Timeline: Bill France Jr.
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• Timeline: William C. France biographical timeline and career events
William C. France biographical timeline and significant career events:
April 4, 1933William Clifton France is born in Washington, D.C., the son of William H.G. France and Anne Bledsoe France.
October 1934The France family arrives in Daytona Beach, Fla., and makes it their home.
Oct. 24, 1944Brother, James C. France, is born in Daytona Beach, Fla.
June 7, 1951Graduates from Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Fla., located on the current site of the Ocean Center. There, he played on the basketball team.
1951-1952Attends the University of Florida in Gainesville.
1953-1955Serves in the United States Navy.
1956Goes to work for his father at Bill France Racing Inc., the predecessor of International Speedway Corporation. Also works as NASCAR course supervisor and dabbled in driving, plus working as flagman, scorer, promoter and steward.
1957NASCAR director of course.
Sept. 20, 1957Weds Betty Jane Zachary of Winston-Salem, N.C.
1958NASCAR assistant race director.
1959Member of the Board of Directors of Daytona International Speedway, which opens that year.
1960Daytona International Speedway track superintendent.
May 24, 1961Daughter, Lesa France Kennedy, is born in Daytona Beach, Fla.
1962Daytona International Speedway general manager.
Aug. 2, 1962Son, Brian Z. France, is born in Daytona Beach, Fla.
1963Daytona International Speedway vice president.
1966NASCAR vice president.
1971R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's Winston brand becomes sponsor of the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Division, which ran 48 races.
November 1971Competes in the Baja 1000 riding a motorcycle, continuing an amateur career as an enduro rider that went from the 1960s into the 1970s.
Jan. 10, 1972Named the second president of NASCAR, replacing his father.
1972NASCAR Winston Cup Series' schedule is cut to 31 races, all on paved tracks.
February 1974Shortens Daytona 500 to 450 miles to show concern for U.S. "gas crisis."
1976The NASCAR Winston Cup Series takes the lead in worldwide motorsports attendance at 1.4 million spectators, which it never has relinquished, according to figures compiled by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
1978President Jimmy Carter invites NASCAR athletes to the White House.
Feb. 18, 1979First live flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500, by CBS Sports.
Nov. 18, 1979Richard Petty wins his seventh championship of NASCAR's premier division.
February 1980The first $1 million purse for the Daytona 500.
1981The NASCAR Winston Cup Series' post-season awards ceremony is moved from Daytona Beach, Fla., to New York City, its current location.
1982Anheuser-Busch Inc. assumes sponsorship of a new series, the NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series.
1984Anheuser-Busch's Busch brand takes over sponsorship of the series that today is titled the NASCAR Busch Series.
July 4, 1984Richard Petty wins his 200th career event in NASCAR's premier division.
February 1985The Winston Million, a bonus posted by R.J. Reynolds for winning three of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series' "Big Four" events: Daytona 500, Winston 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500, opens.
Sept. 1, 1985Bill Elliott wins the Winston Million by capturing the Daytona 500, Winston 500 and Southern 500.
1986NASCAR's premier series is re-titled the "NASCAR Winston Cup Series," with the point fund increasing from $750,000 to $2 million.
1989Every event in NASCAR's premier division is televised, for the first time.
May 16, 1992NASCAR's all-star race, "The Winston," is held under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time.
June 7, 1992William H.G. France dies.
February 1993Announces, with Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George, that the NASCAR Winston Cup Series would race in the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Aug. 6, 1994The inaugural Brickyard 400 is held. With a purse of $3.2 million, it was the best paying NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at the time.
November 1994Dale Earnhardt ties Richard Petty's record of seven premier series championships.
February 1995The first event for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is held at Phoenix International Raceway.
1995NASCAR.COM is launched through a partnership between NASCAR and ESPN Internet Ventures.
Nov. 24, 1996A demonstration event is held at Japan's Suzuka Circuit.
1998NASCAR celebrates its 50th Anniversary and names its "50 Greatest Drivers."
December 1998NASCAR Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon takes a $2 million payoff from the series' point fund, then a record; and NASCAR announces season attendance of more than 6.3 million fans.
February 1999Mike Helton named NASCAR's chief operating officer, the first time the company's day-to-day operations have been outside France family control.
Nov. 11, 1999Announces $2.4 billion television deal with FOX, NBC and Turner Sports, set to begin in 2001.
November 1999DaimlerChrysler announces its Dodge nameplate will return to NASCAR's premier division in 2001, after a 15-year hiatus.
January 2000R.J. Reynolds increases the NASCAR Winston Cup Series' point fund from $5 to $10 million, with the champion's share increasing to $3 million.
Nov. 28, 2000Passes NASCAR presidency to Mike Helton and assumes role as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of NASCAR.
February 2001Inducted into the Oceanside Rotary Club of Daytona Beach, Fla., Stock Car Hall of Fame.
February 2001The first $10 million Daytona 500 is held, pushing it past the Brickyard 400 as the best paying NASCAR Cup Series race, a title it still holds today.
September 2001Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame in Darlington, S.C.
Sept. 25, 2001NASCAR Radio, the first 24-hour radio station dedicated to a single sport, debuts on XM Satellite Radio.
January 2003The $10 million NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C., is unveiled.
June 19, 2003Nextel, currently doing business as Sprint Nextel, is announced as the sponsor of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, effective for 10 years with the 2004 season.
October 2003Passes roles as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of NASCAR to son Brian Z. France. Becomes co-vice chairman of NASCAR, with brother Jim, who is also NASCAR's executive vice president.
January 2004Brian France announces the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup, a championship format dividing the season into a 26-race "pre-season" and a 10-race schedule to determine the season champion.
May 2004Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala.
June 2004Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Novi, Mich.
October 2004Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio.
October 2006Inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Midland, Mich.
June 4, 2007Dies in Daytona Beach, Fla.
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