NASCAR (fictional)

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is an American business venture that sanctions and governs many auto racing sports events. Bill France, Sr. founded the company in 1948, his son, Bill France, Jr., took over in 1972, and his grandson, Brian France, was its CEO from 2003 to the end of the 2013 season, when he was fired and a young Valerie Peck took over, making her the company's first-ever CEO outside of the France family. NASCAR is motorsports' preeminent stock car racing organization. The eight largest racing series sanctioned by this company are the NASCAR Cup Series, the Arby's Convertible Series, the Xfinity Series, the Camping World Truck Series, the Kodak Supercar Series, the Monster Energy E-Series, the Dr. Pepper SUV Series, and the ARCA Menards Series. The company also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, the AutoZone Elite Division, the YTMND Drag Series, the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, and the NASCAR Ultimate Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 44 of the 50 US states as well as in Canada, Japan, Australia, Mexico and Europe. NASCAR has presented exhibition races at the Suzuka and Motegi circuits in Japan, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, and the Calder Park Thunderdome in Australia.

The company was acquired by ArgosyMTM Group on March 1, 2011. Initially, the company was allowed to remain autonomous, but poor decision-making by France and Mike Helton (according to Ellen Peck, chiefly rule changes that she saw as a method of rigging races in favor of certain drivers to sell merchandise on the online store) saw ArgosyMTM slowly take control, first in 2011 by beginning the design process of a new car (in the meantime, the ill-fated Car of Tomorrow was slightly redesigned with a spoiler in 2011, lower grille construction in 2012, and rule changes at the superspeedways in 2013 to make the controversial two-car tandem illegal), before taking complete control in 2014 when France and Helton were fired. NASCAR, under Peck, has experienced a major turnaround. One of the major changes was the replacement of the controversial Car of Tomorrow (or Gen-5 car) with a brand-new car known as the Strictly Stock Car (also known as the SSC or Gen-6 car; a new body for the Car of Tomorrow was used in the 2013 season).

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 international offices in London, Mexico City and Toronto. The final say in all corporate affairs, however, comes from Argosy headquarters in Seattle, WA. Owing to NASCAR's Southern roots, all but a handful of NASCAR teams are still based in North Carolina, especially near the city of Charlotte.

NASCAR is number one among professional sports franchises in terms of television viewers and fans in the United States. Internationally, its races are broadcast on television in over 150 countries. In 2004 and 2018, NASCAR's 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 that number dropped from 2008 to 2013, and picked up again starting in 2016.

Cup Series cars are unique in automobile racing. The engines are powerful enough to reach speeds of over 200 mph (320 km/h), but their weight coupled with a relatively simple aerodynamic package (based on the body styles of cars currently available for retail sale in the United States) make for poor handling. The bodies and chassis of the cars are strictly regulated to ensure parity, and electronics are traditionally spartan in nature.

Controversy
In 2018, sports betting and fantasy sports companies were banned from sponsoring NASCAR; in 2020, this ban was extended to cryptocurrency and blockchain services. This is rumoured to be mandated by ArgosyMTM CEO, Ellen Peck, who is known for hating these things and their “everpresent sponsorships in nearly every sport”.