tracks, the cars were mostly 'stock' cars from the 1930s with locked rear axle differentials and added armour. After the first couple of years 'specials' began to appear eventually making the 'stock' car name something of a misnomer. Since the early days of stock car racing in Britain the sport has developed into many different classes, from the destructive 'Banger' categories to the very sophisticated National Hot Rods. However, the name 'stock car' is usually reserved for that racing class which traces its roots back to these early days in the 1950s, BriSCA F1 Stock Cars, which were previously known as "The Seniors" or "Senior Stock Cars". Despite the physical demands of this full-contact sport, many competitors have been racing for 20 and even 30 years. For the first 10 years of the sport, stock cars were either adapted from road cars, or bore the recognizable bodywork of road cars. By the 1970s, chassis and bodywork had evolved into very specialized forms. In 2001 the ASCAR Racing Series was formed and ran until 2008, the series was a "NASCAR" style racing series that was predominantly ran at Rockingham Motor Speedway as well as briefly on the continent. The first season was won by John Mickel. Other notable champions were Nicolas Minassian and Ben Collins who also played as The Stig on Top Gear. The field was usually populated by professional or semi-professional stock car drivers, however notable drivers who were famous from other areas of motorsport either took part in single races or for one complete season, they included Colin McRae, Jason Plato, Matt Neal, Darren Manning, Max Papis, John Cleland and former NASCAR drivers Brandon Whitt and Randy Tolsma. The modern BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars are a highly sophisticated purpose built race car with race-tuned V-8 engines developing , quick change axles and gearboxes and biased and staggered chassis and braking set up for constant left turning. However large bumpers were mandatory with contact very much encouraged to remove opponents. The sport can be seen at venues throughout Britain and Mainland Europe. A downsized version of the BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars, the smaller BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars, previously known as "The Juniors" or "Junior Stock Cars", are also very popular. these cars are powered by the 2 litre Ford 'Pinto' engine. There are also many other formulas running on the oval tracks throughout a season that