solely on regular-season points. The remaining two Chase drivers will be the two drivers in the next 10 of the point standings (11th through 20th) with the most race wins in the regular season. In 2014, NASCAR announced another revamp to

990-556: A mini stock racing series in Mexico, known as the Mexico T4 Series. In early 2012, NASCAR announced that it would sanction the existing European-based Racecar Euro Series as a "NASCAR Touring Series". On July 1, 2013, with partnership from NASCAR Whelen Engineering , the series was renamed the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. In addition to the six main national series, NASCAR operates several other racing divisions under

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1080-582: A point-fund money payout and even more goes to the National champion (driver with most points out of the four division winners). 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. The Whelen Modified Tour races open-wheel "modified" cars in Northern and Southern divisions. This

1170-513: A processor-enhanced line of outboards called the "Verado" outboard engine. The "Verado" system integrates the outboard into an entire system, including " fly-by-wire " steering and advanced diagnostics. Verado engines are available in 250 hp and 300 hp (V8), 350 hp and 400 hp (V10, introduced in 2022), and 600 hp (V12) as of early 2021. In 2007 Mercury Marine began selling its Zeus drive system. Developed by Mercury and its joint venture company Cummins MerCruiser Diesel (CMD),

1260-467: A rather large gap between the Mark 25 (20 hp) and the Mark 55 (40 hp), Mercury brought out the 4 in line, approximately 30 cubic inch "Mark 30" (30 horsepower) engine for 1956, and produced versions of its "TurboFour" engine for several years. It, too, was available as an "H" version, producing much extra horsepower for racing and sporting use. Smaller engines included the K era and the Mark era, such as

1350-456: A relationship with Bob Barkhimer and his partner, Margo Burke. He went to events with them, stayed weekends with them and generally became very familiar with racing on the west coast. "Barky", as he was called by his friends, journeyed to Daytona Beach and met with Bill France Sr. In the spring of 1954, NASCAR became a stock car sanctioning body on the Pacific Coast under Barky. Wendell Scott

1440-557: A result of that sponsorship, the Grand National Series became known as the Winston Cup Series starting in 1971, with a new points system and some significant cash benefits to compete for championship points. In 1972, the season was shortened from 48 races (including two on dirt tracks ) to 31. 1972 is often acknowledged as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The next competitive level, called Late Model Sportsman, gained

1530-459: A row by Cale Yarborough in the late 1970s, the only other time when a driver has won three or more NASCAR Cup Series championships in a row. The Cup Series had its first title sponsor in 1972. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , which had been banned from television advertising , found a popular and demographically suitable consumer base in NASCAR fans and engaged NASCAR as a promotional outlet. As

1620-472: A season, along with the pre-season Clash and mid-season All-Star race. NASCAR runs races primarily on ovals , including superspeedways, short tracks, and dirt tracks , but also road courses and street circuits . Richard Petty holds the Cup Series wins record with 200. He is tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson for the championship record, with seven each. Entering the 2025 season , Joey Logano

1710-581: A series of meetings held at the Streamline Hotel in Florida, beginning on December 14, 1947. At 1:00 pm, France called to order the 35 men who represented the NCSCC on the top floor of the hotel. The meeting was the first of four seminars in which France would outline his vision of an organized group of race car drivers. The name originally chosen for the series was National Stock Car Racing Association ; when it

1800-489: A small staff of employees rebuilt the motors and sold them to Montgomery Ward , a mail-order company. The motors were much improved, so the buyer purchased more. Kiekhaefer designed motors that withstood the elements better than his competition and called the motor Mercury (taking advantage of the "Mercury" Motor Car popularity at the time) whilst adopting the logo of the Roman god Mercury . Kiekhaefer took more than 16,000 orders at

1890-423: A stock Mark 75H set a new world speed record for outboard motors, of 107 mph. Kiekhaefer decided to promote his company by owning a NASCAR and AAA team. The team dominated NASCAR Grand National (at one point winning 16 straight races), even though it only competed in 1955 and 1956. The team won the 1955 and 1956 NASCAR championships with drivers Tim Flock and Buck Baker . One of Kiekhaefer's innovations

