Harley J. Earl Trophy

Description and history

The Harley J. Earl Trophy is named after General Motors car designer Harley Earl. Earl, the second commissioner of NASCAR, was the designer of the Chevrolet Corvette; his Firebird I concept car provides the basis of the automobile that sits atop the trophy; the car is often misidentified as Sir Malcolm Campbell's "Blue Bird" land speed record car. Earl was a friend of NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr., who named the trophy after him as a sign of respect.

The trophy is awarded to the winner of the annual Daytona 500, known as "The Great American Race", which acts as the season-opening event for the NASCAR Cup Series (formerly known as the Monster Energy Cup Series, Sprint Cup Series, Nextel Cup Series, Winston Cup Series, and Winston Grand National Series), and is also considered the most prestigious and important event on the NASCAR schedule. The trophy is considered to be the most coveted award with which a NASCAR driver can be presented.

The Harley J. Earl Perpetual Trophy, the "official" version of the award, is housed at the Daytona International Speedway. It stands about 4 ft tall, 5 ft wide and is in the same triangular "tri-oval" shape of Daytona International Speedway. It's removed from its display once a year to appear in victory lane with the winner of the Daytona 500. In 2010, the trophy was removed from the Daytona International Speedway, transported to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and put on display alongside the Borg-Warner Trophy – awarded to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 – in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum during the Indianapolis 500 race week.

The Trophy and the Award

The replica trophies weigh 54 lb, measures 18 in tall, 22 in wide and 12 in deep.

Additional Daytona 500 trophies

The Harley J. Earl Trophy is not the only trophy awarded at the conclusion of the annual Daytona 500. The crew chief of the winning team receives the Cannonball Baker Trophy, named after the first commissioner of NASCAR; the winning team owner is awarded the Governor's Cup.

Winners of the Harley J. Earl Trophy

The most Harley Earl Awards and Harley J. Earl Trophy Replicas have been won by Richard Petty, often referred to as "The King" of NASCAR. Petty's seven victories lead the four Daytona 500 wins of Cale Yarborough, and three each by Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, and Denny Hamlin. Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Michael Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and William Byron have won the Daytona 500 and Harley J. Earl Trophy twice; twenty-seven other drivers have been awarded the trophy once. As of , Trevor Bayne was the youngest winner of the trophy when he won it at age 20 years, 1 day in 2011; Bobby Allison was the oldest winner (50 years, 2 months, 11 days) in 1988.

References

References

1. (2011). "Hall of Fame: Harley Earl". National Corvette Museum.
2. Bonkowski, Jerry. (2010). "Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates". John Wiley & Sons.
3. Lazarus, William P.. (2004). "The Sands of Time: A Century of Racing in Daytona Beach". Sports Publishing L.LC..
4. Woods, Bob. (2005). "NASCAR Pit Pass: Behind the Scenes of NASCAR". Reader's Digest.
5. (November 9, 2009). "Harley J. Earl Trophy for 2010 Arrives at DIS". Daytona International Speedway.
6. Daytona International Speedway. (May 26, 2010). "Harley J. Earl trophy takes rare trip to Indianapolis". NASCAR.com.
7. Bechtel, Mark. (2010). "He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back: The True and Glorious Story of the Year the King, Jaws, Earnhardt, and the Rest of NASCAR's, Feudin', Fightin' Good Ol' Boys Put Stock Car Racing on the Map". Little, Brown & Co..
8. (February 20, 2005). "NASCAR Trophy Made in Omaha". WOWT Channel 6 Omaha.
9. (February 8, 2011). "NASCAR Daytona 500 History". [[ESPN]].
10. (2011). "Trophy History". Daytona International Speedway.
11. Francis, Jim. (2008). "The History of NASCAR". Crabtree Publishing.
12. Adamczyk, Jay. (November 21, 2010). "All Time Sprint Cup Winners". ESPN.
13. Symeon, Chris. "Bayne remains in dream state after Daytona 500 victory". WKYC.
14. "Three Daytona 500 Champions And Winning Daytona 500 Car Owner Represented In Second NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class". [[Daytona International Speedway]].