Where NASCAR Was Born

Fate landed me in central North Carolina, a place where civic leaders are still avidly anti-skateboarding.  I'm sure many of the politicians and business leaders who happen to come across this book blog will have serious issues with the idea that skateboarders and similar "adrenaline junkie extreme sports athletes" could possible help build the struggling economies here and in the rest of The South.  Most of the people with that attitude likely are fans of NASCAR.  This area of North Carolina was a central part of the moonshine running scene, or corn liquor as they call it here.  Those suped up cars hauling illegal liquor during Prohibition spawned stock car racing, now known simply as NASCAR to most.

What started with outlaws like Charlie Mincey above, led to the most popular sport in this part of the country, though college football and basketball come close.  For those of you not familiar with the story, here's a great, quick, history of NASCAR. My point here is that outlaws, in some cases, wind up being pioneers that lead to whole industries and sports.  New industries, new businesses, new jobs, better economy.