Ronald Wayne Shuman [1] (born September 15, 1952) is an American sprint car race driver from Tempe, Arizona.
Shuman won the Turkey Night Grand Prix, a major event in the midget cars series, on eight occasions in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1992 and 1993. He won the Knoxville Nationals in 1979. He tried his hand at Championship Car racing in 1980 and finished in 11th place in his first race at Ontario Motor Speedway in April of that year. However, a month later he failed to qualify for the 1980 Indianapolis 500. In 1981, Shuman sided with USAC in their split with CART and Shuman entered in two dirt track races on USAC's "Gold Crown" Champ Car calendar, failing to qualify for one and finishing 15th in the other. The following season in 1982 Shuman notched his best Champ Car finish at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack with a 5th place and competed in two other dirt track Gold Crown races. He made another appearance in 1983 before the series ended. Shuman continued to race sprint cars during his foray into Champ Car and still makes occasional appearances in major sprint car events to this day.
Ron was a regular on the World of Outlaws sprint car series for a number of years 1979–1987. His best finish was 3rd in points twice and had 14 series wins. In 1988 Ron left the WoO series and joined the California Racing Association wingless series. He promptly won 4 championships in a row 1988–1991. He won 69 CRA races. Ron then raced with the SCRA series that replaced the CRA. He won titles in 1994, 1996, and 1997.
Shuman ran occasional USAC Silver Crown events and took the checkered flag three times.
He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2003.
A race named in honor of him, The Ron Shuman Classic, is held every year in Kansas City, Kansas at Lakeside Speedway.
Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. is an American former racing driver who competed in numerous disciplines of motorsport. He is best known for his open wheel racing career, and for becoming the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He holds the most American National Championship titles in history, winning seven.
The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500. USAC serves as the sanctioning body for a number of racing series, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Cars, National Midgets, Speed2 Midget Series, .25 Midget Series, Stadium Super Trucks, and Pirelli World Challenge. Seven-time USAC champion Levi Jones is USAC's Competition Director.
Travis Leon "Spider" Webb was an American racing driver. He was the 1948 American Automobile Association (AAA) Midwest Sprint Car champion. He raced in numerous AAA Championship Car races including six Indianapolis 500s.
American open-wheel car racing, generally known as Indy car racing, or more formally Indianapolis car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2024, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events for professional-level, open-wheel race cars have been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies, tracing its roots as far back as 1902. A season-long, points-based, National Championship of drivers has been officially recognized in 1905, 1916, and each year since 1920. As such, for many years, the category of racing was known as Championship car racing. That name has fallen from use, and the term Indy car racing has become the preferred moniker.
Steve Butler is an American former auto racing driver. He won six national driving championships in USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown open-wheel racing. Butler was highly regarded for his technical skills and performed chief mechanic duties on several of his winning race cars. He also communicated his view of racing to fans both as author and television commentator. Despite a relatively brief racing career (1981–1993), Butler is an inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the USAC Hall of Fame, and the Hoosier Auto Racing Fan's Hall of Fame. He retired at age 37 to pursue both an engineering career and more time with his growing family. Butler currently resides in Kokomo, IN.
Eldora Speedway is a 0.5 mi (804.672 m) high-banked clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, its website claims capacity for 22,886 spectators in the permanent grandstand, and unlimited admittance for the grass hillside spectator area. The permanent grandstand and VIP suite seats make it the largest sports stadium in the Dayton, Ohio-region according to the Dayton Business Journal.
Timothy Tyler Andrew Walker is an American professional stock car racing driver. Walker is one of many racers who have competed in many inter-disciplinary automotive ranks. His automotive career includes cycling competition, open-wheeled sprint cars, as well as being a stock car pilot, formerly competing in NASCAR. He is the first fourth-generation driver to compete in NASCAR since the late Adam Petty.
Gary Bettenhausen was an American midget car driver. He was the winner the 1967 and 1970 Turkey Night Grand Prix, the 1972 Astro Grand Prix, and the 1976 Hut Hundred.
The Manzanita Speedway was a dirt track racing facility located in the suburban southwestern part of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The facility had a 1/3 mile and 1/2 mile tracks. The track held USAC events up through the 2009 Sprint Car season opener. The track was sold to a rigging company and the final race was held on April 11, 2009.
Duane Claude Carter Jr., nicknamed "Pancho," is an American retired open-wheel racing driver. Best known for his participation in Championship car racing, he won the pole position for the 1985 Indianapolis 500, and won the Michigan 500 in 1981.
George Lee Snider III is a retired American race car driver. A longtime driver in the United States Automobile Club Silver Crown series, Snider is also a 22-time starter of the Indianapolis 500, the most starts without winning the race. His best finish was eighth in the 1975 Indianapolis 500. Snider made many starts driving for his good friend A. J. Foyt. His last Indy start was in 1987. Snider is known to many fans by his nickname "Ziggy".
David MacFarland Steele was an American professional racing driver who won numerous sprint car racing championships and also competed in IndyCar and NASCAR races. Steele last drove a winged sprint car in the Southern Sprintcar Shootout Series, where he won the first 5 races in series history. Steele was killed in a crash at Desoto Speedway on March 25, 2017.
Roger Rager was an American racing driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series.
Joe Saldana is an American former open-wheel racing driver.
Bryan Timothy Clauson was an American professional auto racing driver, best known for his achievements in dirt track open-wheel racing, such as USAC Silver Crown, Midget and Sprint cars. Clauson was increasingly seen competing with the World of Outlaws (WoO) sprint cars in his last couple of years. Clauson also competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Indy Lights, and IndyCar Series and was a development driver for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Jerry Wayne Miller was an American racing driver from Salem, Indiana who excelled at sprint car racing and made a 3-year foray into Championship Car.
The California Racing Association (CRA) was a racing governing body which set rules and hosted Sprint car racing events in Southern California.
Kevin Swindell is an American former racing driver and entrepreneur, who has competed in USAC and NASCAR competition. He has won 77 races in various dirt racing series including the Chili Bowl Nationals. Swindell is the son of three time World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion Sammy Swindell. Swindell owns and operates Swindell Speedlab, a clothing brand as well as Victory Fuel, a brand of flavored water.
The 2018 USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Championship is the 63rd season of the Midget series sanctioned by USAC. P1 Insurance becomes the new title sponsor of the series for 2018. The season will begin with the Shamrock Classic at Southern Illinois Center on March 10, and will end with the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway on November 22. The series will also have a non points race with the Junior Knepper 55 at Southern Illinois Center on December 15. Spencer Bayston enters the season as the defending champion.
Michael "Buddy" Kofoid is an American professional dirt track and stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the USAC National Midget Series and POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series, driving for Keith Kunz Motorsports. He is the 2021 and 2022 USAC National Midget Series champion. He also competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. He also has competed with the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint car Series. He collected his first Win at Husets Speedway on June 23, 2022.