"Moonshining" was a post-Prohibition phenomenon. It was driven as much by oddly restrictive liquor laws in the South - Byzantine and Baptist, all at once, with one set of rules for "Society", and another for " the lot of you". Making, and transporting, "white liquor", was a tough, dangerous business - and make no mistake, it was a business! If you hauled liquor for Mr. Raymond Parks (The Moonshine King of Atlanta), your "route" would take you from the hills of North Georgia to the Parks Novelty warehouse, whose nominal business was servicing vending machines in the Atlanta area. Dragging the cops along - or undue attention - was NOT part of the job!
Red Byron's gararge, in Atlanta, modified and prepared cars for both liquor haulers, and police. When asked whose cars were faster, Red would reply "The moonshiners paid cash!".
The Ford "flathead" V-8 was favored because of it's ability to stand extended periods of full power, which many of it's mid-30's competitors simply could not do! The simplicity, rugged design, and popularity of Ford cars, made them the best "base". To start with, the load of whiskey might weigh 1000#, and the car could'nt show outward signs of a load - a dead giveaway, under the circumstances. And it had to be faster than the "Sherrif"'s car, and better handling, while carrying 35-50% more weight! I've met one of Mr' Parks best "haulers" - NASCAR legend Tim Flock - and I would easily compare him to some of the leading lights of the international "Pro Rally" scene, like John Buffum, or Tim O'Neil. (Yes, I know those guys too!). "Stage Rally" is the most apt comparison in modern racing, to "whiskey tripping". Penalties for "speeding on transits", or missing a checkpoint, however, involved jail.
Robert "Junior" Johnson said that it was'nt until the early 1980's that "We got the race cars up to where our moonshine cars ran!" He was not talking about sheer speed, as much as the ability to run flat out, without any "mercy", with full loads, on virtually any road. "A hunnert and forty, on a bumpy 2 lane, with 6 volt headlights, feels like 300 mile an hour on the track!" Junior's favored combination was a 1940 Ford "humpback" sedan, with axles from a "3/4 ton" Ford pickup for durability and safety. (You could fit a LOT of liquor in a '40) "We'd get an engine out of a '50 Cadillac amb-a -lance, that was 200 horsepower stock, and put 2 (McCulloch) superchargers on it!"
So where did the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing come from? "Big" Bill France had driven in some pre-war races for Raymond Parks, and wanted to take racing to a higher level, on a national stage. Early race promoters were a shady lot, prone to taking off with the ticket money before the race was over, and making the rules up at whim. Bill's concept was that people wanted to see cars like they drove every day - literally, "stock" - racing at high speeds, as entertainment. One of the most important aspects of NASCAR is that the prize money promised and advertised as "Posted Awards" would, literally be "money in the bank", paid out as promised. The realities of the time were that the only cars available, and capable, of racing this way, were moonshine cars. NASCAR's first class was "Modified", and it took a couple years to round up enough "stock" cars for a "strictly stock" race. The first winner, was disqualified for overload springs on the rear ("standard" on a moonshine car). France's vision called for for bigger tracks, and larger crowds, with substantial "banking" in the turns to increase speed (and visibility) The first "superspeedway" was built in Darlington, SC.
The rebel flags and epic drinking events, come from the spectator side of the sport. Oval racing is a blue-collar sport, and in the deep South, that's not always nice! Big Bill's ambitions as a promoter led him to play footsie with racist politicans, particularly George Wallace, to secure land and funding for the biggest tracks, at Daytona, and Talladega, Alabama. Wendell Scott bore the brunt of a lot of the racisim - like not getting the trophy, or the checkered flag, as the only Black man to win a "Grand National" race to this day! France was so scared of the crowd reaction, that he would'nt acknowledge Scott's win until the crowd left! Wendell was a brilliant mechanic, and could have easily gone to work for several top teams - but he was determined to make his own way. He did get "behind the scenes" help from Cale Yarborough, in particular, and his friend & neighbor, Richard Petty. Richard was famously frugal, and he would "rib" his friend "How come we spend all this money, and you run so good?" Scott put his 4 kids through college "out of Daddy's wallet". "Bubba" Wallace, the only AA driver currently competing, drives for Richard Petty Motorsports.
An interesting aside Frank "Rebel" Mundy was the "nom de race" of Frank Munoz. It was a common practice at the time, especially in the Northeast, where Polish and Armenian, or inconvenient surnames were "resized" by, circumstance, announcers and sign painters. "Bugs Stevens" was Carl Steven Bergman, when he enlisted in the Army, but the Army took a dim view of racing at the time, so "Bugsy" was called into service. LeMans competitor Phil Walters "slummed" as Ted Tappet.
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