Edsel B. Ford II Wins 2020 Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR
Photo: Ford Motor Company
Edsel B. Ford, the son of Henry Ford II and great-grandson of Ford Motor Company patriarch Henry Ford, has been named the 2020 Landmark Award winner for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Ford currently serves on the Ford Motor Company Board of Directors and has served as the ostensible face of the company’s NASCAR efforts and various other racing endeavors.
Ford was one of five nominees for the 2020 Landmark Award. He earned the nod over original NASCAR flagman Alvin Hawkins, NASCAR vice chairman Mike Helton, Pocono Raceway founder Dr. Joseph Mattioli, and former R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company official Ralph Seagraves. He will receive his award at the 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Jan. 31, 2020, which will be headlined by Tony Stewart and include Joe Gibbs, Bobby Labonte, Waddell Wilson, and Buddy Baker.
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“I love this sport. I love being around NASCAR,” said Ford. “I told my boys when they were growing up, I said, ‘From my experience, the one group of people that won’t disappoint you are racers.’ I say that because they’re transparent, they’re frank, they bring their families to the races. I’ve known a lot of race car drivers all my life. … My kids love racing as much as I do, so it’s fun.”
It is fun! It really is. Ford said that he believes his great-grandfather “would be thrilled” at his achievement. Though best known as the mind behind the Ford Model T and a pretty virulent antisemite, Henry Ford also got his feet wet in racing by winning the only race he ever took part in on Oct. 10, 1901.
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