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1980-702: 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. The cars continued to improve, and by the late 1940s, races featuring these cars were being run for pride and profit. 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 . Most races in those days were of modified cars. Street vehicles were lightened and reinforced. Mechanic William France Sr. , moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, D.C., in 1935 to escape

2070-443: A twist grip throttle. It was renamed "Cruiser" at this point, and no longer called "Super 10". This engine later became the heart of the "Mark 25", of the mid to late fifties. Initially rated at 16 horsepower, this engine was soon beefed up to 20. There was also an "H" version, which produced more power but carried no rating. "H" version Mercurys were mostly used for racing. In 1949, the company also introduced its first large outboard,

2160-573: A variety of marketplaces: commercial fishing, military, marine transport, surf life saving, recreation and competition racing. They are the second largest producer of outboards in the world. As well as marketing outboards under its own brand, Tohatsu outboards are rebadged and sold as other brands. In 1988 Tohatsu and Brunswick Corporation set up a joint venture named Tohatsu Marine Corporation to produce outboards for Mercury Marine . Some Mercury outboards with less than 60 HP are rebranded Tohatsus. In 2011, Tohatsu and Evinrude Outboard Motors made

2250-528: A young Bill France placed 5th at the end of the day. By early 1947, Bill France saw the potential for a unified series of racing competitors. France announced the foundation of the "National Championship Stock Car Circuit", otherwise known as NCSCC. France approached the American Automobile Association , or AAA, in hopes of obtaining financial backing for the venture. When the AAA declined support of

2340-543: Is Cole Custer in 2023. The modern incarnation of this series began in 1982, with sponsorship by Anheuser-Busch Brewing 's Budweiser brand. In 1984 it was renamed to the Busch Grand National Series, then later just the Busch Series. The Anheuser-Busch sponsorship expired at the end of 2007, being replaced by Nationwide Insurance from 2008 to 2014, and the series is now sponsored by Comcast through its Xfinity brand. The season usually has fewer races than

2430-557: Is NASCAR's oldest division, and the modern division has been operating since 1985 as the Winston Modified Series and later in 1994 as the Featherlite Trailers Modified Series. The ARCA Menards Series ' feeder divisions, which consists of East and West divisions, race pro-stock cars that are similar to older Xfinity Series cars, although they are less powerful. The east division was originally divided into

2520-710: Is a Japanese company manufacturing and selling outboard motors, pleasure boats, portable fire pumps, small fire trucks, pumps for construction and drainage, and refrigeration units for transportation. It also does real estate property management in Japan. The company can be traced back to 1922, when the Takata Motor Research Institute began carrying out research into various forms of internal combustion engines. Research and development of high-speed, portable engine generators and radio-controlled generators began immediately; these were brought to production in 1930. During

2610-448: Is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing . It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in the world and is one of the largest spectator sports leagues in America. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and his son, Jim France , has been the CEO since August 2018. The company

2700-424: Is designed for a wide variety of vessels operated in or moored on saltwater. Mercury Marine also provides various training programs through its training arm called Mercury University. Mercury Marine and Beneteau Strengthen Partnership to offer award-winning outboards to Global Customers Tohatsu Tohatsu Corporation ( トーハツ株式会社 , Tōhatsu Kabushiki-gaisha ) , previously Tokyo Hatsudoki Company ,

2790-667: Is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida . Each year, NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe. 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. This happened notably in North Carolina. In 1935, Bill France Sr. established races in Daytona Beach, with

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2880-563: Is primarily a Midwestern United States series. NASCAR acquired the series on April 27, 2018 after being privately owned for 60 years. The NASCAR Canada Series is a NASCAR racing series in Canada that derives from the old CASCAR Super Series (founded in 1981 and bought out by NASCAR in 2006). The new series has races through six of Canada's provinces for a total of 13 events with TV coverage on TSN . Many drivers are content running in Canada while others move up to bigger NASCAR series including J. R. Fitzpatrick and D. J. Kennington . The cars are

2970-591: Is scheduled to continue as planned. The series was renamed again in 2020 to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series before returning to the Camping World Truck Series name in 2021. On August 26, 2022 it was announced that the original series' sponsor, Craftsman, would return as the title sponsor starting in the 2023 season. The ARCA Menards Series is a racing series that races at big touring series tracks and local racing series tracks. It

