NASCAR A closer look

History: William H.G. "Bill" France founded the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) in 1948 to organize and promote a sport that had been run in ragtag fashion throughout the Southeast. He also founded International Speedway Corp. (ISC), a company that built two of the sport's most prominent tracks: Daytona International Speedway in 1959 and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in 1969.
Family matters: When France retired, he ceded power to his two sons. Bill France Jr. became NASCAR president, while Jim France took over as executive vice president and secretary, as well as president of ISC. The France family essentially controls NASCAR, though Mike Helton became the first non-family member to run day-to-day operations when he was installed as president in November 2000. Bill Jr. is now chairman of a five-member board of directors that includes his brother, Jim, children Brian France and Lesa France Kennedy, and Helton. ISC is a publicly traded company in which the France family controls approximately 62 percent of the stock, worth an estimated $1.2 billion.
Structure: The Winston Cup series is the sport's highest level. NASCAR also runs two major support series, Busch and Craftsman Truck, that help develop drivers.
Schedule: NASCAR modernized its schedule in 1972 and now runs 36 Winston Cup races around the country. The 2003 season begins with the Feb. 16 Daytona 500, its premier race, and ends with a Nov. 16 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Eighteen of those races are run at tracks that are owned or have a financial connection to ISC.
Television: NASCAR just completed the second season of a six-year, $2.8 billion deal with Fox and NBC. All Winston Cup races are televised live on the national networks or their cable partners. In 2002, NASCAR became the first sport since the NBA in 1994-96 to have back-to-back years in which ratings increased.
On the web: NASCAR's official site is www.nascar.com. ISC's official site is www.iscmotorsports.com.
-- Associated Press