As the hype of the 50th running of the Daytona 500 has taken over most media outlets, another milestone has been a bit overlooked.

This weekend’s events at the World Center of Racing are overshadowing the start of NASCAR’s 60th anniversary season.

On February 21, 1948 Bill France Sr. sat down with a group of drivers and promoters at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fl and organized stock car racing for good. The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing was incorporated on that day and history would never be the same.

Over 60 years NASCAR has endured a World War, ever changing technological advances, a migration from the Southeast, the loss of some of its biggest names and an unprecedented surge in popularity. In the last twenty years, television and sponsor deals have pushed NASCAR into the top tier of professional sports in America, while the tradition and competition that made this sport unique has remained.

Those men meeting at the Streamline Hotel that fateful day allowed generations of families and millions of people around the world to enjoy the sport that so many love. There is no doubt NASCAR, in its 60th year, is more popular than ever and is continuing to grow each day.