William Clifton France (April 4, 1933 – June 4, 2007), better known as Bill France Jr. or Little Billy, was an American motorsports executive who served from 1972 to 2000 as the chief executive officer (CEO) of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

, the sanctioning body of the US-based

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

. He succeeded his father, NASCAR founder

Bill France Sr. William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992) was an American businessman and racing driver. He was also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based s ...

as its CEO. His son,

Brian France Brian Zachary France (born August 2, 1962) is an American businessman and the former Chief executive officer, CEO and Chair (official), chairman of NASCAR. He served in the post from 2003 to 2018, following his grandfather (and NASCAR co-founder) ...

, was the CEO from 2003 to 2018.

Early life

France was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to Anne Bledsoe and William Henry Getty France. His family moved to

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

, in 1935 to escape the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

.Bill Fleischman and Al Pearce. ''The Unauthorized NASCAR fan guide 1998-1999'', Visible Ink Press, Farmington Hills, Michigan, US. He attended Seabreeze High School before attending the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. He served for two years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

before turning to a career in racing.Biography
at the Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame of Oceanside Rotary Club France grew up helping at race tracks; he sold concessions and helped park cars at the

Daytona Beach Road Course The Ormond Beach and Road Course was a motorsport race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set. ...

. He worked twelve hours per day, seven days a week for thirteen months with the construction of

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

, where he drove a

compactor A compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of material such as waste material or bio mass through compaction. A trash compactor is used in business and public places like hospitals (and in the United States also in homes) to ...

bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large tractor equipped with a metal #Blade, blade at the front for pushing material (soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock) during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, ...

, and

grader A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, motor grader, or simply blade, is a form of heavy equipment with a long blade used to create a flat surface during Grading (engineering), grading. Although the earliest models were towed b ...

. He once tried using a mule to pull trees out of the swamp because motorized equipment was getting stuck.Biography at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
He rode

off-road Off-roading is the act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, or other natural terrain. Off-roading ranges from casual drives with regular vehicles to competitive events w ...

motorcycles, and began competing in

enduro Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is ...

s in the 1960s. France entered the

Baja 1000 The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula, with a course of up to about 850 or more miles. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from ...

in the motorcycle division in the early 1970s. He gave the up-and-coming sport of

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

a chance at Daytona in the early 1970s. The motocross races started with little fanfare, but grew into the popular Daytona

Supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...

, part of Daytona Beach Bike Week, which began in the late 1930s.

Career

After serving as vice-president for six years, he became the head of NASCAR when his father Bill France Sr. retired on January 10, 1972. The

International Motorsports Hall of Fame The International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame located adjacent to the Talladega Superspeedway (formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway) located in Talladega County, Alabama, Talladeg ...

describes the transition: "Other than the founding of NASCAR itself, Bill Jr.'s appointment to leadership is probably the most significant event in the history of the sanctioning body."Biography at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
NASCAR would transition from a Southern spectator sport to a nationally televised sport during his tenure. France Jr. was instrumental in taking the sport outside of its traditional American base. In 1981 he struck a deal with multimillion-dollar Australian tire retailer and retired racer Bob Jane to take stock car racing to Australia and plans were laid out for a high-banked speedway at the Jane owned Calder Park Raceway in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The 1.119 mi (1.801 km) Calder Park Thunderdome, the first high-banked NASCAR style speedway built outside of North America, was built at a cost of A$54 million and was opened in 1987. The new track, modelled on a scaled down version of the

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...

, including mimicking its 24° banked turns, held its first NASCAR race, the Goodyear NASCAR 500 (for 500 km) on February 28, 1988, and was won by Alabama Gang member

Neil Bonnett Lawrence Neil Bonnett (July 30, 1946 – February 11, 1994) was an American NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. Bonnett was a member of the Alabama Gang, and started his career with the help of Bobby a ...

driving a

Pontiac Grand Prix The Grand Prix is a line of automobiles produced by the Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac Division of General Motors from 1962 until 2002 as coupes and from 1989 through 2008 model years as four-door sedans. First introduced as a full-size car, full ...

