Today In NASCAR History

 

1974: Earl Ross of Canada becomes just the second driver born outside the United States to win at NASCAR’s highest level, winning the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Ross, driving for NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson, led the final 79 laps after teammate Cale Yarborough retired with engine failure. He beat runner-up Buddy Baker to the checkered flag by one lap, with third-place Donnie Allison finishing three laps down. Italian-born Mario Andretti, Colombia’s Juan Pablo Montoya and Australian Marcos Ambrose are the only other foreign-born drivers with wins in NASCAR’s premier series.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.