About Bill France Sr.
William Henry Getty France was an American businessman and racing driver. He was also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of American-based stock car racing. France was familiar with Daytona Beach's land speed record history when he moved his family from Washington, D.C. to Daytona in the spring of 1935 to escape the Great Depression. Malcolm Campbell and other land speed record competitors decided to stop competing for land speed records at Daytona in favor of the Bonneville Salt Flats later in 1935 because the track was getting too rutted. On March 8, 1936, the first stock car race was held on the Daytona Beach Road Course, promoted by local racer Sig Haugdahl.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.