Earl Ross

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Earl Ross
Born(1941-09-04)September 4, 1941
Fortune, Prince Edward Island, Canada
DiedSeptember 18, 2014(2014-09-18) (aged 73)
Ailsa Craig, Ontario, Canada
AchievementsOnly Canadian driver to win in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Awards1974 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
26 races run over 5 years
Best finish8th (1974)
First race1973 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race1976 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
First win1974 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 10 0

Earl Ross (September 4, 1941 – September 18, 2014) was a Canadian race car driver who competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1973 to 1976 driving the Carling Red Cap #52.

Career summary[edit]

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 (the others being Juan Pablo Montoya, who won the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Mario Andretti, who won the 1967 Daytona 500, Marcos Ambrose who won the 2011 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, Daniel Suárez, who won the 2022 Toyota/Save Mart 350, and Shane van Gisbergen, who won the 2023 Grant Park 220). Ross's only NASCAR win came at Martinsville Speedway on September 29, 1974, during the Old Dominion 500. After qualifying 11th, 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 Nationwide Series and the Camping World 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 Grand National race since Shorty Rollins accomplished the feat in 1958.

The victory helped Ross win the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in 1974. After competing in only 2 events in '75 and '76, Ross retired from NASCAR racing. 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.

Ross, a resident of Ailsa Craig, Ontario, died on September 18, 2014, at the age of 73.[1]

Motorsports career results[edit]

NASCAR[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series[edit]

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 NWCC Pts Ref
1973 Allan Brooke 52 Chevy RSD DAY
39 		RCH CAR BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL
14 		NSV CLT DOV TWS RSD MCH
33 		DAY BRI ATL TAL NSV DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR 68th - [2]
1974 RSD DAY
11 		RCH CAR BRI ATL
13 		DAR
12 		NWS MAR TAL
50 		NSV DOV CLT
5 		RSD MCH
2 		8th 1009.47 [3]
Junior Johnson & Associates DAY
13 		BRI
16 		NSV
8 		ATL
20 		POC
13 		TAL
10 		MCH
6 		DAR
22 		RCH
15 		DOV
3 		NWS
4 		MAR
1 		CLT
20 		CAR
8 		ONT
8
1975 Donlavey Racing 93 Ford RSD DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT
13 		RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH DAR DOV NWS MAR CLT RCH CAR BRI ATL ONT NA 0 [4]
1976 DeWitt Racing 52 Chevy RSD DAY
39 		CAR RCH BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 115th 46 [5]
1978 H Miller Racing 91 Chevy RSD DAY
DNQ 		RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT NSV RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT NA - [6]
Daytona 500[edit]
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1973 Allan Brooke Chevrolet 30 39
1974 22 11
1976 DeWitt Racing Chevrolet 12 39
1978 H Miller Racing Chevrolet DNQ

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ McDonald, Norris (September 18, 2014). "Earl Ross, only Canadian to win NASCAR 'Cup' race, dies". Wheels.ca. Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Star. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  2. ^ "Earl Ross – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "Earl Ross – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "Earl Ross – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  5. ^ "Earl Ross – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. ^ "Earl Ross – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2017.

External links[edit]

  • Earl Ross driver statistics at Racing-Reference
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