Harley J. Earl Trophy
Encyclopedia
The Harley J. Earl Trophy is the trophy presented to the winner of the premier, and season-opening, event of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....

. It is named after influential automobile designer Harley Earl
Harley Earl
Harley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...

, who served as the second commissioner of NASCAR. Earl has been known as the so-called "father of the Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...

" and designer of the Firebird I prototype
General Motors Firebird
The General Motors Firebird is a series of three concept cars designed by Harley Earl, and built by General Motors for the 1953, 1956 and 1959 Motorama auto shows. They were very much inspired by innovations in fighter aircraft design at the time...

 that adorns the trophy. The trophy is kept on display at the Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...

, while a small replica is given to each Daytona 500 winner.

Description and history

The Harley J. Earl Trophy is named after General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 car designer Harley Earl
Harley Earl
Harley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...

. Earl, the second commissioner of NASCAR
NASCAR National Commissioner
The NASCAR National Commissioner is a largely honorary title awarded by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . Created by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr...

, was the designer of the Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...

; his Firebird I
General Motors Firebird
The General Motors Firebird is a series of three concept cars designed by Harley Earl, and built by General Motors for the 1953, 1956 and 1959 Motorama auto shows. They were very much inspired by innovations in fighter aircraft design at the time...

 concept car
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

 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 Sprint Cup Series (formerly known as the Nextel Cup Series, Winston Cup Series, and 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 a NASCAR driver can be presented with.

The Harley J. Earl Perpetual Trophy, the "official" version of the award, is housed at Daytona 500 Experience, a museum adjacent to the Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...

. It stands about four feet tall, and five feet wide, and is in the same triangular "tri-oval" shape of Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...

. It is removed from its display once a year to appear in victory lane with the winner of the Daytona 500. However, in 2010, the trophy was removed from the Daytona International Speedway, and transported to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

, where it was put on display alongside the Borg-Warner Trophy
Borg-Warner Trophy
The Borg-Warner Trophy, named for United States automotive supplier BorgWarner, is symbolic of victory in the Indianapolis 500 automobile race...

, awarded to the winner of the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

, in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, which houses the Auto Racing Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Indianapolis 500, but it also includes exhibits reflecting other forms of...

 during the Indianapolis 500 Week.

The Trophy and the Award

Winners of the Daytona 500 through 1997 received the Harley Earl Award, a wooden trophy approximately three feet tall, adorned with silver figurines. Starting in 1998, to celebrate the 40th running, individual winners of the Daytona 500 have been presented with a miniature replica of the Harley J. Earl Trophy, which was recreated by John Lajba
John Lajba
John Lajba, is an American sculptor who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. He is known for his work in creating sculptures of historical and sports figures, and creates the annual Harley J. Earl Trophies presented to the winner of the Daytona 500.-Work:...

, a sculptor from Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

. Previously commissioned to craft a sculpture of Bill France and his wife, Ann France, for display in front of NASCAR corporate headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida, Lajba's work on each replica trophy requires six weeks of 12-hour days to create the Firebird I automobile, with all the work done by hand, before it gets plated in silver by A&J Plating, also located in Omaha. The first replica trophy, won in 1998 by Dale Earnhardt was originally on a marble base, but has since been switched to an acrylic stand, making it lighter. For the 2008 Daytona 500
2008 Daytona 500
The 2008 Daytona 500 was the 50th annual running of "The Great American Race", the Daytona 500. The race took place on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was the 50th to be run since the first in 1959, won by Lee Petty. To commemorate...

, the 50th anniversary of the first race, the replica of the trophy, given to winner Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman
Ryan Joseph Newman is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drives the #39 United States Army/Tornados/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for Stewart Haas Racing under crew chief Tony Gibson. Newman graduated from Purdue University in 2001 with a B.S. in vehicle structure engineering...

, was plated in gold rather than silver.

The replica trophies weigh 54 pounds (24.5 kg), and measure 18 inches (45.7 cm) tall, 22 inches (55.9 cm) wide and 12 inches (30.5 cm) 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
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

, often referred to as "The King" of NASCAR. Petty's seven victories lead the four Daytona 500 wins of Cale Yarborough
Cale Yarborough
William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...

, and three each by Bobby Allison
Bobby Allison
Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....

, Dale Jarrett
Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett is a former American race car driver and current sports commentator known for winning the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship...

 and Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...

. Bill Elliott
Bill Elliott
William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...

, Sterling Marlin
Sterling Marlin
Sterling Marlin is a retired NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He is the son of late NASCAR driver Coo Coo Marlin. He is married to Paula and has a daughter, Sutherlin, and a son, Steadman, who sometimes races in the Nationwide Series....

 and Michael Waltrip
Michael Waltrip
Michael Curtis Waltrip is a semi-former professional race car driver, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, and a published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASCAR champion and racing commentator Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500; having won the race in...

 have won the Daytona 500, and the Harley J. Earl Trophy, twice each; twenty-seven other drivers have been awarded the trophy once, with Trevor Bayne
Trevor Bayne
Trevor Bayne is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series race car driver. He drives the No. 21 Motorcraft/QuickLane Ford Fusion for Wood Brothers Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, and the No. 16 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing in the Nationwide Series.Bayne began his racing...

being the most recent, in 2011. As of 2011, Bayne was the youngest winner of the trophy when he won it at age 20 years, 1 day in 2011; Allison was the oldest winner (50 years, 2 months, 11 days) in 1988.
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