IN THE BEGINNING
Bill France Sr. organizes a meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla., to discuss the future of stock car racing founding the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).
Jim Roper wins the race held at Charlotte (N.C.) Fairgrounds Speedway, Bob Flock wins the first pole and Sara Christian, who finishes 14th, is credited as the first woman to race in NASCAR’s Cup Series.
More than 41,000 fans are in attendance for the inaugural event at the high-banked 2.5-mile track, in which the winner isn’t decided until 61 hours after the checkered flag flies, as the result of a dramatic photo finish. Lee Petty is declared the winner by two feet after conclusive evidence from a photo taken by T. Taylor Warren, a Squier-Hall Media Excellence Award recipient at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, reviewed by Bill France Sr.
She qualifies 39th and finishes 12th.
A show not soon to be forgotten, as Richard Petty avoids an incident between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison on the last lap to win the race. With Petty racing by to take the checkered flag, Yarborough, Donnie Allison and Bobby Allison are involved in a fight in the infield grass, between Turns 3 and 4.
Kennedy, daughter of Bill France Jr., was instrumental in the growth of ISC and the advancement of motorsports, she earned a seat on the Board of Directors for ISC. Since then, she's moved on currently serving as Executive Vice Chairperson of NASCAR.
He would join Richard Petty as the second driver in series history to do so, clinching the title at Rockingham (N.C.).
The series becoming known as the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. A new format is implemented to determine the series champion and is known as the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series).
An organization created to support causes that work to improve the lives of children in need. The NASCAR Foundation is a national charity that impacts children’s lives through the Speediatrics Children’s Fund and the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. The NASCAR foundation is dedicated to enhancing the delivery of health and wellness programs and services to children in our racing communities.
Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson were all members of the inaugural class.
With his record-tying seventh NASCAR Cup Series title, he joins NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the series leaders with seven championships.
NASCAR announced a seven-year media rights agreements for the NASCAR Cup Series with four best-in-class distribution partners — FOX Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon’s Prime Video and TNT Sports, a division of Warner Bros. Discovery — to deliver live coverage of all 38 NASCAR Cup Series races beginning in 2025 and extending through the 2031 season. Prime Video exclusively streaming five Cup Series races and nearly half of Cup Series practice and qualifying represents the streaming platform’s first foray into live motorsports.
In 2025, the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Mexico Series will race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. The Xfinity Series raced at the same track from 2005-08, and the Mexico Series has been racing at the facility and across Mexico for many years. NASCAR has racing series in Brasil, Canada and Europe, in addition to Mexico, which serve as competitive talent pathways to NASCAR’s National Series. The addition of Mexico City to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, will be the first Cup race outside of the United States, since a series of exhibition races from 1993-98 in Japan and only the second time, a points-earning race was held outside of the United States (Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 18, 1958).
NASCAR’s annual preseason race was again reimagined as The Clash moved from one historic stadium to another. After three years at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the 2025 season kicked off inside Bowman Gray Stadium — a cozy 0.25-mile bullring in Winston-Salem. North Carolina, that had last hosted a Cup Series race in 1971.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps was named the Commissioner of NASCAR, a newly created role overseeing all aspects of America’s top motorsport. Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell was named as Phelps’ successor as NASCAR President, making him only the sixth president in the sport’s 77-year history.
In an evolution of O’Reilly Auto Parts’ long-standing relationships throughout the sport, NASCAR and O’Reilly Auto Parts announced on August 18, 2025 a multiyear partnership — one that will make the leader in the automotive replacement parts industry the title sponsor of what was now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series. This landmark partnership aligns two American-born powerhouses, each with a rich legacy of fueling performance and passion from the grassroots up. The multi-dimensional sponsorship also includes promotional opportunities and brand integrations in partnership with The CW Network, the exclusive broadcast home of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
The agreement marks the fourth entitlement sponsorship in the series’ history, following a dynamic 11-year tenure with Xfinity that elevated the series to new heights with unprecedented fan engagement, innovation and exposure.