Earl Ross (September 4, 1941 – September 18, 2014) was a Canadian race car driver who competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1973 to 1976 driving the Carling Red Cap #52.

Career summary

Ross was born in Fortune, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and was known for being one of only five non-American born drivers to have won a

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 ...

Cup Series race (the others being

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...

, who won the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350,

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

, who won the

1967 Daytona 500 The 1967 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on February 26, 1967, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mario Andretti won his first NASCAR Cup Series race. And he was the first foreign bo ...

Marcos Ambrose Marcos Ambrose (born 1 September 1976) is an Australian former racing driver and current Garry Rogers Motorsport competition director. He won the Australian V8 Supercar series' championship in 2003 and 2004. In 2006, Ambrose relocated to the Un ...

who won the

2011 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen The 2011 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 15, 2011 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 90 laps, it was the 22nd race of the 2011 season. I ...

, and

Daniel Suárez Daniel Alejandro Suárez Garza (born January 7, 1992) is a Mexican professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team. He previously drove in t ...

, who won the

2022 Toyota/Save Mart 350 The 2022 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 12, 2022, at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps on the road course, it was the 16th race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. Report Backgrou ...

). Ross's only NASCAR win came at

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...

on September 29, 1974, during the Old Dominion 500. After qualifying 11th, Ross beat Buddy Baker to the line by more than a lap, thus making him the first and still the only Canadian to have ever won a Winston Cup event.

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however has wins in the

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

and the Camping World Truck Series. Stewart Friesen and Raphaël Lessard have also won in the Truck Series. At that time, Earl was the first rookie to win a Grand National race since Richard Petty accomplished the feat several years earlier. The victory helped Ross win the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in 1974. After competing in only 2 events in '75 and '76, Ross retired from

racing. He recorded one win, five top-5s and 10 top 10s in 26 races. Ross competed in a number of regional racing series throughout the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including time on the ASA circuit and

CASCAR Super Series The CASCAR Super Series was Canada's premier stock car touring division. It was sanctioned by CASCAR. The series ended after the 2006 season after NASCAR purchased CASCAR, and NASCAR used it as the basis for the NASCAR Pinty's Series. General Ti ...

. He also participated in regular Friday night racing at

Delaware Speedway Delaware Speedway is a half-mile paved race track that is one of the oldest continuously operating tracks in Canada. It is located a few minutes west of London, Ontario northeast of Delaware, Ontario. It hosts stock car racing every Friday night ...

before his ultimate retirement in the late 1990s. Ross was inducted into the

Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) is a hall of fame run by the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable institution that "honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have m ...

in 2000, FOAR SCORE (Friends Of Auto Racing Seeking Cooperation Of Racing Enthusiasts) Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. Ross, a resident of

Ailsa Craig, Ontario Ailsa may refer to: People *Ailsa (name), including a list of people with the name *Marquess of Ailsa, title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom created in 1831 Places *Ailsa Craig, an island in the outer Firth of Clyde, Scotland * Ailsa Craig, ...

, died on September 18, 2014, at the age of 73.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

=Daytona 500

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Earl 1941 births 2014 deaths People from Kings County, Prince Edward Island Racing drivers from Prince Edward Island NASCAR drivers People from Middlesex County, Ontario American Speed Association drivers