AILSA CRAIG, ON – On September 29, 1974, Ailsa Craig, Ontario stock car racer Earl Ross won the Old Dominion 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race. He continues to be the only Canadian ever to have won on NASCAR’s top circuit. The Martinsville victory and his 1974 Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award earned Ross superstar status in Canada, where he raced successfully before and after his US NASCAR career.
In 2000, Ross was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. Born in PEI, in 1941, he is also a member of the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame, as well as the FOAR Score and London Sports halls of fame. Earl Ross passed away on Sept. 18, 2014.
To honour and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earl Ross’s historic victory at Martinsville, a group from Ailsa Craig are organizing a bus trip that will visit several racing-related sites near Charlotte, North Carolina, before heading to Martinsville, Virginia for the NASCAR weekend featuring the Xfinity and Cup Series.
“What Earl Ross did in 1974 is very special and we’re organizing a bus trip for a bunch of his fans, supporters and family to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his win at Martinsville,” said Charlene Kydd-Pickering, who has put together the itinerary. Her daughter, Angelina Pickering, is handling the travel bookings.
“The bus is going to leave Ailsa Craig on Wednesday, October 30. We’re going to go to Charlotte (NC) to visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte Motor Speedway and a couple of NASCAR team garages, as well as the Wood Brothers Museum.
“Then we’re going to head to Martinsville to see the Xfinity Series race on Saturday and the Cup Series race on Sunday, before heading back to Ontario.”
As well as being the 50th anniversary of Earl Ross’s Winston Cup Series win, the Martinsville race is the next-to-last event on the 2024 Cup schedule and will set the final four contenders for the Chase finale the following weekend in Phoenix.
In addition to Earl Ross being Canadian, the core members of his Carling Red Cap #52 team were also from southwestern Ontario, which made their accomplishment even more special.
“They were all just regular guys from small towns,” Kydd-Pickering continued. “There were the three McKichan brothers (Gord, Stan and Ken), from the Ailsa Craig area. And there was Donnie Duncan, from Strathroy. Ron Ling, Ken Silk and Charley Greenlaw were also members of the team. Racing is different today, but it was still a huge accomplishment what they did 50 years ago competing against guys like Buddy Baker, Junior Johnson, Bobby and Donnie Allison, and Richard Petty. It’s almost unbelievable that one of our own was doing that, doing well, and actually won a race.”
Beyond attending the races at Martinsville and visiting the racing venues, Charlene says there will be a lot of great ‘NASCAR’ and ‘Earl Ross’ stories shared while on the tour.
“He was a super nice man. He loved golfing and was great to everyone. But he was very humble and unless you knew about what he’d done and winning that race at Martinsville, it wasn’t something that Earl ever brought up.
“We think the trip will be fun and exciting for everyone who goes. And then we’ll be sitting starting in Row 51 at the Start / Finish Line – up nice and high – so that everyone will be able to see the full track. And everyone who goes on the bus will get an infield pass, in addition to their race tickets.”
Charlene notes that there is room for 48 people on the ‘Earl Ross 50th Anniversary of Winning Bus Tour.’ Click here for a detailed itinerary and pricing information. Or contact Angelina Pickering at (519) 786-2319 or angelinapickering@tripcentral.ca. Space is limited, so act quickly.
