Since its inception, SEMA has sought to help its members understand and work within the legislative and political arenas, both locally and in Washington, D.C. There has been no greater supporter in those efforts than Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. An enthusiast himself, Campbell represented the state of Colorado in the United States House of Representatives from 1987–1993 and in the U.S. Senate from 1993–2005. During those terms, he not only raised the automotive specialty-equipment industry’s visibility and worked to protect its businesses and employees, but also helped found the Congressional Automotive Performance and Motorsports Caucus, serving as its first chairman.

Campbell grew up in Northern-Central California, where his love of cars and motorcycles began. He was raised in the foothills of Auburn above Sacramento in the days when George Barris and his brother were just starting to design custom cars.

“We had a hot-rod club called the Foothill Roadsters when I was in high school,” Campbell said. “My first car was a ’36 Ford—a little sedan that I put drop shackles on and did some tinkering with. I’ve been around cars and bikes my whole life. I often joke that a ’50s California kid can never have enough power or chrome. That goes with growing up out there.”

Campbell served with the U.S. Air Force in Korea from 1951–1954. At the conclusion of his military service, he attended California State University at San Jose, receiving a B.A. and performing graduate work in education. He also attended Meiji University in Tokyo and was a highly accomplished athlete, captaining the U.S. judo team at the 1964 Olympic games in Japan.

The multifaceted former senator said that he always had at least a couple of careers going throughout his life. He is a jewelry designer, rancher and trainer of champion quarter horses. He taught college courses for several years while at the same time working nights as a policeman. After retiring from elected office in 2004, he joined the Washington, D.C. law office of Holland & Knight as an adviser on Indian issues, and he remains one of 44 chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. While in Congress, Campbell held the position of Deputy Majority Whip and served on a wide variety of Senate committees, including Appropriations; Energy and Natural Resources; Veterans’ Affairs; Environment and Public Works; and Agriculture. He chaired the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs—the first American Indian in history to do so—and was the only American Indian serving in the Senate when he left public office.

Campbell said that his entry into politics was almost accidental. He hadn’t planned to run for anything until some party officials talked him into vying for a seat in the state legislature. He served two terms there and was then convinced to run for Congress. When Colorado’s senior senator retired, Campbell won that seat and served two terms. Finally, after 22 years in government, he decided that he wanted to spend time with his family.

But it is his work on issues of vital importance to the automotive world in general and the specialty-equipment industry in particular that have earned Campbell a place in the SEMA Hall of Fame.

“Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell was the highest elected official who steadfastly supported the specialty-equipment industry and remained ready, willing and able to help SEMA whenever and wherever he could,” said Mitch Williams, former chairman of the SEMA Board of Directors.

“In just one of his most visible efforts, Senator Campbell’s amendment to eliminate funding for scrappage programs from the Energy Policy Act of 2002 was passed by unanimous consent. Had this gone the other way, it could have severely impacted the collector-car industry.”

Campbell said that killing what was called the “salvage bill” was one of his most satisfying accomplishments.

“A senator introduced a bill that would’ve given a cash rebate to anybody who junked their older cars,” Campbell recalled. “It was done under the guise of fuel conservation, but it meant that you could be paid to junk an old VW that got 35 miles to the gallon and buy a new Cadillac that got 10. How in the world could that be fuel conservation? It also would have been the death knell for collectors, restorers and hot-rod people. An awful lot of older cars would’ve been melted down, and those old cars aren’t coming back.”

Campbell often advised SEMA on critical issues and helped create more effective strategies and arguments that supported the association’s issues.

“We knew that we had a good friend in the Senate who understood and cared about our industry and whom we could always count on,” said Williams. “It is an important statement about how far we have come as an industry to honor such a highly accomplished former United States senator. But, more importantly, it is a very appropriate thank you to Senator Campbell for a lifetime of support for our industry.”

Senator Campbell has been married to his wife Linda for 41 years. His son Colin embraced his father’s love of cars, recently buying a new Aston Martin, and his daughter Shanan followed her father’s lead into the art world, owning an art gallery and art consulting service. The whole family remains in Colorado.

