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Ross was born in Fortune, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and was known for being one of only six non-American born drivers to have won a NASCAR Cup Series race. His first Cup start came in the 1973 Daytona 500. He started 30th; but had his engine expire after only 34 laps and finished 39th. Ross's only NASCAR win came at Martinsville Speedway on September 29, 1974, during the Old Dominion 500. Track owner Clay Earles had recruited Virginia aces Ray Hendrick, Paul Radford, Jimmy Hensley and Sonny Hutchins to race against Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and the rest. Martin says the crowd went nuts early in the race as the Virginians dominated the scoring pylon. Hutchins, in his final Cup race, started on the inside pole and led the only 79 laps of his Cup career. He crashed, and one by one, the Virginia ringers fell off, until eventually Yarborough took the lead in the No. 11 Junior Johnson Chevy with the beautiful Carling livery. Yarborough's engine blew on Lap 422, and Earl, driving Junior Johnson’s #52 with identical Carling livery, took the lead. "Who is he?" people wondered. "52?!? The 52 doesn't win races." Even though the #52 had qualified well he was largely over looked until he took the lead. As the laps ticked down toward the biggest win of his life, Earl heard things.

His teammate’s engine had blown. Was his next? Ten laps (rattle rattle), eight laps (crack crack), four laps (ping ping), and finally the checkered flag flew, and under it drove a man whose preferred flag has a maple leaf on it. Quoting the Spartanburg Herald Journal: "I feel like crying," the heavy-set Ross said as he mopped a weary brow. "I'm no youngster, but the one thing I've always dreamed of was winning a big stock car race in the South where the best drivers in the world operate." Ross beat Buddy Baker to the line by more than a lap, thus making him the first and still the only Canadian to have ever won a Winston Cup event. Ron Fellows however has wins in the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series. Stewart Friesen and Raphaël Lessard

have also won in the Truck Series. At that time, Earl was the first rookie to win a Cup race since Shorty Rollins accomplished the feat in 1958. The victory helped Ross win the Cup Rookie of the Year in 1974. He ran 21 of 30 events that year and had five Top 5 finishes. Along with the win he had a second, third, fourth and fifth. He also posted ten Top 10 runs. He also finished 11th in that years Daytona 500. After competing in only one race each in 1975 (World 600; finish 13th) and 1976 (Daytona 500; finished 39th), Ross retired from NASCAR racing. He attempted a final start in 1978, but did not qualify for that years Daytona 500. He recorded one win, five top-5s and 10 top 10s in 26 races. Ross competed in a number of regional racing series throughout the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including time on the ASA circuit and CASCAR Super Series. He also participated in regular Friday night racing at Delaware Speedway before his ultimate retirement in the late 1990s. Ross was inducted into the

Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2000, FOAR SCORE (Friends Of Auto Racing Seeking Cooperation Of Racing Enthusiasts) Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. Late in Earl's life, Parkinson's disease robbed him of his mobility. He was and still remains (as of 2024) the only Canadian to ever win a Cup race. He took more than 100 checkered flags at short tracks across the Midwest and Canada. He earned seven different inductions into Halls of Fame. He'd raced at Mount Clemens, Michigan, on Thursdays, Fort Wayne,

Indiana, on Fridays, Grand Rapids on Saturdays and on Sundays they’d pick up a race on the way home from Grand Rapids. He won three track championships in one year, and in 1970 he won nine out of 10 big races in Canada with international drivers. Ross, a resident of Ailsa Craig, Ontario, died on September 18, 2014, at the age of 73. Ross was nothing if not a survivor. He suffered a near fatal car crash in a passenger car; escaped as flames shot out of his after he rolled it in one of his final races; and rebuilt his manufacturing business after a lightning strike burned it to the ground. He tackled Parkinson's just like he tackled those - at full throttle.

Fantasy NASCAR Racing

EARL ROSS - 9/04/1941 - 9/18/2041