Now this article is not a history lesson of the beginnings of NASCAR or it’s roots, so leave those expectations at the door. NASCAR was founded in 1947 and we all know the long, treasured history of those old, pre-war Ford V-8s and the Chrysler Hemis of the 60’s & 70’s. We are here to talk about the equally long and mostly unknown history of Foreign manufacturers racing in NASCAR. 

When NASCAR fans think of import brands in NASCAR, they think of the 2007 Cup Series debut of Toyota’s Camry, and…. well… Their thoughts end there. In reality, Imports have been running in NASCAR since (documented at least) 1953, and in fact, the next year, in 1954, Jaguar became the first manufacturer to win a NASCAR-sanctioned road course race at the Linden Air Port in New Jersey. There were 21 foreign cars in that race, 13 Jaguars, 5 MGs, 1 Morgan, 1 Austin Healey, and a Porsche 356. That Grand National (Today’s Cup Series) race was won by Al Keller in his Jaguar XK120 Coupe and represents the only time in the Sport’s history that a National Series race was won by a European Manufacture and the first time an import of any nationality won in the sport. And he won by nearly a whole lap.

NASCAR has seen Jaguars, a couple Porsche 356s and even a Volkswagen Beetle at the July 1953 Longhorn Speedway event and it’s miniscule 30hp engine powered it to an 18th place finish out of 30 entries. Not 1 but 2 Citroen ID-19s ran the June 1959 Crown America 500 at Riverside finishing 18th and 19th with their 70hp 4 Cylinder engines powering their front wheels. One of those cars even won it’s class (which I can find 0 information about).

Someone even started the 1968 Southern 250 at Nashville Fairgrounds in an Austin Mini (the original “Mini Cooper”). Other notable brands imported to NASCAR are Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Triumph, and probably even more than that! 

And to think, it took 54 years between that Jaguar’s first victory with Al Keller until Toyota’s 2008 Victory with Kyle Busch. Toyota today have 179 Cup Series victories and 3 Championships. But us fans owe it all to the beautiful curves of the Jaguar XK120 way back in 1954. 

*Disclaimer: Information from the early 50s and even into the 60s is very, very hard to come by. It appears that many tracks did not record the brands or models of some of the imports or even American cars at times. This smaller article took me nearly a full day and a half of research. Images and their credits are as well. I will continue to dig and add this information as I find it. ** Header Image: NASCAR Archives & Research Center *** Originally Posted to http://www.seriouslyfastmedia.com/home/a-long-history-of-un-american-cars-in-americas-biggest-motorsport#/ 1/5/2023