I got to see my first Nascar race in 1963, The Daytona 500. We got free tickets when we had the parts store and sold products that were used by the teams. My Dad was Service Manager at our local Ford dealership from 53 to 57. He was a Ford man. He thought that Ford only built one good engine, The flathead. We had auto related busineses until 1970, when he was elected Sheriff, which he served for almost 8 years. He passed away in 78. We had a parts store, a body shop, a radiator shop, a garage, and a battery-electric shop. We had a Sprint car in 1950(powered by a flathead), we sponsored Cars, and I did some Drag racing in the Stock classes in the middle to late 60s. We also attended the Indy 500 in the 50s and late 60s. We got free tickets for the race as well. We had some long drives to Florida and Indianapolis from the Texas Panhandle. I grew up in garages and my Dad learned to be a mechanic by working on Model Ts as a kid in the 20s and 30s. He came home after WW2 and opened his first garage. He was always a mechanic and a Ford man. It really hurt his feelings when I bought my first car, a 56 Chevy BelAir 2dr Ht.