Bill France Sr. was a prominent mechanic and service station owner in Daytona Beach in the 1930s and 1940s; he raced cars on the city's wide sandy beaches.
He founded NASCAR, the world's most popular stock-car racing circuit, on Feb. 21, 1948. Bill France Sr. was born with a mind for business, a gift for people — and a need for speed.
He turned those passions into a nationwide obsession with stock car racing. France founded the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing — NASCAR — 75 years ago this week, on Feb.
21, 1948, in Daytona Beach, Florida. NASCAR has grown into the world’s premiere stock car racing circuit. "Big Bill," as he was known, is the unquestioned godfather of the autosport. MEET THE AMERICAN WHO FOUGHT AND BLED AT THE ALAMO BUT LIVED TO TELL ITS HEROIC TALE: SLAVE JOE "His story is a great American success story," NASCAR historian Ken Martin told Fox News Digital. "And NASCAR is the great American sport." Bill France Sr.