Reform Era

In stock car racing, the reform era was the period from 1968 until 1975. This era was defined by its radical, sweeping changes to the stock car racing landscape, including the condensing of schedules, the beginnings of a more global schedule, and the financial struggle of several racing series. It is also widely accepted as the era in which the last examples of "true" stock cars took to the track. It followed the barnstorming era and was succeeded by the tobacco era.

Racing During the Reform Era

The reform era saw numerous significant changes to the schedule in the National Stock Car Series. The series gradually moved from its grassroots, dirt-track heavy background into a more professional, organized racing series; this move came at the expense of multiple "norms" the series had established.

Reforms by Year

1968

The 1968 season was the first of the reform era, and the NSCS made the decision to ban tracks under 1/2 mile in length. The ban was a safety measure; the cars were getting faster, and there were serious concerns about the cars outgrowing the smaller tracks. Additionally, many of these smaller facilities could not afford to upgrade to then-modern safety equipment or fan and driver amenities. This left numerous traditional venues off the circuit, including:

Track	City	State	Length	First Race
Bowman Gray Stadium	Winston-Salem	NC	0.25 mile	1950
Columbus Motor Speedway	Obetz	OH	0.333 mile	1950
New London-Waterford Speedbowl	Waterford	CT	0.375 mile	1951
Riverside Park Speedway	Agawam	MA	0.25 mile	1950
Seekonk Speedway	Seekonk	MA	0.333 mile	1950
Wall Stadium Speedway	Wall Township	NJ	0.333 mile	1951

1969

The 1969 season saw changes to the homologation rules. Previously, the accepted number of cars of a particular model a manufacturer had to produce for a vehicle to be accepted into the NSCS was between 300 and 500. For the 1969 season, this number was changed to one per two dealerships. This was aimed at curbing the influence of so-called "aero cars", such as the Ford Torino Talladega and Plymouth Superbird, whose manufacturers built a nominal number of examples to meet homologation rules.

1970

The 1970 season saw the implementation of the "one race per track" rule, which has since been modified to the "one race per configuration" rule. This rule shortened the schedule significantly, with the 1970 schedule being the shortest since 1951. Tracks that lost second dates included:

Track	City	State	Length	Affected Race
Flemington Speedway	Flemington	NJ	0.625 mile	Round of Flemington
North Wilkesboro Speedway	North Wilkesboro	NC	0.625 mile	Round of Hickory
Stafford Motor Speedway	Stafford Springs	CT	0.500 mile	Round of Windsor
Thompson International Speedway	Thompson	CT	0.625 mile	Round of Thompson

The 1970 season also saw the implementation of the race naming guideline by the National Stock Car Series, which did not outwardly affect competition.

The final reform of 1970 was a change in the distribution of prize money; previously, only the top 20 drivers were granted a share of the purse, with many teams going home empty-handed after a poor result. Series officials chose to distribute prize money to all who enter, and developed percentage splits for field sizes between 15 and 42 cars.

1971

1971 was the first season of the NSCS to omit dirt tracks from the schedule. The decision to leave the series' dirt roots behind was among the earliest reforms announced, and proved the most controversial, with several owners and drivers leaving for more dirt-track focused series. 1970 would be the last season to host dirt racing until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant changes to the planned schedule.

Tracks that were left off the schedule from 1971 forward included:

Track	City	State	Length	First Race
Flemington Speedway	Flemington	NJ	0.625 mile	1950
Knoxville Raceway	Knoxville	IA	0.500 mile	1952
Rochester Speedway	Rochester	NY	0.500 mile	1950
Port Huron Fairgrounds	Port Huron	MI	1.000 mile	1951
Syracuse Mile	Syracuse	NY	1.000 mile	1951
Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg	PA	0.500 mile	1951

1972

1972 saw massive behind-the-scenes reforms in the wake of the Roy Lewis Lawsuit against the rival American Stock Car Tour. Series officials created new mandates for teams to follow regarding civil rights and employment protections, and the series banned the teams from using the Confederate flag on cars or equipment; a ban on fans flying the flag in the stands and/or infield would not occur until 2005.

1972 was the first season where three-digit and alphanumeric entries were banned. This ban was lifted in 2008 for three-digit numbers. 1972 would also be the first season with smaller cars as the baseline production models. Teams and manufacturers elected to use shorter wheelbase cars to compensate for the reduced engine displacement allowances implemented in 1971.

1973

1973 saw an update to the standardized race distances implemented in 1958. The new standard race distances for all non-crown jewel events were set by track type and length via the table below:

Track Type	Length	Race Distance
Oval	< 1.00 mile (1.609 km)	300 laps
	> 1.000 mile (1.609 km)	300 miles (482.803 km)
Road/Street Course	Any	300 km (186.411 km)

With the updated race distance standards, a new points system was implemented. This system would remain in use, with various adjustments, ever since.

1973 also saw the first race outside of the North American continent, with the 1973 Donington Grand Prix, then called the Donington Stock Car Exhibition, which would become the most popular stock car event in Europe by the end of the decade.

1974

The gas crisis of 1973-1974 forced the series to make multiple sweeping changes, most of which did not last past 1974:

• Race distances were shortened 15% compared to the previous season.
• Refueling after qualifying races was banned.
• Refueling under safety car periods was banned.
• Rolling starts on road courses were abandoned in favor of standing starts.

Of these, the only reform to survive the 1974 season was the use of standing starts on road and street courses. Qualifying races would be banned for all non-crown jewel events in 1986.

1975

1975 saw the addition of another exhibition race, held at Nürburgring.

Crown jewel events were awarded double points for the first time in 1975, a tradition that has held ever since.

End of the Reform Era

The reform era ended with the 1975 season. Following a rebrand in 1976 to the World Stock Car Championship, stock car racing entered the tobacco era.