High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Australian NASCAR racing was sanctioned by Bob Jane's Australian Stock Car Auto Racing (AUSCAR) authority on behalf of NASCAR in America but the relationship between the two was tenuous, and drifted over time. In 1987 with the completion of the Calder Park Thunderdome extensions the much delayed first NASCAR race late in the 1987 racing season with the first major event, the 1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500 following early in 1988. Initially some American drivers, mostly second tier drivers, visited the Thunderdome but this waned over time and big name guest drivers were lured from circuit racing to bolster fields. Allan Grice and Dick Johnson were both early supporters of the concept, both travelling to the US to race in the then Winston Cup series, although success was limited.