-
Home
- TV Shows
- TV Schedule
- NASCAR
-
Latest Headlines: NASCAR
-
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Sprint Cup
Hall of Fame Profile: Bill France Sr., Part 1 Of 5
Racing needed a figure of authority to step in and wrestle the ragtag sport to the ground and send it forward - It needed a big, big man...
Bill France Sr. was the central figure in the founding of NASCAR and he was mover, shaker, promoter and pusher behind its early growth. (Photo: France Family)
The NASCAR Hall of Fame will induct the five members of its inaugural class May 23. Leading up to the hall’s induction ceremony, SPEEDtv.com is profiling the first five racing legends chosen for this unique honor.
Stock car racing in the post-World War II period had about as much structure as month-old Jell-O.
NASCAR Hall Of Fame: The France Family - Through The Years
There were racing organizations, if you could call them that. Their schedules were willy-nilly. The tracks where they raced were ragged and poorly maintained. Some of the promoters could be described as fly-by-night, but that was a poor description because they often had fled long before nightfall.
There were so many people attempting to run races in so many parts of the country, each claiming to name a “national” champion, that there was much more confusion than competition.
Racing needed a figure of authority to step in and wrestle the ragtag sport to the ground, give it a bath, straighten its clothes and send it forward. It needed a big, big man.
William Henry Getty France answered that call. He was big – 6-6 – and impressive enough physically to attract attention – and respect.
And he had vision. A sometimes racer, sometimes mechanic, sometimes promoter, he saw all sides of the dilemma that was choking stock car racing in the post-war years, and he decided to do something about it.
That something was NASCAR.
Bill France Sr. was the central figure in the founding of NASCAR and he was mover, shaker, promoter and pusher behind its early growth. He was NASCAR’s president from its founding in 1948 through the 1971 season, when he turned the keys over to his son, Bill France Jr.
France Sr. also was the visionary behind the construction of Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway and the organization of International Speedway Corp., one of motorsports’ leading speedway ownership groups.
He built the framework for everything that the sport would become, masterfully balancing the needs and demands of drivers, team owners, promoters and the automobile industry to amass a personal fortune and start a family enterprise that has stretched into three generations and is one of international sports’ most successful.
He was an obvious choice as one of the five members of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.
“He probably was one of the most personally forceful persons I ever met,” remembered retired driver Bobby Allison, who often dueled with France on competition matters. “He just demanded that people support whatever the activity was he was involved in at that particular day and time. He had a way of demanding the support without making people turn away.
“He wouldn’t compromise. It would be, ‘No, we’re going to do it my way, and you’re going to help me.’ He really had an unusual quality about him from that standpoint.”
France, son of a banker, was born Sept. 26, 1909 in Washington, D.C. He played basketball at Central High School, but his real interest was in the fast race cars circling the old board race track at nearby Laurel, Md. As a teen-ager, he slipped away from home periodically to run the family car on that track, and a lifelong love affair was born.
After high school, France worked as a mechanic in several Washington area shops. In 1931, he married Anne Bledsoe, a nurse from North Carolina who had trained in Washington.
Tired of the Washington winters and interested in expanding his life beyond that of a mechanic, France moved his family south in 1934, settling in Daytona Beach, Fla. Apparently mainly by coincidence, he happened to land in a community bedazzled by speed. Men (and women) were racing fast cars on the hard-packed sand of the Atlantic beachfront in Daytona Beach and nearby Ormond Beach, and France, who went to work as a mechanic and later opened his own Daytona Beach service station, jumped in with both feet.
By 1936, France was racing cars on the beach and at short tracks in the region. He quickly became a big gun in racing and business circles in the area and took over promotion of the beach races when the city, the previous sponsor, failed to produce profits. Among the lap leader awards France, ever the imaginative promoter, offered at a 1938 beach race were a bottle of rum, $2.50 credit at a local men’s clothing store, a box of cigars and a case of motor oil.
France was working toward refining his racing interests in 1941 when World War II started, effectively shutting down virtually all significant motorsports activities. During the war, he worked for Daytona Boat Works, building submarine chasers.
NASCAR Hall Of Fame: The France Family - Through The Years
TUESDAY: France And Friends Form NASCAR
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening is set for May 11, 2010. Outdoor Opening Ceremonies are May 11th from 9 to 10 am ET free of charge, open to the public. Outdoor festivities including driver appearances and concerts May 11th from 10 am until 8 pm ET open to the public, free of charge. Tickets to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame are on sale now at www.NASCARHall.com or by calling 877-231-2010. The countdown to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is on! Visit www.NASCARHall.com/50days for daily updates about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Stock car racing in the post-World War II period had about as much structure as month-old Jell-O.
NASCAR Hall Of Fame: The France Family - Through The Years
There were racing organizations, if you could call them that. Their schedules were willy-nilly. The tracks where they raced were ragged and poorly maintained. Some of the promoters could be described as fly-by-night, but that was a poor description because they often had fled long before nightfall.
There were so many people attempting to run races in so many parts of the country, each claiming to name a “national” champion, that there was much more confusion than competition.