Not many of us can say that we’ve received a life-changing job offer in midair, but Van Woodell can. But let’s back up a bit. Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, Woodell tinkered with cars before discovering that four-wheeling in the mountains was his real thrill. He bought a ’71 Toyota Land Cruiser and joined a four-wheel-drive club in Durham. To pay for his hobby, he worked in the service department of a local Jeep dealership. “By now, I had been bit,” he recalled, and he went to work in 1974 for a start-up called Tar Heel 4WD Center, where he really became involved in learning parts, selling parts and developing expertise in off-roading.

Unfortunately, the difficult economy of the time caused Tar Heel 4WD Center to close its doors in 1979, leaving Woodell to take odd jobs, such as tuning cars, brake jobs and “…anything I could do to earn some money,” he said. “I had a baby on the way, so I was in a panic.” As it turned out, several of the reps who called on Woodell at Tar Heel 4WD Center also called on his future employer, Dudley Weathers, who was based in Tupelo, Mississippi, where the original Weathers Auto Supply was located.

Weathers flew Woodell to Petersburg, Virginia, for a talk and on the flight back to Durham, made a job offer to open a store in Petersburg. Since Woodell’s wife, Carol, was due to give birth, she stayed behind in Durham while he set-up shop—and living quarters—in the new Weathers warehouse.

Weathers gave Woodell an opportunity to buy 10% of the Virginia store, and the two then opened another warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over the next couple of years, Woodell bought another 10%, then another 10%. By 1989, he bought the balance of the Petersburg store.

Sam Compton of Rep South Productions had called on Woodell as a customer and recalled looking for a buyer who was “…not reckless, but one that had vision, understanding of the customer and the courage to be a pioneer.”
      “Van met all of these attributes,” he said. “You left Virginia feeling good and inspired to follow his image.”

Steve Starr of PSKB, who met Woodell early in his career as a manufacturer’s rep, recalled his affinity for others. “I feel he loves the industry mainly because of the people he has contact with and his passion for the automotive aftermarket,” Starr said. “He is definitely a people person.”

Woodell had attended SEMA Shows as a member with Tar Heel 4WD Center, but when he joined the association with Weathers, he had a new perspective.

“I figured, if I’m going to be in something or involved in something, I want to learn about it,” he said. “But at that point, I had no earthly idea how to become involved with SEMA.”

Enter Bob Cook of Bob Cook Sales, who told Woodell: “I’ll get you involved.” Cook was an independent rep during Woodell’s Tar Heel 4WD Center days and explained that Woodell and he hit it off right away. “He was very open to new-product presentation, friendly and understood the business,” Cook said. So when it came to SEMA involvement, Cook told him, “Don’t complain about issues unless you are willing to work toward changing them.”

That is what Woodell did, serving three consecutive two-year terms on the SEMA Board of Directors from 1997–2003. He was elected to the Board again in 2007 and 2009. He served on the nominating committee for the Board of Directors and has served on a variety of other SEMA committees and task forces. He held a seat on the PWA Board of Directors and is a past president of PWA. He has also been honored with the Vanguard Award by SEMA’s Young Executives Network (YEN) and was selected for the Light Truck Accessory Alliance (LTAA) Hall of Fame.

Compton might just sum up this SEMA Hall of Fame inductee perfectly with, “Everyone should have a Van Woodell in their life.

Born in Danville, Pennsylvania, and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Chuck Schwartz studied at Ohio State before entering the U.S. Army, where he served in military intelligence. A move to California landed him a job at a seat cover and muffler shop in San Diego—The Big Wheel—where he began by installing dual exhausts and mufflers and was then promoted to salesman and played a key role in the company’s expansion. When an opportunity to buy a leased automotive department in a discount house presented itself, it was done under the name Western Big Wheel, and Schwartz played an instrumental role in the corporation, which owned as many as 165 leased departments at the organization’s peak and became the first mass merchandiser in the United States to offer speed equipment.

Schwartz also sponsored race cars at the local tracks where the corporation had stores, and the fleet even included a championship car. That led to California Racing Specialists, which built engines and chassis for super stock cars. Then came another venture—K-Bar S—which coincided with the growing appeal of off-road racing. K-Bar S focused on building pre-runners, but the company started selling parts before long as well. Schwartz and his crew even built and raced a Ford Bronco in the very first Baja 1000.

