1.
Birmingham, Alabama
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Birmingham is the most populous city in the U. S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Jefferson County. The citys population was 212,237 in the 2010 United States Census, the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of about 1,128,047 according to the 2010 Census, which is approximately one quarter of Alabamas population. Birmingham was founded in 1871, during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and it was named for Birmingham, England, one of the UKs major industrial cities. The Alabama city annexed smaller neighbors and developed as an industrial and railroad center, based on mining, the new iron and steel industry. Most of the settlers who founded Birmingham were of English ancestry. From its founding through the end of the 1960s, Birmingham was an industrial center of the southern United States. Its growth from 1881 through 1920 earned its nicknames as The Magic City and its major industries were iron and steel production, plus a major component of the railroading industry. Rails and railroad cars were manufactured in Birmingham. The two primary hubs of railroading in the Deep South have been nearby Atlanta and Birmingham, since the 1860s, the economy has diversified since industrial restructuring in the latter half of the 20th century. Banking, telecommunications, transportation, electrical transmission, medical care, college education. Except for coal mining, the industry has declined in the Birmingham area, Birmingham ranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States and as one of the largest banking centers in the nation. In higher education, Birmingham has been the location of the University of Alabama School of Medicine, since that time it has also gained the University of Alabama at Birmingham, one of three main campuses of the University of Alabama System. It is also home to three institutions, Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College, and Miles College. In total, the Birmingham area has major colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy, law, engineering, the city has three of the states five law schools, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, and Miles Law School. Birmingham is also the headquarters of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Southeastern Conference, Birmingham was founded on June 1,1871, by the Elyton Land Company, whose investors included cotton planters, bankers and railroad entrepreneurs. It sold lots near the crossing of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North Alabama railroads. The first business at that crossroads was the trading post and country store operated by Marre, the site of the railroad crossing was notable for its proximity to nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone – the three main raw materials used in making steel. Birmingham is the only place worldwide where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in close proximity, from the start the new city was planned as a center of industry
2.
Mooresville, North Carolina
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Mooresville is a town in southern Iredell County, North Carolina, USA. It is in the Metrolina metro area, and is on Lake Norman, the population was 32,711 at the 2010 United States Census. It is located approximately 25 miles north of Charlotte, also located in Mooresville is the corporate headquarters of Lowes Companies and Universal Technical Institutes NASCAR Technical Institute. Mooresville is also an owner of the cable television entity MI-Connection Communication System along with Davidson. Mooresville is located at 35°35′4″N 80°49′13″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.7 square miles, of which,14.7 square miles of it is land and 0.04 square miles of it is water. Many were seeking new lands on which to establish farms, many of the early families such as the Wilsons, Davidsons, Cowans, Sherrills, Torrances, and others came to the area as early as the mid-1700s. They formed small communities that grew into the community known as Deep Well. Many of these families established farms, primarily of cotton. Major Rufus Reid was considered by far the most successful planter in the area and his plantation was known as Mount Mourne Plantation, and was named after the Mourne mountains of Co Down Northern Ireland. Several other historic plantation homes set in the area as well, such as the elegant Johnson-Neel House, the Cornelius House, Forest Dell Plantation, and the colonial era Belmont Plantation. In 1856, a railroad was placed on a ridge that happened to go through the land of a local farmer by the name of John Franklin Moore. A small scale planter, Moore set up a Depot on his land, the little village, known as Moores Siding was born. The Civil War hampered developments however, with the track being removed to aid the Confederate efforts in Virginia. After the war, the tracks were returned, and Moores Siding slowly began to prosper, shortly after the Civil War, John Franklin Moore saw the need for the village to incorporate into a town. The town was incorporated as Mooresville in 1873, mr. Moore also helped to establish the first brick making factory in Mooresville, and built some of the first brick buildings on Main Street. Mr. Moore died in 1877 and his wife, Rachel Summrow Moore, in 1883 the railroad lines were run back through the town with the addition of a new depot. In 1938, artist Alicia Weincek painted the mural, North Carolina Cotton Industry, from textile mills to NASCAR, over the years, many business and industries have called Mooresville home. One of the notable being, a professional minor league baseball team
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
NASCAR
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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is an American family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto-racing sports events. Bill France Sr. founded the company in 1948 and his grandson Brian France became its CEO in 2003, NASCAR is motorsports preeminent stock-car racing organization. The three largest racing-series sanctioned by this company are the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, the company also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, the Whelen All-American Series, and the NASCAR iRacing. com Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 of the 50 US states as well as in Canada. NASCAR has presented exhibition races at the Suzuka and Motegi circuits in Japan, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, NASCAR has its official headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida, and also maintains offices in the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Concord, and Conover. Regional offices are located in New York City and Los Angeles, with offices in Mexico City. Owing to NASCARs Southern roots, all but a handful of NASCAR teams are based in North Carolina. NASCAR is second to the National Football League among professional sports franchises in terms of television viewers, internationally, its races are broadcast on television in over 150 countries. In 2004, NASCARs Director of Security stated that the company holds 17 of the Top 20 regularly attended single-day sporting events in the world, fortune 500 companies sponsor NASCAR more than any other motor sport, although this sponsorship has declined since the early-2000s. By the time the Bonneville Salt Flats became the location for pursuit of land speed records. Drivers raced on a 4. 1-mile course, consisting of a 1. 5–2. 0-mile stretch of beach as one straightaway, the two straights were connected by two tight, deeply rutted and sand covered turns at each end. Stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition, bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity, the cars continued to improve, and by the late 1940s, races featuring these cars were being run for pride and profit. These races were popular entertainment in the rural Southern United States, most races in those days were of modified cars. Street vehicles were lightened and reinforced, mechanic William France Sr. moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, D. C. in 1935 to escape the Great Depression. He was familiar with the history of the area from the speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth and he took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II, France had the notion that people would enjoy watching stock cars race
5.
