House Bill hb9043

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HR 9043

        By Representative Lynn






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution recognizing the France family of

  3         Florida, founders and operators of NASCAR and

  4         the International Speedway Corporation.

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  6         WHEREAS, founded in 1948 in Daytona Beach, Florida, by

  7  the late William "Big Bill" France, with his wife, Anne B.,

  8  the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is the

  9  result of an effort to organize a patchwork of stock car

10  racing groups across the Southeast, and, because of the

11  dedication of this determined couple and their Florida family,

12  NASCAR, headquartered in Florida, is now the most successful

13  motorsports sanctioning body in the United States, and

14         WHEREAS, from its humble beginnings more than 50 years

15  ago, NASCAR is now comprised of 12 different racing series

16  nationwide, with the DAYTONA 500, "The Great American Race,"

17  widely regarded as one of the world's most prestigious

18  automobile racing events, often referred to as the "Super Bowl

19  of stock car racing"; and Speedweeks has become the state's

20  largest annually attended sporting event, with spectators

21  exceeding a half million at Daytona International Speedway and

22  numbering more than 30 million in national and worldwide

23  television audiences, and

24         WHEREAS, the visionary activities of "Big Bill" France,

25  the race promoter, served as the cornerstone of International

26  Speedway Corporation, which has grown from the one-track

27  company that constructed Daytona International Speedway to a

28  multimillion dollar, publicly traded corporation with 13

29  racetracks nationwide and numerous other prestigious holdings,

30  and is the largest motorsports entertainment company in the

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HR 9043

    560-278A-02






  1  nation and, arguably, the world, with its base of corporate

  2  operations located in the State of Florida, and

  3         WHEREAS, the popularity of NASCAR and stock car racing

  4  is attributed in no small part to the unique France family,

  5  whose values mirror those of most Floridians and entail

  6  character, teamwork, devotion, competition, hard work, and

  7  family-first values, as evidenced by one generation of the

  8  France family taking the dream to the next level, with Bill,

  9  Jr., and Jim France taking their father's vision of NASCAR

10  from a regional sport to a national and international

11  phenomenon; by Lesa France Kennedy and Brian France's moving

12  NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation into the

13  technology arena through DAYTONA USA; and by the use of an

14  extensive Internet presence, unparalleled television coverage,

15  and other corporate promotions that enhance both the sport and

16  Florida's image and economic development potential, and

17         WHEREAS, through three generations of the France

18  family's influence on motorsports in general and stock car

19  racing in particular, the efforts of this special American

20  family, "Big Bill" France, Anne B. France, Bill France, Jr.,

21  Betty Jane France, Jim France, Sharon Manning France, Lesa

22  France Kennedy, and Brian France, has placed Florida in a

23  position of prominence in the world of motorsports nationally

24  and internationally, and

25         WHEREAS, the France family's dream has become a passion

26  for sports enthusiasts worldwide and has broadened Florida's

27  tourist trade to markets that other states and nations can

28  only imagine, and the France family's dedication to the sport

29  has not only enhanced the state's economic base and job

30  opportunities for thousands but has delivered a positive

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HR 9043

    560-278A-02






  1  message of hope and the realization that one person's dream

  2  can make a difference for generations, NOW, THEREFORE,

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  4  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

  5  Florida:

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  7         That the House of Representatives proudly recognizes

  8  the members of the France family for their dedication to the

  9  State of Florida, to the sport of automobile racing, and to

10  family values in the business community.

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