The next move was to start two companies—Pioneer 4-Wheel Drive Center and Pioneer Van Conversions—and Schwartz also was involved with the formation of the Off Road Equipment Association (OREA) with the likes of Pete Condos, Bill Stroppe and Thurston Warn as a response to concerns about the closure of land to off-road use. Schwartz participated with the team that produced the OREA Shows and produced the final OREA Show just prior to the acquisition of OREA by SEMA. And then he began to ponder a permanent career change: show business.

Prior to venturing down that new path, Schwartz sold his retail business and became a manufacturer’s rep for about three years. And then it happened: He launched the Auto Internacional trade show in 1980, which focused on parts and accessories for imports. In 1982, SEMA acquired that show. Schwartz became producer of the SEMA Show, and, “It’s been a great ride ever since!” he said. Ron Funfar of Hedman Hedders/Trans-Dapt, who has known Schwartz for nearly 30 years, described him as “…a force in attempting to make SEMA a better-known association from one side of the country to the other.”

Schwartz now produces the SEMA Show and other events through his company, ConvExx. “But Chuck’s impact on SEMA is far greater than his role at ConvExx and as a vendor,” explained Chris Thomson, national sales manager of AIRAID Filter Company. “He’s been an active participant in the actual growth of SEMA, participating in it long before the major successes of the SEMA Show.”

Schwartz is a charter member of the SEMA Political Action Committee (PAC) and was elected chairman of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) management in 1999. He served on that organization’s board of directors for seven years, received the IAEE Pinnacle Award and is an Auto International Association Hall of Fame winner, among the many honors he has accrued since becoming a trade show producer in 1976. He has also been an active volunteer in his community and continues to offer mentoring programs.

As of this year (2010), it's Schwartz’s 29th anniversary as SEMA Show producer, a job that involves drawing the floorplan, selling floor space, getting exhibitors prepared for the Show and “…having the knowledge of where manufacturers are going, what they’re doing, what’s changing in the marketplace. I watch all that and talk to as many exhibitors as possible and learn so that we know what’s going on in the marketplace,” he said.

And it’s clear that there’s no business like show business. “Chuck gets enormous satisfaction out of seeing others succeed,” said B.J. Leanse, Big Country Truck Accessories/Go Rhino! Products North America sales manager. “He sees change and creates solutions and meets every challenge with excellence as the only acceptable goal.

“If you have an idea and a plan, share it. Who knows, maybe you will start something cool.” That’s been the motto of John Towle, whose stellar career in the performance aftermarket has spanned five decades.

In 1964, Towle walked in to the hotbed of performance – the Edelbrock Equipment Co. in Los Angeles – and stayed for 27 years. His first job: sweeping floors and cleaning restrooms. Towle quickly moved up to the fast-paced shipping department at Edelbrock. “I remember helping Vic Edelbrock Jr. unload a full trailer of 3-barrel Holley carburetors on the sidewalk in front of the building on Jefferson. Vic and I shipped 1,000 of them to our customers, all in the same day.”

Towle worked in several departments at Edelbrock (a charter member of SEMA), learning all aspects of the performance business, from manufacturing to sales to distribution. Hard work and dedication paid off as Towle became the company’s vice president of sales in 1982. Under Towle’s leadership, Edelbrock’s annual sales grew and the company captured three Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) Manufacturer of the Year awards (1984, ’89 and ’90).  

During his early days at Edelbrock, Towle – not surprisingly – was bitten by the drag racing bug. He had the opportunity to go to the drags and help Ed “The Master” Pink with his Top Fuel dragster. “I was mostly changing oil and packing the parachute, but it was a great time and a lot of fun for a very young kid.”

In the mid-’70s, Towle campaigned a B/Econorail dragster. After much success at the local strips, legendary Lions and Orange County International Raceway (OCIR), John felt Econorails deserved their own NHRA class. He had a plan and decided to share it. Towle sat on the lawn at OCIR and wrote down some simple rules for A & B Econorails and sent them to NHRA. He also suggested blown alcohol cars should have their own class. NHRA agreed, and this is where the Pro Comp class started, and the Econorails became Competition Eliminator cars.

Towle had many successful years of drag racing, but it was his dedicated work at Edelbrock, SEMA and the PWA which helped the performance industry. He was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors in 1993 and served a two-year term.

