Who is the Godfather of NASCAR?

The inception of NASCAR is a testament to how hard work and perseverance can build a legacy greater than all others. In 1947, Bill France made it his dream and life’s work to shed legitimacy to the realm of stock car racing. France had been a racer before the Second World War and wanted to make racing more unified and help drivers get paid fairly.

Sitting with over 40 drivers, car owners, mechanics, and journalists in the Ebony Room of Streamline Hotel, Daytona, France held the first ever NASCAR Organisation meeting. Red Byron, the driver, and Raymond Parks, the car owner, were present during his meeting as well. Accompanying them was their mechanic, Red Vogt, who coined the term NASCAR.

Godfather of NASCAR

Raymond Parks has been known as the Godfather of NASCAR to many. Parks was one of the selected few present during the first-ever NASCAR meeting. His status as a wealthy man and car owner provided the much-needed financial support NASCAR needed in its initial years.

NASCAR was only able to become the largest sanctioned body of stock car racing in the United States due to the support and hard work of Parks and his colleagues. Parks as a team owner along with driver, Red Byron, and mechanic, Red Vogt, won the first two NASCAR Championships. Though Parks’ team only competed in the series for just four seasons, his impact has enshrined his name in the NASCAR Hall of Fame forever.

Raymond Parks sadly passed away in 2010, at the age of 96, as the last living member of the group that created NASCAR. He amassed his wealth as a moonshiner before World War II, this was an alcohol bootlegging business. Still to this day, many accredited Parks as the reason NASCAR exists, his initial funding is the only reason NASCAR was able to sustain itself during its early years.