TONY HULMAN - USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2012

Tony Hulman, a businessman from Terre Haute who rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from disrepair in the 1940s and restored it to the prominence it had maintained in prior years, is considered as the founder of USAC, and through the Indianapolis 500, helped maintain USAC’s position as a leader in the motorsports industry until his death on October 27, 1977.

Through Hulman and Company, he oversaw the Clabber Girl company and his passion for the sport of auto racing was passed along to his grandson, Tony George, who not only served as president of IMS for many years but with the assistance of USAC, was instrumental in the formation of the Indy Racing League, which debuted in 1996. Hulman purchased the Speedway from Eddie Rickenbacker and hired three-time 500 winner Wilbur Shaw as the track’s president. Shaw perished in a 1954 air accident and Hulman assumed the president’s role at that time. Rose-Hulman Institute in Terre Haute bears his name in recognition of his dedication to higher education and philanthropy.