Moonshine Runners and the Roots of Stock Car Racing

National Prohibition began in 1920 and ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933. But illegal liquor did not disappear with repeal. In parts of the rural South, untaxed "moonshine" remained a profitable trade for decades, and moving it meant evading revenue agents and local law enforcement.

The ideal delivery car looked like any other family sedan or coupe. Underneath, it might have a stronger engine, heavier-duty suspension to carry a load, and a driver who knew every curve of the local roads by heart.

From the road to the track

Drivers and mechanics with these skills began racing each other at local dirt tracks, and promoters found eager crowds. Several drivers who became stars of early stock car racing had family or personal connections to the liquor trade.

The best-known example is Junior Johnson of Wilkes County, North Carolina. Johnson was convicted in 1956 of operating an illegal still and served time in federal prison before becoming one of NASCAR's most successful drivers and, later, team owners. He received a presidential pardon from Ronald Reagan in 1986.