The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the United States' largest sanction of motorsports. It is a family-run operation, founded by Bill France, Sr. in 1948. The current CEO is Brian France, the son of Bill France, Jr. who passed away in June 2007 at the age of 74.

NASCAR sanctions numerous racing series, including the Sprint Cup, the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. NASCAR holds 17 of the top 20 most attended sporting events in the U.S. and is broadcast in over 150 countries. NASCAR is the second most profitable motorsport behind only Formula One. The 2010 schedule started on February 14 with the Daytona 500 and ends 36 races later on November 21 in Homestead.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/

The 2001 Daytona 500 will forever be known as the race in which racing legend Dale Earnheart, Sr. lost his life in a traffic crash during the final lap of the race.

The closest race in NASCAR history (as of 2010) took place at Darlington Speedway between Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven on March 16, 2003. Craven won by a mere .02 seconds.

The Daytona 500 is the first race of the NASCAR season, and is considered the most prestigious race on the NASCAR schedule. It is run every February in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was first won in 1959 by Lee Petty. Richard Petty has won 7 Daytona 500's, capturing the checkered flag in 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, and 1981.http://nascar.about.com/library/bldaytona500winners.htm Petty has a total of 200 NASCAR victories.

The 52st Daytona 500 was held on February 14, 2010, and was won by Jamie McMurray in Car #1, followed by Dale Earnhart, Jr. in Car #88 and Greg Biffle in Car #16.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/1/data/results_official.html

• Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Bristol Motor Speedway
• California Speedway
• Chicagoland Speedway
• Darlington Raceway
• Daytona International Speedway
• Dover International Speedway
• Homestead-Miami Speedway
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Infineon Raceway
• Kansas Speedway
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Lowe's Motor Speedway
• Martinsville Speedway
• Michigan International Speedway
• New Hampshire International Speedway
• North Carolina Speedway
• Phoenix International Raceway
• Pocono Raceway
• Richmond International Raceway
• Talladega Superspeedway
• Texas Motor Speedway
• Watkins Glen International