In 1990, Towle received the PWA’s Person of the Year award. “It’s a prestigious honor and very rewarding.”

Towle retired from Edelbrock in 1991 and in 1992 became the PWA’s executive director. Under his guidance, the PWA has continued to grow, especially its annual Industry Conference.

Go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and you’ll find the Economaki Press Conference Room. At the New Jersey Motorsports Park, you’ll find The Chris Economaki Media Center. And each year on the day of the Daytona 500, thousands celebrate Chris Economaki Day.

Having served as a motorsports commentator, pit road reporter, and journalist for more than 70 years, Economaki is described as the founding father of the American motorsports media. Many credit him for bringing auto racing to the media forefront. Those not familiar with his name are likely to instantly recognize his voice and the face with the horn-rimmed glasses.

Throughout his career, he never veered away from National Speed Sport News, the weekly newsletter that he bought and began publishing in 1950 when he was just 20 years old. Referred by some as “the Bible of Motorsports” and by others as “America’s Weekly Motorsports Authority,” National Speed Sport News reports on races throughout the country, regardless of the series or the track. The publication ceased printing in March 2011, but, with Economaki still intimately involved with the publication and contributing on a daily basis, its online news will continue to be read religiously be race fans everywhere.

Pinpointing a single reason as to why Art Chrisman is being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame is difficult. For many, it’s unlikely that a reason is even needed.

Chrisman played such a key role in the hot rod movement that his contributions are well known by most enthusiasts. His story is so significant that it’s resulted in The Chrisman Legacy: Always Faster, a 224-page book that chronicles the lives of the Chrismans and their undisputable contribution to the world of motorsports. Working at his father’s Southern California auto shop in the 1950s, Art knew or raced against many of the big-name legends: Ed Iskenderian, Vic Edelbrock, Wally Parks, Pete Petersen, Mickey Thompson, CJ Hart, Lou Baney and many others. Among Chrisman’s many accomplishments is that he was the first drag racer to exceed 140 and 180 mph. He was also the first to make a pass in NHRA’s first national event in 1955.

As of 2011, the legacy continued. Art and his son Mike were still working side-by-side at their shop, C.A.R.S (Chrisman Auto Rod Shop), allowing Chrisman to serve as a mentor and an inspiration to today’s, and tomorrow’s, hot rodder.

A car show can be as simple as placing a few eye-catching vehicles on display and then selling tickets to local enthusiasts. In fact, when Bob Larivee Sr.’s car club, the Motor-city Modified Auto Club (MMAC) participated in the Michigan Hot Rod Association’s (MHRA) first Detroit Autorama in 1953, it featured only 45–50 vehicles parked at the University of Detroit Field House. While the event was modest in size, it was a hit with attendees and the first of many successful car shows for Larivee Sr.

Initiated as a fundraiser, that first Autorama was held to support construction of the New Baltimore Dragstrip. The annual show continued to grow in popularity and, thanks to the MHRA, Michigan’s first official dragstrip opened for business in the spring of 1957. Serving as the track’s inaugural manager, Larivee Sr. got a first-rate education on his two favorite subjects—show promotion and racing.

As a matter of fact, Larivee’s real racing interest was Circle Track. Taking the wheel in 1952, he continued to compete until 1977, tearing across tracks throughout Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.

Through his involvement with MHRA, Larivee Sr. met another local promoter, Don Ridler. Immediately impressed by Ridler’s ideas, the MHRA hired him to help expand the Autorama’s appeal to a larger audience. Before long, popular acts such as Little Anthony & the Imperials, the Big Bopper and the Kalin Twins were performing next to some of the best custom cars in Michigan. Ridler also encouraged Larivee to develop his own shows in other markets.

By 1959, Larivee Sr. had formed a partnership with his brother, Marvin Jr., calling the company Promotions Inc. He produced his first two shows in conjunction with Canadian car clubs, such as the Piston Pushers in Hamilton, Ontario, and the Tecumseh Hot Rod association in Windsor, Ontario. Though he didn’t quite break even, the events were well received, and his reputation was building.

In 1960, Promotions Inc. hosted its third show, this time in Toronto. Taking advantage of local radio and print media as well as a sponsorship with the Corsairs Car Club, the third time was the charm. With a profit of $10,000, there was no longer any doubt about Larivee’s future or the success of Promotions Inc.

