Friday February 10, 2012
Search
About
Zip Weather


Weather Forecast

 

Jun-04-2007 11:21printcomments

NASCAR Vice Chairman Bill France Jr. Dead at 74

As rule-maker, promoter, ambassador, and salesman, France has set the standard by which all other forms of motorsports are measured.

Bill France Jr photo
Photo courtesy: Racing Hall of Fame

(CHARLOTTE, NC) - For more than a quarter of a century, it was the guidance of William C. France, known to the racing world as Bill France, Jr., that thrust NASCAR to the top of the professional sporting world.

France died today, he was 74.

After taking the reins from his father, family patriarch Bill France, Sr., in January of 1972, Bill Jr. used his business acumen to take the family business to new heights.

Other than the founding of NASCAR itself, Bill Jr.’s appointment to leadership is probably the most significant event in the history of the sanctioning body.

As rule-maker, promoter, ambassador, and salesman, France has set the standard by which all other forms of motorsports are measured.

He has taken it from a regional sport to a national sport, and nurtured its growing popularity on television, culminating in a record-setting $2.4 billion broadcast contract.

He handed the presidency of NASCAR to Mike Helton in 2000, and was succeeded by his son, Brian, as the CEO and Chairman of the Board in 2003.

As of his induction in 2004, Bill France, Jr. and his brother Jim were co-vice chairmen of a six-member Board of Directors that also included Brian, Lesa Kennedy, Helton and George Pyne.

Salem-News.com will have more on this story as soon as it becomes available.



Related

Comments [Return to Top]
View Most Commented on
Leave a comment on this story.
Name:

Enter the text from the image to confirm you are human.(Cookies are required)


HTML tags and certain characters are removed - (numbers, letters only or post may be cut short.) certain words are banned to stop spammers. All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.

©2011 Salem-News.com. All opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Salem-News.com.
Articles for June 3, 2007 | Articles for June 4, 2007 | Articles for June 5, 2007

The NAACP of the Willamette Valley



Sean Flynn was a photojournalist in Vietnam, taken captive in 1970 in Cambodia and never seen again.

Steele`s Karate
In Salem
Sign Up Now!

Reach your prospects! Advertise on Salem-News.com

Since 1985, Salem Tattoo is one of the oldest and most established shops in Salem, in Oregon's Willamette Valley.