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 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

(NASCAR), the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of thr ...

. It is named after influential automobile designer

Harley Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...

, who served as the second commissioner of NASCAR. Earl has been known as the so-called "father of the

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop ...

" and designer of the Firebird I prototype that adorns the trophy. The trophy is kept on display at the

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, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NAS ...

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

Description and history

The Harley J. Earl Trophy is named after

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...

car designer

. Earl, the second commissioner of NASCAR, was the designer of the

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...

; his Firebird I

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

provides the basis of the automobile that sits atop the trophy; the car is often misidentified as

Sir Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...

's " Blue Bird" land speed record car. Earl was a friend of NASCAR founder

Bill France, Sr. William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992), also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill, was an American businessman and racing driver. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based stock ca ...

, 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 Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...

(formerly known as the Monster Energy Cup Series, Sprint Cup Series, Nextel Cup Series, Winston Cup Series, and Winston 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 with which a NASCAR driver can be presented. The Harley J. Earl Perpetual Trophy, the "official" version of the award, is housed at the

. It stands about tall, wide and is in the same triangular "tri-oval" shape of

. It's removed from its display once a year to appear in

victory lane The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings. 0–9 ;1–2 finish: When two vehicles from the same team finish first and second in a race. Can be extended to 1–2–3 or 1–2–3– ...

with the winner of the Daytona 500. In 2010, the trophy was removed from the Daytona International Speedway, transported to the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United Stat ...

and put on display alongside the

Borg-Warner Trophy The Borg-Warner Trophy is the trophy presented to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. It is named for and was commissioned by automotive supplier BorgWarner. It is permanently housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in Speedway, Indiana. ...

– awarded to the winner of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianap ...

– in the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, which houses the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Indi ...

during the Indianapolis 500 race week.

The Trophy and the Award

Winners of the Daytona 500 through 1997 received the ''Harley Earl Award'', a wooden trophy approximately 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, a sculptor from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ci ...

. 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, at Herman Engraving, before it gets plated in silver by Koley’s Inc., also located in Omaha. The first replica trophy, won in 1998 by

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driv ...

was mounted on a marble base, but subsequent trophies have since been mounted to an acrylic base, making them lighter. For the

2008 Daytona 500 The 2008 Daytona 500, the 50th annual running of the event, was held on February 17, 2008 at 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 ...

, the 50th anniversary of the first race, the replica of the trophy, presented to winner Ryan Newman, was plated in gold rather than silver. The replica trophies weigh , measures tall, wide and 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 Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably ...

, often referred to as "The King" of NASCAR. Petty's seven victories lead the four Daytona 500 wins of

Cale Yarborough William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...

, and three each by

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks ...

Dale Jarrett Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champ ...

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Mot ...

, and

Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racin ...

Sterling Marlin Sterling Burton Marlin (born June 30, 1957) is an American semi-retired, professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, driving the No. 114 for Sterling Marlin Racing. He formerly competed in the N ...

Michael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, and published author. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience. He is the younger brother ...

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, t ...

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...

, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have won the Daytona 500 and Harley J. Earl Trophy twice; twenty-seven other drivers have been awarded the trophy once. As of ,

Trevor Bayne Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe ...

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.

References

{{Daytona 500 NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway NASCAR trophies and awards NASCAR Cup Series