A Good Ol'Boy; A Good Set Of Wrenches; A Good Used Car

Please enjoy the thoughts and musings of our friend, supporter, and long-time contributor Art van Bodegraven Jr., who passed away on June 18, 2017. Art was a prolific writer and had amassed a collection of unpublished blog posts he had planned to run well into the future. To honor his memory, we will continue to post these remaining blogs as he had intended. If you’ve been a fan of The Art of Art blog, check out our tribute.

 

Like so many mis-spent souls of my youth, who dreamed of fast cars, fast women, and a semi-capable repair shop, Bill France lived the dream.  He lusted after muscle cars, easy money, and speed, speed, speed.

Bill moved the family to sunny Daytona Beach, where he opened a gas station.

From modest origins, he built an empire, a big league of fast cars, with rules, regulations,and legions of followers.  Bill turned nothing into everything, culminating with building the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  He fathered and reigned in majesty from a smoke-filled room, where he was a KIng in his own right.

Born to race, but not very good at it, young Bill played hooky in the DC suburbs, where he watched racing (and occasionally tried his hand at it).

Building NASCAR was tough, with minor-league races moving from town to town.  But explosive success finally arrived, with a new Daytona track and an operation at Talladega.  The business satayed in the family, with the mantle passing to the next two generstions following Bill's retirement some 45 years ago.

IN SCM, what's your legacy?  How have you changed the game?  What have you passed on to your colleagues and mentees?

This is tough, and demands your best thinking and best effort.