Wilbur Shaw

Warren Wilbur Shaw (Oct. 31, 1902 - Oct. 30, 1954), was a noted U.S. automobile racer and president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until his death.

Related Topics:
U.S. - Automobile racer - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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Shaw won the Indianapolis 500 race three times, in 1937, 1939 and 1940. In the 1941 race, Shaw was injured when his car crashed; it was later discovered that a defective wheel had been placed on his car.

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During World War II, Shaw was hired by the tire manufacturer Firestone to test a synthetic rubber automobile tire at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which had been closed due to the war. He was dismayed at the dilapidated condition of the already-historic racetrack. Then-owner Eddie Rickenbacker informed Shaw that the track would be demolished and the land turned into a housing subdivision ... unless Shaw could find someone else who might have other ideas.

Related Topics:
World War II - Firestone - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Eddie Rickenbacker - Subdivision

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Shaw immediately set to work, and in short order found the Speedway's savior not far from Indianapolis. In Terre Haute, Indiana he found Tony Hulman, who had inherited his family's business, Hulman & Company, a wholesale grocer and manufacturer of coffee and baking powder. A fan of automobile racing in general and the "500" in particular, Hulman listened with great interest to what Shaw had to say, and despite what Hulman saw when Shaw took him to Indianapolis, he purchased the Speedway from Rickenbacker in November 1945 for the sum of $750,000.

Related Topics:
Terre Haute, Indiana - Tony Hulman - Hulman & Company

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For his efforts, Hulman made Shaw the speedway's president. To this job, Shaw brought his extensive knowledge of the business of auto racing, something Hulman would admit that he himself didn't have, and Shaw's hard work only cemented the reputation of the "500" as the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

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Sadly, at the height of his power in the racing world, Shaw was killed in an airplane crash near Decatur, Indiana on October 30, 1954, one day before his fifty-second birthday. The pilot, Ray Grimes, and artist Ernest Roose were also killed.

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Wilbur Shaw was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991.

Related Topics:
International Motorsports Hall of Fame - 1991

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