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The need for special gasolines for racing has grown over the past 40+ years as engine technology has evolved and engine efficiency have improved. What started out as supplying service station gasoline to early stock car racing competitors in the National Association for Stock Car Automobile Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) has grown into supplying a specialized racing gasoline for the very sophisticated racing engines used in stock car racing as we know it today. In 1951 the Pure Oil Company, which merged with the Union Oil Company of California (now Unocal) in 1965, began supplying gasoline for stock car racing sanctioned by NASCAR in the southeastern United States. Today, Unocal continues to provide gasoline to NASCAR, but it is a significantly different product than in the 1950's. In the early years, compression ratios and horsepower output were relatively low (average of 7:1 and 101 for the 1951 model year) and octane demand was satisfied by service station gasoline.