Hall of fame inductee: Bill France Jr. expanded father's vision into national entity
Bill France Jr. (right) took control of NASCAR from his father, Bill France Sr. (left), and continued to grow the sport. // Courtesy, NASCAR
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COMMENTARY
It's fitting that Bill France Jr. joins his father in the first class selected for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
After all, both were instrumental in building NASCAR to its current prominence in the sports world, though each did so in different ways.
While Bill France Sr. built NASCAR’s foundation from the sands of the Daytona Beach, Fla., road course, his son took it to another level.
France Jr. was a visionary, a man who saw the potential for stock-car racing to gain in prominence and grab a foothold in the national sports landscape. Words like pioneer and legend cropped up surrounding his name over the years. Why? Because he believed the sport could challenge other professional sports in audience and fan base - and proved that he was correct.
He took over management of NASCAR in 1972 and led the sport through what turned out to be arguably the most influential period in its growth. Like his father, he was willing to take the heat for making tough calls. But he made those with the big picture in mind - and turned what had been a largely regional sport into a major national entity.
In some ways, it started when a smart business decision combined with a stroke of luck.
He put the 1979 Daytona 500 on CBS, the first broadcast of a full, live race on a major television network. That race gained additional exposure when a massive snowstorm essentially locked in the East Coast, increasing viewership. Then it was further aided by a fight. Richard Petty won the race, but Cale Yarborough’s fight with the Allison brothers – Bobby and Donnie – became the source of controversy and publicity.
That helped push the sport to a new level and into a realm of popularity that France was able to capitalize on with landmark television contracts and an explosion in fan base.
France could be famously firm in his dealings with people. Yet he had the ability to draw the admiration and respect of those competing in and building the sport while also keeping them in line with his directives. He kept a firm grip on the sport while also accepting input from others.
The sport took off in the 1980s and '90s, a period when it became a television staple, when he guided International Speedway Corp.'s growth and addition of new tracks and a period in which the Cup drivers debuted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
France turned NASCAR over to President Mike Helton in 2000 but remained active in the organization until his death in 2007 at the age of 74.
Upon his death, both those who had helped him build the sport and those who were reaping the benefits of it were quick to credit France for all his work in building NASCAR.
“Mr. France was the backbone of our sport,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who knew France in a unique light because of the relationship France shared with the driver’s father, Dale Earnhardt Sr. “He was a true friend to the Earnhardt family and someone I always looked up to.”
It was a sentiment universally shared in the sport.
Now, France’s work has been recognized by others who helped build the sport with his selection to the inaugural class of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame. It’s only fitting that he resides in its halls next to his father.
