Harley J. Earl Trophy

Harley J. Earl Trophy
Awarded for	Winning the Daytona 500
Location	Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
Country	United States
Presented by	NASCAR
First awarded	1959
Currently held by	William Byron
Website	[1]

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. It is named after influential automobile designer Harley Earl, who served as the second commissioner of NASCAR. Earl is arguably best known as the "inventor of the Corvette" and designer of the Firebird I prototype that adorns the trophy. The trophy is kept on display at the Daytona International Speedway, while a small replica is given to each Daytona 500 winner.

Description and history

The Harley J. Earl Trophy is named after General Motors car designer Harley Earl. Earl, the second commissioner of NASCAR, was the designer of the Chevrolet Corvette;^[1] his Firebird I concept car provides the basis of the automobile that sits atop the trophy;^[2] the car is often misidentified as Sir Malcolm Campbell's "Blue Bird" land speed record car.^[3] Earl was a friend of NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr., who named the trophy after him as a sign of respect.^[4]

The trophy is awarded to the winner of the annual Daytona 500, known as "The Great American Race",^[5] which acts as the season-opening event for the NASCAR Cup Series (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.^[2] The trophy is considered to be the most coveted award with which a NASCAR driver can be presented.^[2][6]

The Harley J. Earl Perpetual Trophy, trackside, at Daytona International Speedway prior to the running of the 2024 Daytona 500.

The Harley J. Earl Perpetual Trophy, the "official" version of the award, is housed at the Daytona International Speedway. It stands about four feet (1.2 m) tall, five feet (1.5 m) wide and is in the same triangular "tri-oval" shape of Daytona International Speedway. It's removed from its display once a year to appear in victory lane with the winner of the Daytona 500.^[7] In 2010, the trophy was removed from the Daytona International Speedway, transported to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and put on display alongside the Borg-Warner Trophy – awarded to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 – in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum during the Indianapolis 500 race week.^[8]

The Trophy and the Award

2008 gold-plated trophy.

Winners of the Daytona 500 through 1997 received the Harley Earl Award, a wooden trophy approximately three feet (0.91 m) tall, adorned with silver figurines.^[9] 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,^[9] which was recreated by John Lajba, a sculptor from Omaha, Nebraska.^[6] 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,^[6] 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,^[6] before it gets plated in silver by Koley’s Inc., also located in Omaha.^[6] The first replica trophy, won in 1998 by Dale Earnhardt was mounted on a marble base, but subsequent trophies have since been mounted to an acrylic base, making them lighter.^[6] For the 2008 Daytona 500, the 50th anniversary of the first race, the replica of the trophy, presented to winner Ryan Newman, was plated in gold rather than silver.^[5]

The replica trophies weigh 54 pounds (24 kg), measures 18 inches (46 cm) tall, 22 inches (56 cm) wide and 12 inches (30 cm) deep.^[7]

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.^[10]

Winners of the Harley J. Earl Trophy

The most Harley Earl Awards and Harley J. Earl Trophy Replicas have been won by Richard Petty, often referred to as "The King" of NASCAR.^[11] Petty's seven victories lead the four Daytona 500 wins of Cale Yarborough, and three each by Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, and Denny Hamlin. Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Michael Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, 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.^[12] As of 2025, Trevor Bayne was the youngest winner of the trophy when he won it at age 20 years, 1 day in 2011;^[13] Bobby Allison was the oldest winner (50 years, 2 months, 11 days) in 1988.^[14]

References

1. "Hall of Fame: Harley Earl". National Corvette Museum. 2011. Archived from the original on 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
2. Bonkowski, Jerry (2010). Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-470-27875-8. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
3. Lazarus, William P. (2004). The Sands of Time: A Century of Racing in Daytona Beach. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing L.LC. p. 182. ISBN 1-58261-784-8. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
4. Woods, Bob (2005). NASCAR Pit Pass: Behind the Scenes of NASCAR. Pleasantville, N.Y: Reader's Digest. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-7944-0601-1.
5. "NASCAR Daytona 500 History". ESPN. February 8, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
6. "NASCAR Trophy Made in Omaha". WOWT Channel 6 Omaha. February 20, 2005. Archived from the original on 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
7. "Harley J. Earl Trophy for 2010 Arrives at DIS". Daytona International Speedway. November 9, 2009. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
8. Daytona International Speedway (May 26, 2010). "Harley J. Earl trophy takes rare trip to Indianapolis". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
9. Bechtel, Mark (2010). He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back: The True and Glorious Story of the Year the King, Jaws, Earnhardt, and the Rest of NASCAR's, Feudin', Fightin' Good Ol' Boys Put Stock Car Racing on the Map. New York: Little, Brown & Co. p. 380. ISBN 978-0-316-07213-7. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
10. "Trophy History". Daytona International Speedway. 2011. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
11. Francis, Jim (2008). The History of NASCAR. New York: Crabtree Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-7787-3186-3. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
12. Adamczyk, Jay (November 21, 2010). "All Time Sprint Cup Winners". Jayski.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
13. Symeon, Chris. "Bayne remains in dream state after Daytona 500 victory". 21 February 2011. Cleveland, Ohio: WKYC. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
14. "Three Daytona 500 Champions And Winning Daytona 500 Car Owner Represented In Second NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class". 13 October 2010. Daytona International Speedway. Retrieved 24 March 2011.