Fox NASCAR
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Fox NASCAR, also known as NASCAR on Fox, is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races produced by Fox Sports and have aired on the Fox network in the United States since 2001. Throughout its run, FOXs coverage of NASCAR has won thirteen Emmy Awards, Fox and FX would alternate coverage of all races held during the first half of the season, while NBC and TNT would air all races held during the second half. For balance, the network that did not air the 500 in a year during the contract would air Daytonas summer night race. Valued at $2.4 billion, Fox/FX held the rights to this contract for eight years. During the first half of the season, FX served as the broadcaster of the Busch Series, airing all but the most prestigious races. FX was also home to most of the NASCAR Cup Series night races, the All-Star Race, should a Fox-scheduled race be rained out on their scheduled race day and rescheduled to resume the following Monday, FX would simulcast the race with some of Foxs affiliates. Fox Sports Net covered the 2001 Gatorade Twin 125s at Daytona International Speedway, the rights would be divided as follows, Fox became the exclusive broadcaster of the Daytona 500 and also hold the rights to the first thirteen points paying races. In addition, the network carried the Sprint Unlimited and two Truck Series races, Fox did not air any races of what is now the Camping World Truck Series from 2010 to 2013, with all 25 races instead airing on Speed. Foxs 2011 coverage ended with the STP400 at Kansas Speedway, TNT carried six NASCAR Cup Series races during the month of June and the first half of July, including the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. In 2013, in particular, the network aired Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, Kentucky Speedway, the Coke Zero 400, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. ESPN and ABC carried the final seventeen NASCAR Cup Series races from the Brickyard 400 through the end of the season, after the 2009 season, all the Truck races aired on Speed/FS1 – with the exception of the 2014 Talladega race, which aired on Fox. Fox had previously held rights to three races under its initial 2001–06 contract. Under the current deal, Fox broadcasts ten points races over the air, NBC also airs the remaining races in the Xfinity Series from the Subway Firecracker 250 through Homestead-Miami. Chase Races on NBC is a lead in to NBC Sunday Night Football, the Camping World Truck Series remains exclusively on Fox Sports 1, with the Talladega race broadcast on Fox. Chris Myers – host Jeff Gordon – analyst Darrell Waltrip – analyst Michael Waltrip – analyst For all of its broadcasts, for the 2001 to 2007 races held at Daytona International Speedway, the infield media center situated next to Gatorade Victory Lane was used instead. If the race is delayed to a Monday, the Hollywood Hotel studio is usually not used, with the exception of the 2012 Daytona 500, which was delayed by one day. This was because Myers also hosted a talk-show for Fox Sports Radio, John Roberts filled in for Myers for this particular race, and had also filled in for Myers the previous week for the Budweiser Shootout as Myers was on bereavement leave. However, if a Saturday night race is rained out to Sunday then the studio will be in use for the delayed coverage, prior to 2015, if the Hotel was no longer available, Jeff Hammond could be shifted to substitute for a pit reporter or analyst if necessary
6.
