Back during prohibition moonshiners were making a hefty profit selling their illegal alcohol to thirsty speakeasy patrons. The demand for moonshine increased drastically during prohibition and tripled in price. Before prohibition the standard price of moonshine was $1.50/gallon but after prohibition the illegal moonshiners were able to fetch $4.50/gallon. Suddenly moonshining turned into a lucrative business opportunity for hobby distillers in the Appalachian region of the country.

Naturally, moonshiners needed to get their product to the market. If they were caught, not only would they lose their large profit, they would likely have their still operation raided and their operation shut down. So out of necessity moonshiners modified their cars to better transport their moonshine. They needed their cars to be outfitted to run fast and haul heavy loads. Heavy duty springs for suspension were added to make cars full of booze or 50 pound bags of sugar look normal. Engines were tweaked to get the most power possible, extra fuel tanks were added to go longer distances, anything the moonshiners could modify to give them an edge over standardized police cars was done.

Not only did moonshiners need a well built car, but it was also necessary to have a skilled driver that was able to outdrive and outsmart the law. Bragging rights began to flood towns and moonshiners felt the need to have an informal race to determine which moonshiners were best. By the end of the 40s, the races became well organized and in 1948 standardized rules were put in place and the association of NASCAR was born.