As Larivee Sr. sought new areas of opportunity, he looked to Southern California—home to some of the world’s best hot-rod builders and the magazines that covered their projects. In the summer of 1962, he headed west and began networking with the likes of Vic Edelbrock of Edelbrock Equipment Co., Ed Cholakian from Weiand Speed Equipment, “Outlaw” builder Ed Roth and Wally Parks over at the National Hot Rod Association. Promotions Inc. quickly grew to 15 shows, capitalizing on bringing together famous hot-rod creations as well as products from the country’s hottest manufacturers.

In 1963, Larivee Sr. realized that the judging criteria for competing vehicles needed a tune-up. In an effort to level the playing field for car owners and promote legitimate competition he formed the International Show Car Association (ISCA). The ISCA adopted a truly innovative system for scoring vehicles, and, to this day, the ISCA continues to be North America’s preeminent judging body.

Fast-forward 20 years, and Promotions Inc. was producing 100 shows annually, publishing books and souvenir programs and maintaining sponsorships with many of the most dominant specialty-equipment manufacturers in the world. As a promoter, Larivee Sr. continued to innovate, incorporating the biggest names in hot-rod building, music, TV and film under one roof. Detroit’s Big Three were also involved, opting to use Larivee Sr.’s stage to debut vehicles, such as the Mustang, and high-performance buildups, such as Chrysler Corporation’s Rapid Transit System line.

After 35 years, Promotions Inc. was sold to Larivee Sr.’s son, but his contribution to the specialty-equipment industry was far from over. Deeply involved in automotive art, he started a fine art exhibit at the SEMA Show, which will celebrate its 25th year on the Show floor this November (2012). Eventually, he sold most of his huge collection of hot-rod art history to “Speedy” Bill Smith of Speedway Motors for his Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska.

As an entrepreneur and a publisher, Larivee Sr. has literally written the book on car shows, titled simply Show Car Dreams. As readers turn each page, it’s apparent that Larivee Sr. was passionate about creating an opportunity for enthusiasts to come face to face with the greatest hot rods ever built.

SEMA is eternally grateful for Bob Larivee Sr.’s willingness to redefine car shows and for making them something that families, generation after generation, continue to enjoy. It may be hard to define a car guy, but you can start by studying SEMA Hall of Fame member Bob Larivee Sr.

Mark Heffington was born October 2, 1941, in his grandmother's home in Memphis, Tennessee. As a fifth grader, he enjoyed helping out in the school library, where he became inspired by three car books, The Modern Racing Engine, a technical book published in late '40s, and two fictitious novels, Hot Rod and Street Rod, both written by Henry Gregory Felsen. By the time he was 15, he had his mother taking him and friends to local drag races.

Hooked on cars, Heffington pursued a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee and then began his career in the aftermarket industry as the chief cam designer for Crane Cams. In 1972, he founded Cam Dynamics, a leading manufacturer of high-performance and racing camshafts. In the early '80s, he sold the company and began consulting on camshaft design and engineering for United Technologies and General Motors.

In 1984, Buick called Heffington in for help with the cam and valve problems affecting its Indy V6 engines. While at the Speedway, he first encountered the emergence of computer-controlled engines on race cars. Told that the new cars could no longer be tuned by individuals, Heffington immediately realized how such a revolution could significantly impact, and even hinder, the performance industry by leaving tuning to factory engineers with proprietary information. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"I felt like John Belushi at the Triple Rock Church when he had seen the light," Heffington recalled. "In a matter of seconds, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and saw the opportunity. And then you just go and do it."

Heffington poured himself into research and exploration. He founded Hypertech Inc. in 1985 in Bartlett, Tennessee, and engaged engineering consultants to help with computer programs and reverse engineering of codes to develop aftermarket onboard computer reprogramming devices. In 1986, he introduced the first Power Chip to recalibrate the early automotive computers that used replaceable PROMs or "chips" in their electronic control modules. In 1994, with later generations of electronic control units eliminating such chips, Hypertech kept pace, releasing  another first, the Power Programmer to access and alter the "flash" programmable memory associated with the newer OBD-II technology. In fact, during Hypertech's early years, the company cornered the market on such products, chiefly because few manufacturers understood the technology as Heffington did.