3060-480: Is the defending Cup Series champion. In the 1920s and 1930s, Daytona Beach supplanted France and Belgium as the preferred location for world land speed records . After a historic race between Ransom Olds and Alexander Winton in 1903, 15 records were set on what became the Daytona Beach Road Course between 1905 and 1935. Daytona Beach had become synonymous with fast cars in 1936. Drivers raced on

3150-523: The Appalachian region of the United States. Bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity. The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 dried up some of their business, but by then the people of the American South had developed

3240-622: The Brunswick Corporation . The company introduced the MerCruiser stern-drive line at the 1961 Chicago Boat Show. The line would later take over 80 percent of the world market. For 1962, the Merc 1000 became the new top of the line in line 6, offering 100 hp. It was somewhat of a sensation. It also introduced the new "Phanton Black" paint scheme which soon spread to the entire line and became famous. In 1966, 6-cylinder Mercury models featured

3330-746: The Camping World Truck Series. In 2019, per a branding request made by Camping World, the series was rebranded as the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. As noted previously, the Chase format was extended to the Truck Series in 2016. The format is identical to that used in the Xfinity Series, except that only eight drivers qualify for the Chase (instead of 12 in the Xfinity Series) and only two drivers are eliminated at

3420-474: The Great Depression . He was familiar with the history of the area from the land speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth. He took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II. France had the notion that people would enjoy watching stock cars race. Drivers were frequently victimized by unscrupulous promoters who would leave events with all

3510-623: The roadsters , which fans perceived as a Northeast or Midwest series. The roadster division was quickly abandoned, while the modified division now operates as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour . 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 1948 schedule featured 52 Modified dirt track races . The sanctioning body hosted its first event at Daytona Beach on February 15, 1948. Red Byron beat Marshall Teague in

3600-656: The "Grand National" title passed down from the top division and soon found a sponsor in Busch Beer . In 2004, Nextel Communications took over sponsorship of the premier series, and formally renamed it the Nextel Cup Series. A new championship points system, the " Chase for the Nextel Cup ," (renamed "Chase for the Sprint Cup" in 2008) was also developed, which reset the point standings with ten races to go, making only drivers in

3690-401: The "Super 10", actually developed around 14 horsepower. Its designation was updated to KF-7 for 1949. For 1951 the engine block, though still displacing 19.8 cubic inches, was updated a great deal, and given the name "Hurricane". The 1951 kg-7 "Super 10" featured this engine, which developed around 16 horsepower. For 1952, this model was updated with a "forward, neutral, reverse" gearset, and

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3780-528: The "Super 5" and later, such engines as the "Mark 6" and the "Mark 10". In 1957 Kiekhaefer started testing at a Florida lake he called "Lake X" to keep the location secret. Later that year the Kiekhaefer Mercury company designed a new inline 6-cylinder, 60 cubic inch, 60 hp (45 kW) engine named "Mark 75". Like its 2- and 4-cylinder brethren, the Mark 75 featured internal reed valves. The reed valve blocks served as intermediate main bearings. Because

3870-471: The 16 participating in the Cup Series Chase. Four drivers are eliminated at the end of each preliminary round of the Chase in the Xfinity Series, which also mirrors the Cup Series Chase. This means that four drivers are eligible for the series title entering the final race, as in the Cup Series. Similar to Cup, starting in 2017 "The Chase" moniker was dropped and the final seven races are now referred to as

3960-593: The 1930s and 40s, Tohatsu consolidated its product line and moved its corporate office to Tokyo. Among its products in the 1930s were railcars for the Ministry of Railways . In 1950, production and sales of motorcycles began. 1955 brought aggressive growth to Tohatsu. Capital increased to 150 million yen and production on a new line of engines started. Sales offices were established in Fukuoka , Nagoya , Tokyo , Sendai and Sapporo . Dealerships were set up throughout Japan. In

4050-403: The 1940 New York Boat Show. World War II changed the corporate climate, and Kiekhaefer sought a government contract to design two-man air-cooled chainsaws . Army engineers had been unable to design a lightweight motor. Kiekhaefer designed a new lightweight chainsaw in 2 months. The Kiekhaefer powered chainsaw was able to cut through a 24-inch (610 mm) green log in 17 seconds, while it took

