Earl Ross

Earl Ross (born September 4, 1941 in Fortune , Prince Edward Island , Canada , † September 18, 2014 ) was a Canadian racing driver who was active in NASCAR from 1973 to 1976 . Until 2007, he was the only non-American driver to win a race in NASCAR's highest division, today's Sprint Cup and what was then the Winston Cup. In 2007, Juan Pablo Montoya , a Colombian, was the second non-US driver to win in NASCAR's highest division.

Career

Ross began his NASCAR career in the 1973 Daytona 500. He started as 30th, but had to retire early after 34 laps with engine problems. In the 1973 season he made two more starts at Alabama International Motor Speedway , known since 1990 as Talladega Superspeedway, and Michigan International Speedway . However, it could not finish any of these races and did not get past 14th place. He finished 68th in the drivers' overall ranking.

In the 1974 season Ross drove 21 of the total of 30 races, making him a serious contender for the NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award . On September 29, 1974, he won after starting from eleventh place in the race, the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway . He was the first non-US driver to win a race in NASCAR's top division and stayed that way until June 24, 2007, when Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya won the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway . Overall, it was enough for Ross in the 1974 season to ten top 10 placements and five top 5 placements. He finished the season in eighth place in the overall driver standings and was therefore also the best rookie of the season, so that he won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award.

In 1975 and 1976 Ross only drove one race each. He ended his NASCAR career in 1976, which was a total of 26 races.

After his NASCAR career Ross could often be found in Canadian racing series, including the CASCAR Super Series . He was also represented almost every week in the Friday night races held on the Delaware Speedway. At the end of the 1990s, he finally ended his career.

In 2000, Ross was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame .

Web links

• Driver statistics on racing-reference.info

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Norris McDonald: Earl Ross, only Canadian to win NASCAR 'Cup' race, dies. Wheels.ca, September 18, 2014, accessed on September 23, 2014 (English).