sentences:  Earl, the second commissioner of NASCAR, was the designer of the Chevrolet Corvette; his Firebird I concept car 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 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (formerly known as the 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.