4140-455: The 2011 season, drivers would be allowed to compete for the championship in only one of NASCAR's three national series in a given season, although they could continue to run in multiple series. This change was officially confirmed by France in a press conference less than two weeks later, and has remained in the NASCAR rules ever since. Beginning in 2010, the Nationwide cars adapted somewhat to

4230-726: The Busch North series, which raced in Northeastern states, and the Busch East Series, which raced throughout Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. The west division was originally known as the Winston West Series and raced throughout Southwestern and Coastal Pacific states. In 2008, the series came together in east and west divisions under sponsorship from Camping World as the Camping World Series. K&N Filters took over

4320-441: The Chase format, expanding the Chase pool to 16 drivers, and eliminating four drivers after every three races, leaving four drivers to compete for the championship at the season finale at Homestead . In addition, wins were given an increased emphasis, with the 16 drivers with the most wins (15 if the points leader is winless; points leader will receive an automatic berth) gaining a spot in the chase. If there are fewer than 16 winners,

4410-478: The Cup Series, and the prize money is significantly lower. However, over the last several years, a number of Cup Series drivers have run both the Xfinity and Cup Series events each weekend, using the Xfinity race as a warm-up to the Cup event at the same facility. Furthermore, several drivers not only participated in both Cup and Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity events on the same weekend but also began to compete in both series on

4500-655: The Modified division race. Byron won the 1948 national championship. Things had changed dramatically by 1949, and the Strictly Stock division was able to debut with a 20-mile (32 km) exhibition in February near Miami. The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held at Charlotte Speedway , although this is not the same track as the Charlotte Motor Speedway that is a fixture on current NASCAR schedule. The race

4590-721: The NASCAR Regional banner. Many local race tracks across the United States and Canada run under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner, where local drivers are compared against each other in a formula where the best local track champion of the nation wins the Whelen All-American Weekly Series National Championship. The Whelen All-American series is split into four car divisions as well as state and track championships separately. Each division champion receives

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4680-470: The NCS and the ambiguous use of "NASCAR" as a synonym for the series is common. The 2023 NCS Champion is Ryan Blaney . The record for most championships is 7, held by three drivers: Richard Petty , Dale Earnhardt , and Jimmie Johnson . Johnson has the record for most consecutive with five consecutive Cup Series drivers' championships from 2006 to 2010. Previously, the most consecutive championships had been three in

4770-599: The Rocket and Lightning models of snowmobiles . These sleds combined aluminum tunnels with Canadian Curtiss Wright (CCW) engines. The Rocket was a 340, and the Lightning a 400 with electric start. By 1972, Mercury started production of the Hurricane, a more modern snowmobile with optional slide rail suspension (as opposed to bogie wheel). In 1974 Mercury introduced the Sno-Twister 400cc snowmobile designed primarily for racing. It featured

4860-482: The Trail Twister snowmobiles which were available in 340cc and 440cc which were fan-cooled. These were some of the fastest lake racers around in their day. This started off a new era in snowmobile construction for the whole industry and the sled's basic format set up what is seen today in modern snowmobiles. Current Mercury product brands include Mercury, Mercury Racing, MerCruiser, and Mariner outboards (sold outside

4950-519: The U.S.). Outboard sizes range from 2.5 horsepower (1.9 kW) to 600 horsepower (450 kW). MerCruiser sterndrives and inboards range from 135 to 430 horsepower (320 kW) and Mercury Racing outboards produce up to 450 horsepower (340 kW) and sterndrives to 1,750 horsepower (1,300 kW). Subsidiaries include Mercury Precision Parts and Accessories as well as Mercury propellers and Mercury Jet Drives. Mercury outboards 30 hp and below are manufactured by Tohatsu in Japan. Mercury developed

5040-544: 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 . The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) is the sport's highest level of professional competition. It is consequently the most popular and most profitable NASCAR series. Since 2001, the Cup Series season has consisted of 36 races over 10 months. Writers and fans often use "Cup" to refer to

5130-468: The Xfinity Playoffs. Even with restrictions limiting points earnings to one national series, Cup drivers were still running and winning a vast majority of Xfinity series races through 2015. Starting with the 2015 season finale, NASCAR began to add additional restrictions in regards to Cup drivers running Xfinity races. Beginning in the 2020 season, Cup drivers with more than three years of experience in

