William Clifton France (April 4, 1933 – June 4, 2007), better known as Bill France Jr. or Little Billy, was an American

motorsports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

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. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

, the sanctioning body of the US-based

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It or ...

. He succeeded his father, NASCAR founder

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

as its CEO. His son, Brian France, was the CEO from 2003–2018.

Early life

France was born in Washington, D.C., to Anne Bledsoe and William Henry Getty France. His family moved to

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

in 1935 to escape the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

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

Seabreeze High School Seabreeze High School is a public high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. The school was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1989. Notable alumni * Duane and Gregg Allman, of The Allman Brothers Band, class of ...

before attending the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He served for two years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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 Daytona Beach and Road Course was a 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. Beach and ...

. 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, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...

, where he drove a compactor,

bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

, and grader. 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 activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...

motorcycles, and began competing in enduros 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. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearl ...

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 competiti ...

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 Daytona Beach Bike Week, also called Daytona Bike Week, is a motorcycle event and rally held annually in Daytona Beach, Florida. Since 2021, events have been added in DeLeon Springs. Approximately 500,000 people make their way to the rally are ...

, 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 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 went from a

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

regional sport to a national 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 Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either c ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. 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 (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including ...

, 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 The Alabama Gang was the nickname for a group of NASCAR drivers (and subsequently their offspring) who set up shop and operated out of Hueytown, Alabama (near Birmingham, Alabama). In the late 1950s, young auto racer Bobby Allison left Miami, Fl ...

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 Division of General Motors from 1962 until 2002 for coupes and 1989–2008 for sedans. First introduced as a full-size performance coupe for the 1962 model year, the model varie ...

. 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), 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 thre ...

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. The race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Associat ...

motorcycle race at Daytona International Speedway. The Winston Million program was launched by R.J. Reynolds 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 sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

' 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 or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

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—each sep ...

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

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 bro ...

and

Cale Yarborough William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in ...

crashed together on the final lap. Allison's brother

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former 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 short tracks ...

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

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

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 state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

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 Repub ...

and supported the candidacy of

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist a ...

, 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 Vice Chairman of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). He replaced Bill France Jr. in November 2000 as the company's 3rd president. He was ...

in 2000 after being diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He made his son Brian France the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, 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 group ...

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 is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona Internationa ...

. 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 (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

in Daytona Beach, Florida, on June 4, 2007 at about 1:00 pm. His death occurred during the rain-delayed

Autism Speaks 400 The DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware in the spring. History The 2020 race was postponed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic and beca ...

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 and have aired on the Fox television network in the United States since 2001. Speed, a motorsports-focused cable channel ...

'' 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

* International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2004. *

Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction Motorcycle components and systems for a motorcycle are en ...

in 2004. *

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is 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, Motorcycle ...

Bill France Jr
at the

in 2004. * Automotive Hall of Fame in 2006. * NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

References

External links