Is NASCAR's true 'home' in Charlotte or in Daytona? It depends on how you look at it.

So, where was stock car racing born?

North Wilkesboro Speedway opened on May 18, 1947, before both the inaugural Daytona Beach race and the first Cup Series race at Charlotte Speedway — and was a product of people outrunning law enforcement to illegally transport liquor.

Wilkes County, once known as the “Moonshine Capital of the World,” was a leading producer of illegal homemade liquor during the prohibition era. Many of the sport’s first stars cut their teeth illegally hauling moonshine, and there’s a whiskey still immortalized in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Theoretically, this small town — one that has seen a resurgence in recent years with NASCAR’s return to race there — could be in the conversation, as well.

Despite these North Carolina roots — and the current hub of activity surrounding Charlotte — the conversation at the Streamline Hotel, which emerged from a different kind of racing in Florida, remains the consensus pick.

But why Daytona in the first place?

France, NASCAR’s founder, was moving from Washington, D.C., to Miami during the 1930s. But on the way, according to legend, France’s car broke down, and he and his family lingered in Daytona Beach.

France opened a gas station and garage near the beach and became interested in the “speed trials” that took place in that area. After about a decade of spectating these races on the hard-packed sand from Ormond-by-the-Sea to Daytona Beach, France became a promoter and even raced briefly from the mid-1930s until World War II.

About three dozen racers met with France on Dec. 14, 1947 at the Streamline, as he outlined his vision for stock car auto racing. What became known as NASCAR held an epic race on the beach in Daytona the following February, launching the pro racing circuit.

“I think you’re gonna go with Daytona,” Buescher said. “North Carolina is home now, but you’re gonna go with Daytona being the birthplace. There’s no way to take away from that beach. No way to take away from those meetings in that hotel. You’re gonna have to go with Daytona.”