5220-783: The Zeus drive is a dual-engine pod drive system. Some of the most notable benefits from this class design for boaters will be enhanced helm control. While underway an automated trim control feature simplifies operation. Also, Zeus includes Skyhook Electronic Anchor which will keep a vessel in a fixed location within a tight range. The system might be called all weather as it will maintain location in strong currents and winds. Mercury’s brand portfolio includes Mercury and Mariner, Mercury MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines, MotorGuide trolling motors, Mercury and Teignbridge propellers, Mercury inflatable boats, Mercury SmartCraft electronics, and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. MotoTron electronic controls

5310-551: The approximately 40 cubic inch, 4 cylinder in line, "Thunderbolt". This engine was rated at 25 horsepower, but actually put out around 28. There was soon an "H" version designed for high rpm use. This version put out nearly 40 horsepower, while being rated at "25+". The Thunderbolt engine benefited from upgrades and updates, eventually becoming the Mark 40, Mark 50, and Mark 55 engines of the mid and late fifties. All of these were rated quite accurately at 40 horsepower. The Mark 55H (high speed) developed more, but carried no rating. Due to

5400-460: The current " Car of Tomorrow " (or COT) design used by Cup cars, with different bodies from the Cup Series. In 2016, the Chase format was extended to both the Xfinity and Truck Series. Instead of the four-round, 10-race format used in the Cup Series, the Chase in each of the two supporting series consists of three rounds and seven races in all, with each preliminary round consisting of three races. The Xfinity Series Chase involves 12 drivers instead of

5490-571: The end of each preliminary round (instead of four in the Xfinity Series). As in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series, four drivers are eligible for the series title entering the final race. Similar to Cup, starting in 2017 "The Chase" moniker was dropped and is now simply referred to as the Truck Series Playoffs. On May 8, 2018, NASCAR and Camping World announced the Truck Series title sponsor would be moved to Camping World subsidiary Gander Outdoors starting in 2019. The contract through 2022

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5580-408: The fly. The boats were stopped only for driver changes and standard maintenance. After the record-setting run was completed, the motors were torn down and inspected for wear. They were found to be well within factory tolerances. For 1958, an enlarged version of this engine was introduced. The new "Mark 78" had 70 horsepower with 66 cubic inches of displacement. No "H" version was offered. Also in 1958,

5670-551: The formation of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman . The first series race followed in 1995. In 1996, the series was renamed the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to emphasize Craftsman's involvement. The series was first considered something of an oddity or a "senior tour" for NASCAR drivers, but eventually grew in popularity and has seen drivers move straight to the Cup Series without running

5760-841: The hope that people would come to watch races and that racers would race for him, as other organizers tended to fleece the winners of their payouts. This was a success, and the series was founded in 1948. Races were held in several divisions, which eventually morphed into what is the "ladder:" the Cup Series at the top, the Xfinity Series second, and the Truck Series third, with smaller series spread out below. Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota compete in each series. The vast majority of NASCAR drivers are American, but drivers from Canada, Mexico, Europe, and other places have competed. All Cup Series races are held across America. There are 36 points-paying races in

5850-414: The introduction of electronic ignition, another first that eventually became an industry standard. Carl Kiekhaefer resigned as President of Kiekhaefer Mercury in 1970, and the name was changed to Mercury Marine in 1972 . During this time, Mercury produced snowmobiles, like many other companies in the late 1960s. The first ones incorporated a 250 cc two-man chainsaw engine. In 1971, they came out with

5940-452: The mid-1950s, the company held the top market share, with 22 percent of the Japanese motorbike market. They also manufactured racing motorcycles and achieved success in Japan and abroad. Financial problems led to the discontinuation of Tohatsu motorcycle production in 1964. 1956 ushered in the production of the first Tohatsu Outboards (1.5 hp). Since then, Tohatsu outboards have served

6030-529: The mid-1960s, the vehicles were purpose-built race cars with a stock-appearing body. Early in NASCAR's history, foreign manufacturers had shown interest in entering the series; the British car manufacturer, MG , found a few of its vehicles entered, with some placing. For example, on August 16, 1963 in the International 200, Smokey Cook drove an MG to a 17th-place finish. The first NASCAR competition held outside

