Bootlegging in Appalachia wasn't just about moonshine; it was setting the stage for NASCAR racing that we know today. During prohibition, moonshiners in Appalachia would modify their car engines and remove passenger seats to carry as much liquor as possible to outrun law enforcement and deliver it to customers. What began as an operation to continue business became a spark for a new sport.
Moonshine was a lifeline for many families that had immigrated from Scotland and Ireland and brought their whiskey traditions to Appalachia. Turning corn into liquor soon became a Southern tradition.
However, during the prohibition, when all alcohol sales and production were halted, moonshiners saw an opportunity to continue their profit by delivering liquor to customers at high speed. With the federal ban on alcohol, these runners found a way to outrun the law.
The outside of the cars seemed inconspicuous, but they had souped-up engines, greater horsepower, reinforced suspensions, and specialized tires. These cars would influence the creation of Stock Cars, which were used in the first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race in a 1948 Daytona.
Even though prohibition ended in 1933, many southern states remained dry. So, bootlegging and outracing the law was still a way of life for many Appalachians.
Racing became a recreational activity for young southern men. In rodeos and county fairs, they were often supposed to use fresh off-the-lot cars, but in reality, they were the 100-mph souped-up Fords used by moonshiners.
The most notable bootlegger who took advantage of this new way to race is Junior Johnson, a Wilkes County, North Carolina native who learned to drive at age 13 to help his father put food on the table. In 1960, Johnson discovered a racing technique called "the draft." Where he would slip out of formation and "draft" to pass the race leader, this technique won Johnson the 1960 Daytona 500.
Johnson, who had won 50 races throughout his career, along with the invention of drafting, turned this bootlegger into an inaugural member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Before he passed away in December 2019, Johnson built a bootlegging exhibit in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., including an authentic Cooper moonshine still.
"Moonshiners put more time, energy, thought, and love into their cars than any racer ever will. Lose on the track and you go home. Lose with a load of whiskey and you go to jail." said Johnson for Esquire in 1965
Other former bootleggers inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame include Virginia natives Wendell Scott and Curtis Turner, as well as Georgia-born Tim Flock.
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