Bill Oursler on remembering Bill France, Jr.

Bill Oursler on remembering Bill France, Jr.

It seems like only yesterday, but in fact it was nearly 28 years ago that I saw Bill France, Jr., drive his last, and perhaps first road course event. The place was then newly opened Talladega International Speedway, and the occasion was the second ever weekend of racing by the equally new International Motorsports Association.

As a young photographer and writer, I had gotten to know IMSA�s founder and president John Bishop, and because I was a reporter for the local newspaper, the Bridgeport, Connecticut, Post, found myself invited to fly down to Talladega with the two Frances on their twin Commander for the weekend.

Pretentiousness was not part of the family equation; the elder France bowing to the call of nature by relieving his urges against the side of the Fixed Bas operations building before joining his son, who was piloting the aircraft for the long taxi out and wait to take to one of Newark�s overcrowded runways.
What I didn�t find out until later was that even though they were part of Talladega�s upper management (very upper, indeed), the were heading to Alabama to actually drive in the inaugural GT race that was the featured part of the card.

Of course, I really shouldn�t have been surprised because two months previously when all of the NASCAR�s regular drivers walked out on the track�s debut event because of constantly shredding tires, Bill, Sr., at more than 65 years of age, had strapped himself into a Ford Torino and posted a time that would have comfortably put him within the top ten on the grid.

A gutsy man was he, as was his son.

While most of us think of the Bill, Sr., as the guiding light of NASCAR, in point of fact it was Bill, Jr., who was truly responsible for transforming the relatively regionally-oriented stock car organization into today�s motorsport powerhouse that dwarfs all other forms racing in the United and arguably is on par with Formula One for its profitability and clout in the racing universe.
Under Junior�s and his brother Jim�s leadership (the latter heading the publicly traded, but France family dominated International Speedway Corporation during this period) what the English call �tin top� competition took off to the point that currently the Nextel Cup�s Brickyard 400 enjoys far higher television ratings than its much older open wheel Indy 500.counterpart.

That was all in the future, though, when we landed on the private strip behind Talladega that November evening in 1969 and were met by Bishop and his wife, Peggy. The existence of IMSA has do, in large measure to the visionary intelligence of the two Frances, who saw in the establishment of IMSA a chance to break the monopoly the Sports Car Club of America then held over North American road racing, including the annual Daytona 24 Hours � an affair that was one of their pet projects. Ironically the elder France had approached Bishop, who had been responsible as the Executive Director of the SCCA for putting the club in that position, after Bishop had been ousted from the post that February in what amounted to a palace. Financed largely by the Frances and some of their friends, Bishop had launched IMSA in the summer of �69 against great opposition from the SCCA.

But, the Frances ultimately more clout than Bishop�s former employers, and while IMSA would struggle in its early years, by the mid 1970�s it had eclipsed the SCCA to become the dominant player in its field in North America. However, for this second ever IMSA weekend, the Frances maintained their low key public persona. Where one might have expected them to appear on the grid with a pair of perfectly prepared automobiles, they instead took to the track in what looked like two refugees from the Saturday night short track wars. These Ford Cortinas had been rescued from the junkyard by NASCAR mechanical wizard Tom Pistone after their roofs had been crushed by heavy seas during the boat trip from their native England to the United States. Indeed, all Pistone had done was to hammer the roofs out quickly and crudely, check the fluids, add a few racing stickers and tires, and turn the still battered machines over to their drivers. Still, their was a touch of humor to �Team France,� both cars wearing a combination of Goodyear and Firestone rubber (one brand to the rear, the other to the front). Additionally, while Bill France, Sr.�s Ford was sponsored by the local judge, Billy Jr.�s had the backing of the local Sheriff. Ultimately, in a race won by Gaston Andrey�s Alfa Romeo sedan (which was protested for an illegal engine, but which remained atop the finishing order nevertheless, thus starting an IMSA tradition of sorts), the elder France crossed the line well outside the top, earning $170 for his efforts. As for his son, Bill, Jr., brought his Cortina home ninth collecting $210 for his afternoon behind the wheel.

With virtually no spectators present, only those of us who were on the track, on in the pit area, still harbor the vague memories of the moment. Yet, after he took over from his father, Bill France, Jr. not only changed the fortunes of NASCAR, but, similarly exerted a tremendous influence on North American road racing, an influence that can be seen today in the presence of the Rolex Grand American Sports Car Series that he and his brother Jim helped create. Whatever one might think of Bill, Jr., and his family, the positive part of his legacy can not, and will not be ignored. Rest in peace.

Bill Oursler
June 2007