Ross carries flag alone as Cup winner from Canada (cont'd)

With better equipment, Ross' finishes improved. He was fifth in the World 600 at Charlotte and followed that with a second at Michigan. At that point, Johnson took over ownership of the operation, making Ross a teammate of Cale Yarborough. And when the series showed up at Martinsville in September of 1974, Ross was coming off back-to-back top-five finishes.

Starting 11th in a field of 30, Ross patiently worked his way through the field as Yarborough began to dominate the race. The future three-time Cup champion had led 288 laps and seemed well on his way to victory when the engine in his Chevrolet gave out.

"I remember that I had a big-block engine in there and Cale had the small block," Ross said. "The field was maybe 10, 15 small blocks. I remember Cale leading the race ... I wasn't quite as fast but Cale blew up."

Ross suddenly found himself on a lap by himself with 80 laps to go, and he went on to beat Buddy Baker and Donnie Allison to the checkered flag for his first, and only, Cup win and a first-place check worth $14,550.

"When Cale blew up, he had already lapped me but at that time, you could race back to the flag," Ross said. "When he blew up, he slowed down and I got by him and got my lap back. That put me in the lead of the race. The car was working real good and we ended up winning the race."

With 10 top-10 finishes, Ross was named rookie of the year in 1974, but fate intervened in a bad way during the offseason when Carling pulled its sponsorship and ultimately shut down the Atlanta facility. That left Ross with a difficult decision.

"Carling decided not to race the Cup Series in 1975," Ross said. "I could have stayed down there and raced for some other people. Because of the fact that I had won a race -- they had different [purse money guarantees] -- that put me in the 'A Plan' for the following year. Because I had won a race, they would give me so much money to show up. But at the time, the teams tended to stick together and my own guys came back to Canada. And I still raced for Carling in 1975 but just across Canada.

"I could have stayed down there and went with another team. I had four or five offers, but I felt like I should stay with my own team."

Ross would make just two more Cup starts, finishing 13th in Junie Donlavey's Ford at Charlotte in 1975 and winding up 39th in the 1976 Daytona 500 after his engine let go 28 laps in.

So is he surprised no other Canadians have joined him on the list of winners in NASCAR's premier series?

"I sure have been, because there's some damn good drivers up here," Ross said. "They just don't tend to get the sponsorship or the chance to do it, you know? I was so lucky, personally, to have a good sponsor and during that season, I had quite a few good finishes. I was second at Michigan, third at Dover, fourth at North Wilkesboro and fifth at Charlotte."

"I wish I could have stayed down there the following year, because once I had been to the tracks once, I felt like the next time around, I'd be better."