Bill France Jr. left impact on people as well as business (cont'd)

Perhaps one of the greatest measures of France's time at the helm of NASCAR comes via statistics, of then and now.

Richard Petty is the sport's all-time winning driver, with 200 victories and seven championships accrued between the 1960s and 1984. His career winnings are only $7.75 million.

Earnhardt, who won his first of seven titles in 1980 and 76 races in his career before he was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, won $41.7 million in his career.

Gordon passed Earnhardt for sixth on the all-time victories list earlier this season, has 78 career wins and four titles, but is the sport's all-time money winner with $82.3 million coming into this season.

Gordon, still a young man, can be excused for being off by about two decades when assessing France's grip on the controls.

When Gordon made his Cup debut, four months after "Big Bill's" death in the summer of 1992, Bill France Jr.'s drive to elevate NASCAR to the pinnacle of America's sports landscape was already well under way.

"I'm really saddened [at his death]," Gordon said. "I knew he wasn't doing well. I wish I could have had a chance to see him and talk to him before he went. Certainly our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire France family. He's going to be missed. It's going to be hard to be a part of this sport without him."

But luckily for Gordon, his fellow competitors, corporations that are intricately involved in the sport and its millions of fans, the foundation France was a key in building, is solid.

Gordon's insight and compassion are well-known to many within the garage area, though judging from his reception at pre-race, he's far too under-appreciated.

He had a great feel for France's persona, whether it involved a deep-sea fishing expedition on his motor yacht or a post-race "attitude adjustment" in the "big red truck" that after a paint job and switch to Nextel sponsorship of the Cup Series, became the "phone booth."

"He was a real soft-hearted guy who had a real hard shell on the outside," Gordon said in apt description. "He ran things with an iron fist, but he had a passion for this sport that a lot of people maybe didn't get a chance to see."

Numerous employees could tell tales of taking phone calls from "Mr. France" at odd times, with inquiries about news, races or even postings on NASCAR.COM. You can best believe they got your attention.

"You don't see it very often," Gordon said of France's love for the sport, but mostly its people. Those displays had been in short supply for the better part of the past decade as Bill battled a myriad of health issues. "I loved being around him. He's one of those guys you always wanted to listen to."

While everyone from the heads of corporations, to race-team executives and drivers -- from champions to the rank-and-file variety -- weighed-in on France's passing, one kindred spirit captured the essence of France's being.

Team owner Rick Hendrick, whose Hendrick Motorsports conglomerate has grown as a mirror image of his business empire since the race team's inception in the early 1980s, in many ways could be considered a kindred spirit to France. (Continued)