George Bradbury Francis — Toronto, Ontario

NHRA record holder, race car engineer

George Bradbury Francis, known to most as Brad Francis, has enjoyed a long and successful motorsports career in Canada and the United States. At the time of his retirement, role at Roush Performance Racing was manager for Jack Roush Jr.’s Ford Mustang with Grand Am Continental Tire, which led to 10 race wins over a four-year period.

Francis spent a major portion of his career in research and development, pioneering special projects with Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Andy Petree Racing. Francis’s original work included a NASCAR cooling system redesign, a Panhard rod adjuster, the rear-end internal pump and pit-cam use.

The last decade of his work in motorsports was with Roush Fenway Racing, from 2001 until 2011. Prior to that, Francis worked with General Motors, Peerless Engineering, Caterpillar Racing, Richard Childress and Andy Petree. His notable achievements include his three Winston Cup Championships and one Sprint Cup Championship with drivers Dale Earnhardt Sr., Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch.

Francis’s greatest strengths are his creativity, drive and leadership. His design engineering work has been displayed in his creative success with projects like the Levi Garrett Concept Camaro in 1984, GTU Beretta in 1987, Pontiac Pro Stock for Bert Straus, and Al Billes in 1991.

Further examples of his vision and leadership is the collaborative relationship he started with the United States Army to share strategies and create opportunities for joint engagement between the Army and the racing community. Francis was inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1995 for his contributions to racing.

Francis’s championship history includes:

1967 NHRA/K Gas Record Holder and National’s Champion driver Brad Francis
1971 NHRA/D Gas National’s Championship with driver Bert Straus
1973 Export A Stock Car Championship with driver Norm Lelliott
1973 Molson Pro Stock Championship with driver Bert Straus
1974 Molson Pro Stock Championship with driver Bert Straus
1980 IMSA AAGT Manufactor’s Championship with driver Moe Carter
1981 SCCA Trans-AM Championship with driver Eppie Weitzes
1983 Can-Am Championship with driver Jacques Villeneuve
1987 IMSA GTU Championship with driver Tommy Kendall
1993 Winston Cup Championship with driver Dale Earnhardt Sr.
1994 Winston Cup Championship with driver Dale Earnhardt Sr.
2003 Winston Cup Championship with driver Matt Kenseth
2004 Nextel Cup Championship with driver Kurt Busch
2007 Busch Series Championship with driver Carl Edwards
2011 Nationwide Championship with driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2012 Nationwide Championship with driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.