Heffington's pioneering contributions to the aftermarket and racing communities brought him induction into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame in 1997. His company also became a five-time winner of SEMA Best New Performance-Street Product and Best Engineered Product awards and a two-time Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice award winner for product innovation, among other industry accolades. In addition, he currently serves on the SEMA Political Action Committee, lending his considerable industry experience and expertise to the efforts to favorably shape public policy to the entire aftermarket's benefit.

In fact, since his successes in the '90s, Heffington continued to demonstrate zeal and innovation for the industry. Heffington took an early stand with his company, creating only street-legal products that met emissions standards. In 2009, Hypertech introduced the Sport Power Programmer, the first street-legal line of tuners for imports.

"The reason I started Hypertech was for people just like me," he explained. "People who like to drive a high-performance street car every day of their life."

Over the years, onboard computer controllers have become more and more sophisticated, regulating fuel, spark, transmission and even radiator cooling fans. However, Heffington views that less as a challenge than an opportunity for even more performance gains. In its 27th year (as of 2012), Hypertech remains a leader of engine tuning products, and Heffington continues to look to the future, seeing better ways to control highly modified engines equipped with nitrous, cam changes or superchargers as well as the ever-changing production models.

William Henry Getty France Sr. is remembered throughout the world as the founder of NASCAR, the most successful stock-car racing series on earth. Born in Washington, D.C., on September 26, 1909, France developed an interest in racing early on. As a teenager, he played hookie from school to take the family Ford Model T to a local board track near his Laurel, Maryland, home. Legend has it he would while the day away doing laps at the track until the last possible moment, then race home before his father could get there and discover what he had actually been up to.

As a young man, France found a job at a local car shop, and then operated his own service station before eventually working his way to Daytona Beach, Florida, opening an auto repair shop there in the early ’30s. By 1936, he was lending his compelling presence to efforts to lay out the locality’s first beach/road course and, as a racer, finished fifth in the course’s inaugural competition. Two years later, he was assisting with the promotion of the races on the sands.

France quickly became known as “Big Bill,” due as much to his 6-ft. 5-in. stature as the big thinking and unfaltering confidence that earned him a towering place in motorsports history. Throughout his early career as a racer and fledgling promoter, he experienced firsthand the challenges of the racing business, from recruiting drivers and spreading the word to creating tracks, hiring ticket-takers and generating profits. Although World War II interrupted much of this work, he promptly resumed when peacetime returned.  Along the way, he developed the conviction that if stock-car racing was ever to truly succeed, it needed a single, firmly governed sanctioning body.

In 1947, France gathered a group of race promoters, drivers and mechanics for a now-famous meeting at the Streamline Hotel on road A1A in Daytona Beach, a structure that stands to this day as a racing landmark.  Together, the group established the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), with France as president. They officially incorporated the organization within a year, and more than 14,000 fans attended the first NASCAR event on the Daytona Beach road/beach course in February of 1948.

Under Big Bill’s leadership NASCAR saw fast-paced development throughout the ’50s and ’60s. He built two superspeedways that came to personify the sport—the 2.5-mi. Daytona International and the 2.66-mi.  Talladega (Alabama). He also founded the International Speedway Corp. (ISC) to operate the two tracks plus others involved in NASCAR’s three national series, the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 1972, he stepped down from his NASCAR presidency, handing the reins over to son William C. France. However, he continued for several years as a consultant and ISC chairman/president.

Throughout his career, the senior France also pioneered standards and practices in safety, organization, infrastructure, scoring and purses that elevated racing’s profile to new levels of respect within the realm of professional sports. In the words of noted motorsports journalist Larry Woody, “Big Bill France looked at an untamed diversion called stock-car racing and saw a promising future…. He founded NASCAR and, through sheer iron will, hammered it into shape.”

Not surprisingly, France achieved many lifetime honors, including induction into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcaster Association Hall of Fame.

Big Bill died of natural causes on June 7, 1992, leaving a larger-than-life legacy. In May of 2010, he was honored again posthumously as one of five initial NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees. His induction into SEMA’s Hall of Fame pays homage not only to his many accomplishments, but also to the racing heritage that continues to inspire and fuel the performance aftermarket.