The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), founded in 1948 by William H.G. France, is the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States.

NASCAR's three major series - Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck - compete weekly from February to November, and NASCAR oversees developmental stock car series on the East and West coasts, two modified divisions and regional racing. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,500 races at 100 tracks in 39 states, Canada and Mexico.

The fan base is 75 million strong, equal to one in three U.S. adults, and spends some $3 billion annually on licensed products. Of the 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S., 17 of them are NASCAR races.

Trailing only the National Football League in TV ratings, NASCAR is televised in more than 150 countries and can be seen via 30 broadcast partners in places including the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim, the Middle East and Africa. In all, NASCAR broadcast partners air more than 4,000 hours of NASCAR-related programming internationally.

All but a handful of NASCAR teams call Charlotte, N.C., home, but the sanctioning body's headquarters are located in Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR also maintains offices in and around Charlotte, New York, Los Angeles, Arkansas and international offices in Mexico City and Toronto.