Eastern Motorsport Press Association
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Picture

Bill "Big Bill" France​​

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William Henry Getty France was born in and raised near Washington, D.C. (September 26 1909-June 7 1992) France, who became known as Bill Sr., or “Big Bill” because of his 6-foot-5 stature, is the founder and first president of NASCAR. He was enamored with racing from an early age and would spend his free time as a teenager racing his father's Model-T on Laurel, Maryland's high-banked track.

Young France worked as a service station mechanic in the Washington D.C. area until 1935 when he moved his family to the Daytona Beach Florida area. There he painted house and worked at car dealerships before opening a car repair shop on Main Street in Daytona Beach. In March 1936, the first stock car race was held on the Daytona Beach race course.

France took over running the race course in 1938. France ran in and promoted races at the track until the beginning of World War Two.

In 1947 began talks with drivers, mechanics and car owners at the Streamline Hotel at Daytona Beach and NASCAR was formed in 1948. The goal was to protect the drivers from unscrupulous promoters who took the purse and fled with out paying the racers. The newly formed sanctioning organization created uniform rules, guarenteed purses for the drivers and insurance coverage.

In 1953, France began making plans for the construction of Daytona Superspeedway. The first Daytona 500 was held on 1959. France later built Talledega Speedway, which was opened in 1969.

NASCAR grew under "Big Bill"'s wise, firm leadership and by the 1972, when he handed the control over to his son Bill Jr., NASCAR sanctioned racing was fast becoming one of America's favorite forms of racing and sports in general.














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  • Home
  • History of the EMPA
    • History of the EMPA-The 1970's
    • History of the EMPA- 80's
    • History of the EMPA- The 1990's
    • History of the EMPA- The 2000's
    • History of the EMPA- The 2010's
    • History of the EMPA- The 2020's
  • EMPA Application
  • EMPA Hall of Fame A thru L
  • EMPA Hall of Fame M thru Z
  • Convention Sponsors
  • Convention Hotel Info & Room Reservations
  • Convention Photos
    • Convention Photos 2016
    • Convention Photos 2017
    • Convention Photos 2018
    • Convention Photos 2019
    • Convention Photos 2021
    • Convention Photos 2022
    • Video acceptance speeches from Jan 2022 convention
  • Convention Contest Rules
    • Pocono Raceway/EMPA Writer's Contest
    • Brice's Auto Parts Inc./NAPA Auto Parts EMPA Photographer's Contest
    • Dirt Track Digest.com./EMPA Video and Broadcast Contest Rules
  • Award Winners
    • EMPA National Driver of the Year
    • Junie Donlavey Spirit of the Sport award
    • Richie Evans North East Driver of the Year
    • Ace Lane Photographer of the Year
    • Jim Hunter Writer of the Year
    • Newsmaker of the Year award
    • John Blewett lll Young Gun award presented by New England Fuels
    • Jerry Reigel Outstanding Contribution to Sprint Car Racing award
    • Promotional Effort of the Year
    • Ernie & Marilyn Saxton Service Award
    • Pocono Raceway Writer's Contest Judges Comments by Year
    • Honda Video Contest Winners by Year
  • Newsletter Archives