We make this claim based on the experience of Beef Jerky Outlet stores on a direct path to NASCAR tracks around the USA. Stores like BJO Dundee, MI and BJO Concord, NC are preferred pit stops for NASCAR fans on the way to the races. Many other stores are close to NASCAR circuits and experience an increase in traffic on race days. BJO Franchise Partners know their customers, and we talk a lot of NASCAR. This may all be anecdotal, but the anecdotes sure seem to pile up!

NASCAR DAY was first observed in 2003 and is closely associated with the NASCAR Foundation, whose charitable initiatives benefit children’s health. Betty Jane France started the NASCAR Foundation in 2006. Betty passed away in 2016.  She was the wife of “Little Bill” France, former NASCAR CEO and son of NASCAR founder “Big Bill” France. The story of NASCAR and its emergence as the most popular live spectator sport in the USA is fascinating.

Bill France, Sr. was the visionary founder of NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. In 1948 Bill organized drivers, mechanics and sponsors into an organization that would guarantee high standards of safety and financial integrity. Prior to “Big Bill” stock car racing had a less than savory reputation and was not considered family friendly. Unscrupulous agents would make off with the prize money and safety did not come first. Bill France, Sr. fixed all that.

Automobile racing is as old as cars. Henry Ford won the 1901 “Sweepstakes” race and founded the Ford Motor Company less than two years later. The so-called “common man” was not about to be left out of the thrill of driving over a hundred miles an hour. Two events came together to make the “stock car” an American icon. First, in 1918 “Prohibition” banned the commercial sale of alcohol and was in effect until late 1933.

Folks living in the Appalachians and parts of the South had a centuries-old tradition of distilling “moonshine” whiskey. Prohibition made moonshine whiskey more valuable than ever, and the traditional distillers were soon racing over country roads in Model T pickups to avoid the sheriff and bring their goods to market.

The second event was Henry Ford’s introduction of an economically priced V8 roadster that changed driving forever. The new V8 Ford could be modified into a “stock car” able to outrace any sheriff or government tax collector. A new culture of drivers, mechanics and moonshine distillers was born. In the 1930’s, and then after World War 2, stock car racing became a popular spectator sport. Many of the original stock car drivers had honed their high-speed driving skills delivering moonshine over treacherous mountain backroads.

Bill France organized NASCAR in 1948, and stock car racing became more lucrative than delivering moonshine. Instead of speeding over lonely dirt roads, modern NASCAR drivers show off their skills in front of crowds as large as a couple hundred thousand. NASCAR fans and Beef Jerky Outlet customers are often the same people. NASCAR is now America’s great outdoor family friendly event.

At Beef Jerky Outlet, we have a special flavor that harkens back to the pre-NASCAR origins of stock car racing. Our Bootlegger line features Smoky Moonshine Traditional Beef Jerky. Some traditions live on. (Family friendly note:  “moonshine” is just for flavor, no alcohol content!) Stop by a Beef Jerky Outlet store on the way to the NASCAR races and select a traditional jerky snack from over 100 flavors. Ladies and gentlemen . . . start your engines!