Bill France, Jr. |
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Wikipedia: Ford Aerostar
Reference Desk Bill France Jr.: The Man Who Made NASCAR Page Sections Biography Reference Desk Article Index |
Biography
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Ford Aerostar page on 14 April 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
William Clifton "Bill" France (April 4, 1933 – June 4, 2007), nicknamed, "Bill France, Jr." or "Little Bill", was an American motorsports executive who served from 1972 to 2000 as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NASCAR, the sanctioning body of the US-based stock car racing. He succeeded his father, NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr., as its CEO. His son, Brian France, has been CEO since 2003.
Early Life
France was born in Washington, D.C., to Anne Bledsoe and William Henry Getty France. His family moved to Daytona Beach, Florida in 1935 to escape the Great Depression. He attended Seabreeze High School before attending the University of Florida. He served for two years in the United States Navy before turning to a career in racing.
France grew up helping at race tracks; he sold concessions and helped park cars at the Daytona Beach Road Course. He worked twelve hours per day, seven days a week for thirteen months with the construction of Daytona International Speedway, where he drove a compactor, bulldozer, and grader. He once tried using a mule to pull trees out of the swamp because motorized equipment was getting stuck.
He rode off road motorcycles, and began competing in enduros in the 1960s. France entered the Baja 1000 in the motorcycle division in the early 1970s. He gave the up-and-coming sport of motocross a chance at Daytona in the early 1970s. The motocross races started with little fanfare, but grew into the popular Daytona Supercross. The supercross inspired the Daytona Beach Bike Week.
Reference Desk
The Crittenden Automotive Library's "Reference Desk" is a collection of materials that cannot be shared due to copyright restrictions. Information from these resources, however, can be shared. Go to the Reference Desk page for more information.
| Type | Title | |
|---|---|---|
2010  Book | Bill France Jr.: The Man Who Made NASCAR by H.A. Branham, Triumph |
| Date | Article | Author/Source |
|---|---|---|
| 19 June 2003 | NASCAR Media Conference | Tim Donahue Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Brian France Bill France |
| 15 September 2003 | NASCAR Media Conference | Brian France Bill France |
| June 6, 2007 | Commentary on Bill France Jr, Rest in Peace | Jeremy Sellers |