History - When Bill France Sr. organized NASCAR in 1947, most people thought he was just playing in the sand. It took nearly 50 years for many to realize he was actually mining for gold.

France called the first organizational meeting of what would become NASCAR on Dec. 14, 1947, at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach. From that meeting, the group organized races that would be run on the Daytona beach/road course. The races had to be timed between the tides, allowing the field enough room to race and those watching to have a relatively safe viewing point.

Every race in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series has its own history. From Jim Paschal's 1961 Nashville 500 victory at the half-mile Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds dirt track to John Andretti grabbing his first NASCAR Winston Cup victory at Daytona International Speedway in the 1997 Pepsi 400 each race has its own set of memories.

Since the beginning of stock car auto racing, women have been making important contributions to the sport from inside the car and the garage as well as those who work behind the scenes at the tracks and with the teams.

There are not many sports in the United States that can boast the rich family heritage that has been part of NASCAR since its inception. Some of the the more famous names such as Petty, Earnhardt and France go back to the days of racing on the beach at Daytona while others such as Bodine and Green represent current sibling rivalries that makes the sport interesting for fans to follow.

With the end of the 2000 season now behind us, it's time to take a brief look at the top ten drivers in the Winston Cup Series:

• #1 Bobby Labonte
• #2 Dale Earnhardt
• #3 Jeff Burton
• #4 Dale Jarrett
• #5 Ricky Rudd
• #6 Tony Stewart
• #7 Rusty Wallace
• #8 Mark Martin
• #9 Jeff Gordan
• #10 Ward Burton

As the curtain falls on another successful NASCAR Winston Cup Season, we find ourselves with time to reflect on the past season and the changes that next year will bring. It seems unusual that 2001 that several significant events will occur as we move fully into the new Millennium. As everyone is aware, Chrysler will return to the Winston Cup Series after an all too long absence. Also, this year marks the beginning of a new era in television broadcasting of the sport as NASCAR moves to a full major network broadcast agreement with FOX and NBC. Finally, for the first time in NASCAR's history, someone named France is not at the helm of the day to day business.

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