William H.G. France

MEMBER:
• Florida Sports Hall of Fame
• International Motorsports Hall of Fame
• National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame
• American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame

They called him "Big Bill," and only partly because of his 6-foot-5 stature.

William H.G. France was larger than life it seemed, during the years of founding, then building, a sport. In the years since his 1992 death, his legend has grown, along with that sport.

France spearheaded NASCAR from its beginning and directed it to its present role as the world's largest stock car racing organization. Born in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26, 1909, he came to Daytona Beach, Fla., in the 1930s. In 1936 he helped lay out the first beach/road course in Daytona Beach; in the first race on the course he finished fifth.

Starting in 1938, he helped promote races on the sands. That endeavor was interrupted by World War II but resumed in 1946.

In 1947 France became the driving force behind the establishment of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. NASCAR, it was called, resulting from a famous meeting at the Streamline Hotel on A1A in Daytona Beach -- a structure that stands to this day, as a racing landmark.

Things moved quickly in the 1950s and '60s for NASCAR. As the sanctioning body's first president, France built two superspeedways that came to personify the sport -- 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway and 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Along the way he also founded the International Speedway Corporation that operates those two tracks and others involved in NASCAR's three national series -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck.

In January 1972 France stepped down as president of NASCAR and handed the reins to his son William C. France. The elder France continued to be a consultant for a number of years, in addition to serving as ISC Chairman/President.

"Big Bill" France died in June 1992. He left behind a lasting legacy. He remains larger than life -- still.