6120-544: The money before drivers were paid. 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. 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

6210-441: The nearest competitor 52 seconds. Mercury was awarded the contract, and was the world's largest chainsaw manufacturer by the end of the war. Kiekhaefer Mercury foresaw that the average American's interest in boating would increase after the war. Kiekhaefer introduced a 19.8 cubic inch, 10 horsepower (hp), two-cylinder alternate firing design engine at the 1947 New York Boat Show called the "Lightning" or KE-7. This engine, also called

6300-571: The original series sponsor's name with the notion of being bushwhacked. In May 2007, NNS director Joe Balash confirmed that NASCAR was exploring options to deal with the Buschwhacker controversy. One of the most often-cited proposals was for Cup Series drivers participating in the Nationwide Series to receive no points for their participation in a Nationwide race. In 2007, NASCAR chairman Brian France indicated that all options, except an outright ban of Cup competitors, were still being considered. On January 11, 2011, NASCAR.com reported that beginning with

6390-515: The past, NASCAR also sanctioned the AutoZone Elite Division, which raced late-model cars that were lighter and less powerful than Cup Series cars, and was originally split into four divisions: Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest. At the end of 2005, NASCAR announced that the AutoZone Elite Division would be discontinued after the 2006 season due to having trouble securing NASCAR-sanctioned tracks to successfully host AutoZone Elite Division events, plus escalating costs of competing and downsizing of

6480-531: The premier series title name became the Sprint Cup Series, as part of the merger between Nextel and Sprint . In 2011, NASCAR announced a number of major rules changes, the most significant being abandoning the points system. The winner of a race now receives 43 points, with one-point decrements for each subsequent position (42 for second, 41 for third, and so on). The winner also receives 3 bonus points, and single bonus points are awarded to all drivers who lead

6570-404: The race, the heavier cars got bogged down in the sand, while the lightweight Fords navigated the ruts of the course, eventually claiming the top 6 finishes for the race. Of the 27 cars that started the event, only 10 managed to survive the ordeal, as officials halted the event 10 miles (16 km) short of the scheduled 250-mile (400 km) distance. Driver Milt Marion was declared the winner, and

6660-450: The remaining spots will be filled based on the conventional points system. Monster Energy became the title sponsor in 2017, which changed the series' name to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. 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. After the 2019 season, NASCAR declined an offer from Monster Energy to remain

6750-640: The sponsorship in 2010. 2019 was the last season for both of the series before they are to go under the ARCA banner in 2020 as part of the unification of the NASCAR K&;N Pro Series East and West and the ARCA Menards Series. The series became known as the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West starting in 2020, meaning 2019 was also K&N's last year as the series title sponsor. In

6840-795: The title of "King of the Road". In the early 1950s, the United States Navy stationed Bill France Jr. , at the Moffett Federal Airfield in northern California. His father asked him to look up Bob Barkhimer in San Jose, California . Barkhimer was a star of midget car racing from the World War II era, and later ran about 22 different speedways as the head of the California Stock Car Racing Association. Young Bill developed

6930-494: The title sponsor of the top series. On December 5, NASCAR revealed their new sponsorship model. Instead of a singular title sponsor, four "premier partners" ( Coca-Cola , Xfinity , Busch Beer and GEICO ) would be closely affiliated with the top series, which was simply renamed the NASCAR Cup Series. The NASCAR Xfinity Series is the second-highest level of professional competition in NASCAR. The most recent series champion

7020-431: The top series were limited to five races per season. Furthermore, those same drivers are ineligible to run the regular season finale, NXS playoff races, or Dash 4 Cash races. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series features modified pickup trucks . It is one of the three national divisions of NASCAR, together with the Xfinity and Cup Series. The most recent series champion is Ben Rhodes in 2023. In 1994, NASCAR announced

7110-410: The top ten or within 400 points of the leader eligible to win the championship. In 2007, NASCAR announced it was expanding "The Chase" from ten to twelve drivers, eliminating the 400-point cutoff, and giving a ten-point bonus to the top twelve drivers for each of the races they have won out of the first 26. Wins throughout the season would also be awarded five more points than in previous seasons. In 2008,

