Description

Grant King model car kit box explains Grant King's role in the Black American Racers on the sides of the box. King was BAR's chief mechanic for the Formula 5000 race car including the 1975 inaugural Long Beach Grand Prix in Long Beach, CA. King was an iconic Indianapolis 500 mechanic in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also one of the best United States Auto Club (USAC) sprint car constructors during this period and served on the board of directors at USAC in 1975. Miller hired King as his Formula 5000 chief mechanic because King did not have any racial bias that was prevalent of the era because he was Asian. King's popularity and mechanical skill in auto racing warranted this "Grant King Sprint Racer" model kit sold in hobby shops and retailers nationwide in the 1970s.In 1969, Len Miller and his brother Dexter for Miller Racing to race hot rods on the drag racing circuit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Northeast. With success on the racetrack he formed Vanguard Racing in 1972 and was the first African American to enter a car in the Indianapolis 500. He then went on to found the Black American Racers Association in 1973. The goal of the organization was to “unify African-American drivers in all types of racing – stock car, open wheel, and drag racing -- pave the way for greater success and introduce race fans to African-American’s history in motorsports.”Later that same year the Black American Racers, Inc. (BAR)...

Record Contributed By

National Museum of American History

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution