Rodger Morris Ward was an American racing driver best known for his open-wheel career. He is generally regarded as one of the finest drivers of his generation, and is best known for winning two National Championships, and two Indianapolis 500s, both in 1959 and 1962. He also won the AAA National Stock Car Championship in 1951.
Roger Searle Penske is a retired American professional auto racing driver, team owner and businessman. Penske is most known for his ownership of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and other auto racing-related businesses. Penske is the founder and chairman of the Penske Corporation, a holding company for his various businesses. Penske is also a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
Riverside International Raceway was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riverside and 50 mi (80 km) east of Los Angeles, in 1957. In 1984, the raceway became part of the newly incorporated city of Moreno Valley. Riverside was noted for its hot, dusty environment, which was a dangerous challenge for drivers. It was also considered one of the finest tracks in the United States. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989, with the last race, The Budweiser 400, won by Rusty Wallace, held in 1988. After that final race, a shortened version of the circuit was kept open for car clubs and special events until 1989.
Richard Ernest Evans, was an American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight in a row from 1978 to 1985. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame lists this achievement as "one of the supreme accomplishments in motorsports". Evans won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, most of them more than once, including winning the Race of Champions three times. Evans was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011. As one of the Class of 2012, Evans was one of the Hall's first 15 inductees, and was the first Hall of Famer from outside the now NASCAR Cup Series.
Christopher Constantine Economaki was a pioneering American motorsports journalist, publisher, reporter, and commentator known as "The Dean of American Motorsports Journalism." Working for, and later owning, National Speed Sport News, Economaki helped encourage the growth of American motorsports from a niche endeavor to a mainstream pursuit.
Joseph Paul Leonard was an American professional motorcycle racer and racecar driver.
Trenton Speedway was a racing facility located near Trenton, New Jersey at the New Jersey State Fairgrounds. Races for the United States' premier open-wheel and full-bodied racing series of the times were held at Trenton Speedway.
Maple Grove Raceway (MGR) is a quarter-mile dragstrip located near Mohnton, Pennsylvania, just outside Reading. It opened in 1962 as a 1/5-mile dragstrip. It was eventually lengthened to its current quarter-mile length in 1964. The track has been sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association for most of its existence. It has hosted an NHRA national event since 1985. Uni-Select Auto Plus came aboard as the Nationals sponsor in 2011. Other key events include the American Drag Racing League, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the Geezers Reunion at The Grove, the Super Chevy Show, Mopar Action, Fun Ford Weekend and the NHRA Pennsylvania Dutch Classic.
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, originally known as Madison Township Raceway Park, is an American auto racing facility located in Old Bridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.
Leonard W. Miller is one of two black motor racing pioneers living in the United States.
Heidelberg Raceway was an American auto racing track which was built near Heidelberg, Pennsylvania in Scott Township, Allegheny County, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It held weekly races and numerous special events between 1948 and 1973. It held four NASCAR Strictly Stock/Grand National Series and one NASCAR Convertible Division race between the 1940s and 1960s. In 1960, Heidelberg became the first track to fall off NASCAR's tour. The land is now occupied by a shopping center called Raceway Plaza.
The Black American Racers Association (BARA) was founded in August 1972 in Trenton, New Jersey by Leonard W. Miller, Ron Hines, Eugene Gadson, and Charles Singleton. BARA was formed to give recognition to black racing drivers, crews, mechanics, car owners, and other members of the auto racing community and corporations that help promote black racing development. BARA ceased operations in 1978.
Benny Scott, was a second-generation African American race car driver, a rarity in the motor racing industry. Scott's father, Bill "Bullet" Scott, inspired his son racing midgets in Southern California in the 1930s.
Ron Hines was the first black Ivy League-educated auto racing engineer on America's road racing circuits. He was an engineer for Black American Racers, Inc. (BAR), the first black auto racing team to attain national sponsorship in America, in the 1970s.
Silent Thunder: Breaking Through Cultural, Racial, and Class Barriers in Motorsports (2004) is the autobiography of African-American motorsports pioneer Leonard W. Miller. It is a rare look inside an African-American man’s motor-racing experience from post-World War II into the early 1990s. Only two other auto books delve into this perspective.
Leonard T. Miller, a native of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, graduated from Morehouse College in 1983 with a B.A. in Business Administration. He has achieved many accomplishments in aviation and motor racing and as an author.
New England Dragway is a 1⁄4 mile NHRA dragway in Epping, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, United States. The track hosts the New England Nationals event as part of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The track also hosts a regional event as part of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.
Robert Hight is an NHRA drag racer and president of John Force Racing, and driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. He is a three-time NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion, with titles in 2009, 2017 and 2019. His 2009 title gave the JFR team its 15th championship, while his 2017 title was the team's 19th crown. Hight has finished in the top 10 in points in all but one of his 14 competitive seasons.
Sydney Speedway was a dirt track racing venue on the site of the Granville Showgrounds in Sydney.
The NHRA Summernationals, hosted by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), was an annual drag racing event held from 1970 to 1992, 2002 to 2017 and again in 2020, mostly at the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey.