Racing needed a figure of authority to step in and wrestle the ragtag sport to the ground, give it a bath, straighten its clothes and send it forward. It needed a big, big man.
William Henry Getty France answered that call. He was big – 6-6 – and impressive enough physically to attract attention – and respect.
And he had vision. A sometimes racer, sometimes mechanic, sometimes promoter, he saw all sides of the dilemma that was choking stock car racing in the post-war years, and he decided to do something about it.
That something was NASCAR.
Bill France Sr. was the central figure in the founding of NASCAR and he was mover, shaker, promoter and pusher behind its early growth. He was NASCAR’s president from its founding in 1948 through the 1971 season, when he turned the keys over to his son, Bill France Jr.
France Sr. also was the visionary behind the construction of Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway and the organization of International Speedway Corp., one of motorsports’ leading speedway ownership groups.
He built the framework for everything that the sport would become, masterfully balancing the needs and demands of drivers, team owners, promoters and the automobile industry to amass a personal fortune and start a family enterprise that has stretched into three generations and is one of international sports’ most successful.
He was an obvious choice as one of the five members of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.
“He probably was one of the most personally forceful persons I ever met,” remembered retired driver Bobby Allison, who often dueled with France on competition matters. “He just demanded that people support whatever the activity was he was involved in at that particular day and time. He had a way of demanding the support without making people turn away.
“He wouldn’t compromise. It would be, ‘No, we’re going to do it my way, and you’re going to help me.’ He really had an unusual quality about him from that standpoint.”
France, son of a banker, was born Sept. 26, 1909 in Washington, D.C. He played basketball at Central High School, but his real interest was in the fast race cars circling the old board race track at nearby Laurel, Md. As a teen-ager, he slipped away from home periodically to run the family car on that track, and a lifelong love affair was born.
After high school, France worked as a mechanic in several Washington area shops. In 1931, he married Anne Bledsoe, a nurse from North Carolina who had trained in Washington.
Tired of the Washington winters and interested in expanding his life beyond that of a mechanic, France moved his family south in 1934, settling in Daytona Beach, Fla. Apparently mainly by coincidence, he happened to land in a community bedazzled by speed. Men (and women) were racing fast cars on the hard-packed sand of the Atlantic beachfront in Daytona Beach and nearby Ormond Beach, and France, who went to work as a mechanic and later opened his own Daytona Beach service station, jumped in with both feet.
By 1936, France was racing cars on the beach and at short tracks in the region. He quickly became a big gun in racing and business circles in the area and took over promotion of the beach races when the city, the previous sponsor, failed to produce profits. Among the lap leader awards France, ever the imaginative promoter, offered at a 1938 beach race were a bottle of rum, $2.50 credit at a local men’s clothing store, a box of cigars and a case of motor oil.
France was working toward refining his racing interests in 1941 when World War II started, effectively shutting down virtually all significant motorsports activities. During the war, he worked for Daytona Boat Works, building submarine chasers.
NASCAR Hall Of Fame: The France Family - Through The Years
TUESDAY: France And Friends Form NASCAR
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening is set for May 11, 2010. Outdoor Opening Ceremonies are May 11th from 9 to 10 am ET free of charge, open to the public. Outdoor festivities including driver appearances and concerts May 11th from 10 am until 8 pm ET open to the public, free of charge. Tickets to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame are on sale now at www.NASCARHall.com or by calling 877-231-2010. The countdown to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is on! Visit www.NASCARHall.com/50days for daily updates about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Shake and Bake: Recent Posts
-
It Wasn't A Good Weekend For The Star-Spangled Banner (Video) »
-
Tweets Of The Week: All-Star Edition »
-
Mustang GT + Mark Martin's Engine = 800HP Of Street-Legal Awesomeness »
-
Kurt Busch Is Focused, But Is He A Chase Contender? »
-
Ricky vs. Danica: All-Star Race - Who's On Top This Week? »
-
Feud of the Week: Joe Gibbs Racing vs. the Sprint All-Star Race »
-
Race Day Blog: Sights and Sounds From the Sprint All-Star Race »
-
Daryl Wright Breaks It Down With Pit Road Rapper Kenyatta Houston »
Kansas Speedway
LATEST HEADLINES: NASCAR
-
SPEED ALERT: Race Hub To Broadcast NASCAR Hall Of Fame's 'Class Of…
NASCAR Hall of Fame announcement on FOX Sports’ SPEED starting… -
CUP: Monday NASCAR Notebook
Jimmie Johnson has the most victories of any active driver at Charlotte… -
DW: 48 Team Is Redefining Excellence
Jimmie Johnson now stands alone as the only four-time winner of the… -
CUP: EXCLUSIVE - No Crew Chief Changes At SHR
Ryan Newman had the best finish of any of the Stewart-Haas drivers… -
CUP: More All-Star Frustration For JGR
Matt Kenseth had a disappointing Sprint All-Star Race finish…… -
CUP: Bono Works Through Pain
Kevin “Bono” Manion has fought gout for a decade…… -
CUP: All-Star Power Rankings
Jimmie Johnson moves back to the top of the FOXSports.com/SPEED.com… - More News
