DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Junior Johnson doesn’t understand all the fuss. This was a guy who honed his racing skills hauling moonshine through the backwoods of the South, the revenuers right on his bumper.

What’s the big deal about a company like Jack Daniel’s or Jim Beam sponsoring a NASCAR team?

“I’m the one who brought alcohol to the sport,” Johnson said. “It might not have been out in the open, but the money and stuff that was brought to the cars here was created from making whiskey and hauling it.”

Now it’s all on the up and up, but that hasn’t satisfied those who feel NASCAR is hurting its family image by opening the coffers to liquor companies.

Richard Childress Racing lost a crew member who felt taking money from a hard-liquor company went against his religious beliefs. The American Medical Association is appalled that a sport built around fast cars would align itself with hard liquor. No less a figure than the King – seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Richard Petty – questioned whether the sport has gone too far in its quest for sponsorship dollars.

“For 50-something years, we’ve been trying to portray ourselves as a family sport,” Petty said. “I know it helps some of our car owners get more publicity. I just think we could have done a better job of doing it another way.”

The liquor companies don’t believe they should be barred from the garage, especially when beer giants like Budweiser, Miller and Coors have long been major players in the sport.

To ease their transition into racing – and at NASCAR’s insistence – the liquor companies have gone to great lengths to promote a message of responsible drinking. On Friday, Jim Beam donated $100,000 to Robby Gordon’s team as part of its “drink smart” education program.

“Beverage sponsors in the world of NASCAR are really not anything new. It’s been going on for 30-plus years,” said Keith Neumann, director of marketing for Jim Beam. “The experts agree that alcohol is alcohol is alcohol. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about beer, wine or mixed drinks. From the body’s point of view, there’s really no difference.”

The AMA certainly doesn’t see it that way, and the nation’s leading medical organization has made this a cause celeb.

“A sport that’s so popular among young people seems like a bad place to be promoting alcohol, since alcohol is involved in one-third of the auto crashes that kill teenagers,” said Dr. Edward Hill, president-elect of the AMA. “Alcohol and fast driving are a cocktail for disaster.”

The liquor companies are backing only three Nextel Cup cars this season, but one happens to belong to defending champion Kurt Busch, who is sponsored by Crown Royal and Smirnoff.

Jim Beam is sponsoring Gordon, who failed to qualify for Sunday’s Daytona 500. Jack Daniel’s is the main sponsor for Dave Blaney, who drives for Childress.

NASCAR president Mike Helton said any liquor companies entering NASCAR must follow guidelines set by the sanctioning body. All campaigns must include the message to drink responsibility, and there can be no marketing to minors. NASCAR can reject any liquor-related paint scheme or advertisements that it deems inappropriate.

“We felt the time was right,” Helton said when the ban was lifted in November. “Attitudes have changed, and spirits companies have a long record of responsible advertising.”

While Childress said a new line of sponsorship provided a big financial boost, it didn’t sit well with one of his longtime employees. David Smith resigned as pit crew coach and manager, ending a 25-year career with the team.

“I had a great job, the best anybody could ask for,” Smith told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution last month. “But I’ll have peace of mind from knowing that what I did was the right thing to do. That’s worth more than money.”

Johnson couldn’t help but chuckle about the whole situation, especially when he considers where the sport came from. Bootlegging was a major business when the South was largely dry, spawning a generation of daredevil drivers who were willing to do whatever it took to stay ahead of the law.

NASCAR gave those drivers a legal way to display their skills behind the wheel.

“You don’t use finesse when you’re driving moonshine,” said Johnson, who missed two seasons after being convicted of bootlegging. “If you have to, you get in a field, off the road, anywhere. You’ve got to get away. You don’t want to go to jail.”

While impressed with today’s drivers – especially Jeff Gordon – Johnson doesn’t think any of them would’ve survived the moonshining era.

“I don’t think Jeff Gordon has the backbone to run moonshine,” Johnson said with a chuckle. “He would probably have a heart attack the first time the red lights showed up.”

Along with lifting the ban on liquor sponsors, NASCAR created a new revenue stream for its tracks, which can now sell something stronger than beer. Many of those tracks, such as Daytona International Speedway, are controlled by the France family, which also runs the racing series.

Not surprisingly, the fans seem to enjoy having more alcohol-related choices when they head to the concession stand.

“That’s America,” said Tony Waters, sipping on a whiskey in the infield. “You should be able to get what you want. If you pay this much to watch the race, you should be able to drink liquor. It’s like porno. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to buy it.”

The AMA looks at liquor sponsorships much differently.

Hill points to polls sanctioned by his group that show parents want their kids exposed to fewer hard liquor ads, not more. The AMA is concerned that a race car provides a compelling billboard for impressionable teenagers.

The medical group hasn’t had any discussions with NASCAR, but Hill hopes that public pressure will prompt the racing series to reverse course.

“Our concern is underage drinking,” he said. “There’s no such thing as responsible underage drinking. But we think they’re promoting that. That’s not very good.”