Daytona 500
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The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero 400 and it is one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, the Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse. Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. It is also the series first race of the year, this phenomenon is unique in sports. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers, the race serves as the final event of Speedweeks and is sometimes known as The Great American Race or the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing. All 59 runnings of the race have been held in the month of February, from 1971 to 2011, it was associated with Presidents Day weekend, taking place on the Sunday before the third Monday in February. Beginning in 2012, the race was pushed up a week, because of inclement weather conditions on February 26, the 2012 Daytona 500 was postponed until the evening of Monday, February 27. The 2013 Daytona 500 was held on February 24, the first time the race was held on the last Sunday of February, the race is the direct successor of shorter races held on the Daytona Beach Road Course. This long square was partially on the sand and also on the highway near the beach, earlier events featured 200-mile races with stock cars. Eventually, a 500-mile stock car race was held at Daytona International Speedway in 1959 and it was the second 500-mile NASCAR race, following the annual Southern 500, and has been held every year since. By 1961, it began to be referred to as the Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway is 2.5 miles long and a 500-mile race requires 200 laps to complete. However, the race is considered official after half its distance has been completed, the race has been shortened four times due to rain and once in response to the energy crisis of 1974. Since the adaptation of the green–white–checker finish rule in 2004, the race has gone past 500 miles on seven occasions,1959, Lee Petty, patriarch of the racing family, won the inaugural Daytona 500 on February 22,1959, defeating Johnny Beauchamp. 1965, The first rain-shortened Daytona 500 was the 1965 event, fred Lorenzen was in the lead when the race was called on lap 133 of 200. 1966, Richard Petty becomes the first two-time winner, having won the 1964 race. Through 2015, only 11 drivers have won 2 or more Daytona 500s,1967, Mario Andretti led 112 of the 200 laps including the last 33 to capture his first and only win in the Cup Series. 1968, For much of race, both Cale Yarborough and LeeRoy Yarbrough traded the lead
7.
1992 Daytona 500
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The 1992 Daytona 500, the 34th running of the event, was held February 16 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Sterling Marlin won the pole, driving the No.22 Ford for Junior Johnson & Associates, Richard Petty gave the command to start the engines from the cockpit of the famous #43 Pontiac for his team in his final appearance in the race as a driver. This would also be the final Daytona 500 start for 1972 winner A. J, foyt, who would also start his final Indianapolis 500 later that year. It also marked the debut of Joe Gibbs Racing in the form of the green and black No.18 Chevrolet, the initial part of the race was clean, though Geoff Bodine and Morgan Shepherd touched exiting Turn 4 with no further incident. Davey Allisons crew gambled with a change, but caught a lucky break when Geoff Bodine was penalized for speeding. Rain fell after 80 laps, and when the race restarted Ernie Irvan went for the lead on lap 92. He came up in front of Sterling Marlin, but had not cleared him, the ensuing mayhem collected polesitter Sterling Marlin, Ernie Irvan, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Ken Schrader and Dale Earnhardt. Also, Bobby Hillin Jr. Dale Jarrett, Alan Kulwicki, Chad Little, Richard Petty, Hut Stricklin, Rusty Wallace, the wreck ended the race for Jarrett, Schrader, Marlin, Hillin, and Little, with their cars being terminally damaged. On Lap 144 Rick Wilson was planning to pit the Stavola Brothers Ford and this brought out the third yellow flag in the race. On Lap 166 Ernie Irvans crippled car spun to bring out the caution flag. Leaders Allison, Shepherd, and Michael Waltrip made their final stops, Waltrip fell back after the restart with an engine that was quitting. This left the two Ford Thunderbirds of Allison and Shepherd to race for the win, finishing in this order and this win made the Allisons the second father-son duo to win the Daytona 500, joining Lee and Richard Petty. Alan Kulwicki finished a fourth which kicked off an unlikely championship run. Racing Champions ran a promotion for the race and gave out a 3-car gift set of the top 3 finishers, Davey Allison, Morgan Shepherd, there are some packs that came with errors that had Bodine listed in second but in the same order on the box. The package is considered today, but can still be found in some novelty shops. Richard Petty ran a promotion where he ran a diecast car of race he ran in 1992 season. Foyt ran diecast cars for both the Daytona 500 and his final Indy 500 that year, the winning car Davey Allison used was auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson car auction complete with the winning drivers trophy and driving uniform. Since this Daytona 500, the leader of lap 100 has never gone on to win the race, kyle Petty, son of Richard and grandson of Lee, posted what would be his best Daytona 500 result in 27 starts
8.
