Bill France Sr.

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William "Bill" Henry Getty France senior (born September 26, 1909 in Washington, DC ; † June 7, 1992 ), also known as Big Bill , was the co-founder, chairman and president of NASCAR , the most important association of touring car racing in the United States United States of America.

background

The gas station in Daytona Beach operated by Bill France senior - now used as an entertainment facility.

France was born in Washington, DC to Emma Graham, an immigrant from Northern Ireland , and William Henry France. Even here he learned of the speed records on the Daytona Beach Road Course in Daytona Beach , before he and his family due to the 1935 global economic crisis moved to Daytona Beach. At that time, he had less than 100  US dollars . Once there, he opened a car repair shop.

Career

On March 8, 1936, the first touring car race took place on the Daytona Beach Road Course , organized by local hero Sig Haugdahl . It was overshadowed by a controversial valuation scandal and resulted in a major financial loss for the city. France, which took part in this race, finished fifth.

Haugdahl spoke to France and both spoke to the Daytona Beach Elks Club for another event the following year, 1937. This was more successful than the previous one, but it was still a losing business. Haugdahl then held no more races.

Instead, France took over the organization of the route and hosted two races in 1938. In July, Danny Murphy won ahead of France. In the second race on Labor Day , France won ahead of Lloyd Moody and Pig Ridings.

There were three races each in 1939 and 1940. In the 1940 races, France finished fourth in March, first in July and sixth in September.

Planning for the 1942 races was suspended after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor . In the following years of World War II , France worked at the Daytona shipyards. Most of the races rested during this time. After the war they were resumed in 1946.

NASCAR founder

France knew about the difficulties of the organizers. Not infrequently, drivers were cheated of their money by unscrupulous organizers, who simply disappeared before they were paid. On December 14, 1947, he began his first discussions with other organizers at the Ebony Bar in the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach. They ended with the founding of NASCAR on February 21, 1948. His Occoneechee Speedway had already been completed in 1947 .

In 1953, France realized that a permanent racetrack was needed to accommodate the large number of spectators who attended the races, including Daytona. The hotels along the beach were also fully booked every time. So on April 4, 1953, he suggested building a new super speedway , the Daytona International Speedway . Construction on this new 2.5 mile long oval circuit began in 1956. It was to be the site of the inaugural NASCAR series, the Daytona 500 . It was first held in 1959 and has been the opening race of the season every year since then. Another racetrack that France had built is the Talladega Superspeedway , which opened in 1969 .

As a co-founder of NASCAR, he was its Chairman and CEO for years . When the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company joined the series as the title sponsor in 1970, the series was renamed from “Grand National” to “Winston Cup”. RJ Reynolds junior convinced France to give up all races on unsurfaced surfaces and races with a distance of less than 100 miles from 1972. This move is seen as defining the modern era of NASCAR. Shortly thereafter, he passed control of NASCAR to his son Bill France, Jr. , but kept an office at headquarters until the late 1980s.

In 1982 he founded the International Motorsports Hall of Fame , into which he was inducted as one of the first drivers on July 25, 1990.

Honors

Individual evidence

  1. ^ NASCAR website: Bill France Sr. At: www.nascar.com , accessed August 22, 2013 .
  2. ^ A b c d William Henry Getty "Big Bill" France, Sr in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 1, 2017 (English).
personal data
SURNAME France, Bill senior
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Big Bill
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American racing driver, co-founder, chairman, and president of NASCAR
DATE OF BIRTH September 26, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC
DATE OF DEATH June 7, 1992