DAYTONA BEACH -- Bill France Jr., the son of NASCAR's founder, who took over the family business and became the most powerful man in American motorsports, died Monday at his home on the Halifax River. He was 74.
France had been battling a variety of health problems, including cancer, during the last several years of his life. He was still a familiar figure within NASCAR's Daytona Beach headquarters, but as the illnesses took their toll, the once-active France turned to a motorized scooter as his mode of hallway transportation.
He's survived by his wife, Betty Jane, as well as their son, Brian, who followed his father as head of NASCAR, and daughter, Lesa Kennedy, who serves as president of the family-run International Speedway Corp. France's younger brother, James France, is ISC chief executive officer and on Monday assumed the role of ISC chairman.
