Motorsports Legends & Heroes

Each of the following people have made a mark in motorsports - some on the track, some off the track - but each playing an important role in growing the sport we all love.

This is a random list, in no particular order, expected to be updated frequently. With your help we will build this section so suggestions are welcome and should include, at least, a photo and bio for the person you are nominating. Email info to admin@checkerstowreckers.com. Whenever possible we will feature a slideshow gallery of photos saluting our Legends and Heroes; otherwise you will find a photo when you click on their image.

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- - NASCAR CO-FOUNDER, PRESIDENT 1948-1972
  Bill France, Sr.
  
  Called "Big Bill," only partly because of his 6-foot-5 stature, France spearheaded NASCAR from its beginning and directed it to its present status as the world's largest stock-car racing organization. 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 of Daytona Beach. 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 State Road A1A in Daytona Beach – a structure that stands to this day, as a racing landmark. "Big Bill" France passed away in June 1992. He left behind a lasting legacy.
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- - NASCAR PRESIDENT 1972-2000; CEO 2000-2003
  Bill France, Jr.
  
  William Clifton France is remembered – and revered – as the man who followed his visionary father at NASCAR's helm, in the process becoming a visionary himself, as he guided NASCAR to unprecedented levels of popularity. France became NASCAR's president in January 1972, replacing his father and becoming only the second president of the world's largest auto racing sanctioning body. His emergence coincided with the sport's emergence, and its eventual ascent to become America's No. 1 form of motorsports and the nation's second-most popular sport overall. France, often referred to as "Bill Jr.," remained president until November 2000. At that time, France announced the formation of a NASCAR Board of Directors on which he served as chairman and CEO until October 2003 when he was replaced by his son, Brian Z. France. After that, he continued to serve the sport for the remainder of his life as NASCAR Vice Chairman. Bill France, Jr. passed away in June 2007.
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- - NASCAR CHAMPION 1980, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994
  Dale Earnhardt Sr.
  
  Dale Earnhardt co-holds the record for most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships (seven) with Richard Petty. In only his second full season, 1980, Earnhardt nabbed his first championship. He won consecutive titles on three separate occasions (1986-87, '90-91 and '93-94). Earnhardt's 76 victories rank seventh all-time. He is the all-time leader in race victories at Daytona International Speedway with 34, though the most prominent of them was a while in the making. In 1998, Earnhardt won his most coveted race – the Daytona 500. The scene was a memorable one, forever etched in the minds of race fans. As Earnhardt's black No. 3 rolled down pit road, a Daytona 500 winner at last, every crew member from every team lined up to congratulate one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s death in an accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 (February 18) stunned not only the motorsports world, but the world.