7200-520: The valves occupied space already necessary for the main bearings instead of mounting to an extension of the crankcase, crankcase volume was minimized, resulting in a higher crankcase compression ratio, and more power in proportion to displacement than the competition. Mercury's first 6-cylinder engines featured "direct reversing". Instead of a lower unit with forward, neutral and reverse gears, its lower units were more compact, with only drive and driven gears, and no submerged shift mechanism required. Reverse

7290-510: The venture, France proceeded to announce a set of rules and awards for the NCSCC. France declared that the winner of the 1947 NCSCC season would receive $ 1000.00 (equivalent to $ 13645 in 2023) and a trophy. The season would begin in January 1947 at the Daytona Beach track, and conclude in Jacksonville the following December. Nearly 40 events were logged during the season, and attendance often exceeded

7380-445: The venue's capacity. The competitors were paid as promised, and by the end of the season, driver Fonty Flock was declared the season champion after winning 7 events of the 24 that he entered. Bill France delivered the $ 1000 and 4-foot high trophy to Flock at the end of the season, along with $ 3000 in prize money to other drivers who competed throughout the season. At the end of the 1947 season, Bill France announced that there would be

7470-419: Was adopted near industry-wide for both outboards and stern-drives. With Mercury Marine outboards typically having smaller displacement per horsepower and better fuel economy than the competition's motors, an ad ran in publications showing a Mercury-powered boat pulling an elephant on a large ski-like platform. The caption simply read "Mercury, pulls an elephant. Runs on peanuts." In 1961 the company merged with

7560-563: Was also a part of Mercury Marine, but as of October 2008 Brunswick Corp. sold MotoTron and its intellectual properties to Woodward Governor of Fort Collins, Colorado . SeaCore is a brand of sterndrive marine propulsion systems manufactured in the United States by MerCruiser. The SeaCore engine design utilizes materials, technologies, and systems, created specifically for Mercury Marine, to prevent galvanic corrosion within its engine, transom and drive. SeaCore propulsion includes models generating between 220 and 425 horsepower (317 kW). SeaCore

7650-461: 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. Initially, the cars were known as the "Strictly Stock Division" and raced with virtually no modifications on the factory models. This division was renamed the "Grand National" division beginning in the 1950 season. Over a period of more than a decade, modifications for both safety and performance were allowed, and by

7740-555: Was pointed out that that name was already in use by a rival sanctioning body, "National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing", proposed by mechanic Red Vogt , was selected as the organization's name. NASCAR was founded by William France, Sr. on February 21, 1948 with the help of several other drivers of the time. The original plans for NASCAR included three distinct divisions: Modified, Roadster, and Strictly Stock. The Modified and Roadster classes were seen as more attractive to fans. It turned out that NASCAR fans wanted nothing to do with

7830-470: Was selected by turning off the engine and restarting it in opposite rotation, and neutral by simply switching off. Mark 75s, like many of their smaller brethren, were available in an "H" (high speed) version. Many of these large H engines sported open headers for competition and produced 90 horsepower from 60 cubic inches. Two totally stock Mark 75s set a world endurance record on Lake X, running 50,000 miles at an average of 30.3 mph, while being re-fueled on

7920-549: Was the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series, NASCAR's highest level. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina , January 30, 2015. On March 8, 1936, a collection of drivers gathered at Daytona Beach, Florida . The drivers brought coupes , hardtops , convertibles, and sports cars to compete in an event to determine the fastest cars, and best drivers. Throughout

8010-471: Was the first of five consecutive titles in NBS/NNS that were won by Cup series regulars. The practice received criticism because it was thought to give the Cup Series teams an unfair advantage, and that the presence of the Cup Series drivers squeezes out Nationwide Series competitors who would otherwise be able to qualify. These dual-series drivers have been labeled " Buschwhackers ", a play on words which combines

8100-484: Was using dry paper air filters, which are still standard in automobiles today. When Kiekhaefer Mercury's top-of-the-line, 80 horsepower (74 cubic inch) model "Merc 800" was introduced for 1960, direct reversing as standard equipment was optionally replaced by full forward, neutral and reverse gear shifting, as on Mercury's 2- and 4-cylinder models, and "thru-hub" exhaust was introduced. Previously, as with other outboard brands and Mercury's smaller models, exhaust exited from

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