Role at Riverside: Racer

Earl Ross raced at Riverside Speedway in 1977, making the stop as part of an eastern swing from his Ontario home-base; his other stop was at River Glade Speedway in New Brunswick – where he added his name to the winner’s list of the facilities annual International.

He started his racing career in the late 60s driving hobby cars and then late models at Delaware Speedway. In 1971 he went to Daytona International Speedway as a spectator and quickly decided he had to find a way to race on the superspeedway.

He became the first Canadian to start the Daytona 500 in 1973, fortunate to have NASCAR legend Donnie Allison as his mentor. On September 29, 1974 he beat Buddy Baker to the finish line to win the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway, becoming the only Canadian – and Maritimer – to ever win in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. He was also NASCAR’s top rookie that year, another national feat yet to be equaled. In 26 races that year he had one win, five top fives, and 10 top 10s.

Earl Ross continued to race through the 90s, competing a tracks in Ontario, on the ASA circuit, and with CASCAR.

He was inducted to the Canadian Motorsports Hall Of Fame in 2000, the P.E.I. Sports Hall Of Fame in 2008, and the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011.