Davey Allison
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David Carl Davey Allison was a NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the No.28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the Winston Cup Series, born in Hollywood, Florida, he was the eldest of four children born to Bobby Allison and wife Judy. The family moved to Hueytown, Alabama, and along with Bobbys brother Donnie Allison, family friend Red Farmer, growing up, Allison participated in athletics, preferring football, but was destined, like many children of racers, to become a racer himself. He began his career in 1979 at Birmingham International Raceway and notched his first win in just his sixth start and he became a regular winner at BIR and by 1983, was racing in the Automobile Racing Club of America series. Allison won both ARCA events at his track, Talladega Superspeedway in 1983, and was named ARCA Rookie of the Year in 1984. That same year, he married his first wife, Deborah, Allison continued racing in the ARCA series in 1985 and eventually notched eight wins in the series, four at Talladega Superspeedway. He also began competing in some of NASCARs lower divisions and in July 1985, Allison qualified Ellingtons Chevrolet 22nd and finished 10th in his first Winston Cup start. This impressive showing earned Davey more Winston Cup opportunities in 1986 where he would sub for injured friend, prior to the 1987 season, car owner Harry Ranier tapped Davey to replace veteran driver Cale Yarborough in the Ranier-Lundy No.28 Ford Thunderbird. Yarborough was leaving the Ranier-Lundy team to start his own operation along with the teams sponsor, Ranier negotiated a sponsorship deal with Texacos Havoline motor oil brand, a deal that was signed during the NASCAR edition of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. A pit miscue which allowed a rear tire to fall off on the track ended his hopes of a finish in the race. May 3,1987 would become a day in NASCAR history. Earlier in the week, Bill Elliott had qualified his No.9 Coors-Melling Ford Thunderbird at a record 212.809 mph for the Winston 500 at the unlighted Talladega Superspeedway. Davey Allison would qualify third, while father Bobby would start second alongside Elliott in the Stavola Brothers No.22 Miller Buick, on lap 22 of the event, Bobby Allison ran over a piece of debris, cutting his right-rear tire. The car turned sideways, lifted into the air, became airboirne, the car landed back on the track and collected a number of other competitors. Davey was ahead of his father at the time and saw the crash unfold in his mirror, Bobby Allison was not injured, but the crash slightly injured several spectators and the race was red-flagged for two hours and thirty-eight minutes. It was this event that triggered the requirement of smaller carburetors, when the race resumed, Davey continued to run up front and when Elliott exited the race with engine failure, Daveys toughest competition was eliminated. With darkness falling on the Talladega Superspeedway during a caution flag. Running second on the restart, Davey passed leader Dale Earnhardt on the backstretch, in winning the race, Davey became the first rookie since Ron Bouchard in 1981 to win a Winston Cup event
9.
1998 Daytona 500
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The 1998 Daytona 500, the 40th running of the event, was held on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was memorable in that it marked Dale Earnhardts only Daytona 500 victory after 19 previous attempts, not only was it Earnhardts 20th 500 start, but also CBSs 20th consecutive live broadcast of the Daytona 500. Also, his long-awaited Daytona 500 win snapped a 59-race winless streak dating back to Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 1996, the race was remarkably clean for a restrictor plate race. There were only three cautions - all of which were for minor incidents, and there was a pit stop incident involving Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Derrike Cope, the race was run under the green flag for the first 125 laps. This resulted in it being the second-fastest Daytona 500 ever, behind the 1980 Daytona 500 won by Buddy Baker, the standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the high speed tri-oval, such as a 3. 56-mile sports car course. The tracks 180-acre infield includes the 29-acre Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing, the speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation. The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course, the speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004, and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010. The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar. It is also the series first race of the year, this phenomenon is unique in sports. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers. Bobby Labonte won the position for the Daytona 500 with a time a 46.776 seconds. Sterling Marlin qualified third winning the first Gatorade Twin 125 and Dale Earnhardt qualified fourth winning the second Twin 125, the race began with emphasis on NASCARs 50th Anniversary Celebration. The pre-race show on CBS featured some of the greatest Daytona 500 finishes in recent memory, kansas Governor Bill Graves gave the command for drivers to start their engines and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino waved the green flag to start the race. In the mid stage of the event, green flag pit stops were still in progress with Jeff Gordon leading, ward Burton cut down a tire, leaving debris on the track. This would bring out the first caution, late in the race with a possibility of a second round of green flag stops, John Andretti and Robert Pressley made contact in turn 2and both spun out, which brought out the second caution. During pit spots, Dale Earnhardt came out first, Michael Waltrip had a penalty after running over a hose while pitting, Dale Earnhardt led Bobby Labonte and Jeremy Mayfield heading into turn 2. With 1½ laps, the three came up on the car of Rick Mast
American