. Although only an exhibition race, this was also the first NASCAR race held outside of North America. Jane became the head of the sanctioning body for stock car racing in Australia known as

Australian Stock Car Auto Racing AUSCAR (Australian Stock Car Auto Racing) was an auto racing sanctioning body owned by Bob Jane, which ran American-style Superspeedway racing in Australia. The initial AUSCAR venue was the 1.801 km (1.119 mi), high-banked (24°) Calder Park Thu ...

(AUSCAR), though a falling out between him and France in 1991 saw NASCAR withdraw its support for Jane and his track. NASCAR racing in Australia continued to be sanctioned by Jane until the series folded in 2001. He continued his father's legacy by fostering growth of the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

stock car race and

Daytona 200 The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Mo ...

motorcycle race at Daytona International Speedway. The Winston Million program was launched by

R.J. Reynolds Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The son of a tobacco farmer and major slaveowner, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry Coll ...

in 1985. A $1 million bonus was awarded to any driver who could win three of four preselected races. NASCAR's Grand National series was renamed Winston Cup in 1971. The points fund increased from $750,000 to $2 million. The champions portion of the points fund rose to $2 million by 1998. NASCAR had few televised races in 1972. Those races that did air in the 1970s were mixed into shows like '' ABC Wide World of Sports''.Biography at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
France signed a deal with

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

' president Neal Pilson to televise the 1979 Daytona 500 from flag to flag. The race was the first live flag to flag national coverage of a NASCAR race. The race got high television ratings, partly due to a snowstorm in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...

won the race after race leaders

Donnie Allison Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the " Alabama Gang", and is the br ...

and

Cale Yarborough William Caleb Yarborough (March 27, 1939 – December 31, 2023) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, farmer, and rancher. He was the first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winn ...

crashed together on the final lap. Allison's brother

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...

stopped, and Bobby Allison and Yarborough then exchanged punches. The ratings and ensuing press coverage helped France to sign television contracts with

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

in 1980, TNN in 1990, and TBS. France's career culminated in a record-setting $2.4 billion television broadcasting contract in 1999 for the 2001 season. France was a delegate from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to the

1972 Democratic National Convention The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Rep ...

and supported the candidacy of

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

, who had won the Florida Democratic presidential preference primary that year. In 1993, France's employees told him about six-year-old Ohio leukemia patient Sarah Ashley Secoy. He called her father and pledged to make her struggle and international marrow donor search a global news story. His efforts made her a radio and TV news story. He also helped fund "Sarah's Song", a duet recorded with her father that France promoted to tens of thousands of radio stations globally. Millions were thus raised to pay for her six-year hospital fight inside a germ free chamber. Her genetic match donor was found. She became the first patient ever to survive acute myeloid leukemia thus leading to an all new global treatment concept for several deadly childhood cancers that has now saved thousands of children's lives.

Later life

France turned the presidency of NASCAR over to

Mike Helton Michael Gregory Helton (born August 30, 1953) is an American businessman and the current vice chairman for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, better known as NASCAR. He is best known for being NASCAR's third president and for ...

in 2000 after being diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. He made his son

the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of NASCAR in 2003. Bill France Jr. remained a member of the six-person NASCAR board of directors. The France family continues to own NASCAR outright, and has a controlling interest in race track operator

International Speedway Corporation International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business was the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...

. France Jr. continued as chairman of the board of ISC, until his death. His daughter Lesa France Kennedy is ISC's president.ESPN, "Longtime NASCAR chairman France Jr. dies" June 4, 2007
/ref> France died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in Daytona Beach, Florida, on June 4, 2007, at about 1:00 pm. His death occurred during the rain-delayed Autism Speaks 400 Cup race, and his death was reported during the live broadcast of the race at lap 261. ''

NASCAR on Fox ''NASCAR on Fox'', also known as ''Fox NASCAR'', is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races produced by Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports and have aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television network in the United States si ...

'' lead announcer Mike Joy held a moment of "silence" during a restart on lap 279, and the track's flag was lowered to half staff.

Halls of fame inductions

in 2004. * Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2004. *

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is a hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles ...

Bill France Jr
at the

in 2004. *

Automotive Hall of Fame The Automotive Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum honoring influential figures in the history of the automotive industry. Located in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, US. The Hall of Fame is part of the MotorCities National Herita ...

in 2006. *

NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame and Museum located in Charlotte, North Carolina that honors NASCAR and its history. Inductees to the Hall of Fame are drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs ...

in 2010.

References

External links