Racing Legend Andy Granatelli Passes Away

	Racing icon Andy Granatelli passed away Sunday, December 29, 2013, at the age of 90.

Racing icon Andy Granatelli passed away Sunday, December 29, at the age of 90. He was a pivotal force in the earliest days of the specialty-equipment industry, building a business out of selling speed equipment to new automotive enthusiasts who wanted to modify their cars.

Grancor (short for Granatelli Corp.) was a warehouse distributor serving the Midwest by importing products from California manufacturers such as Edelbrock, Winfield and Belond.

Granatelli and the STP crew at the Indianapolis 500.

In addition to supporting the then industry's earliest companies, Granatelli became a household name in the late-60s through the 70s with TV commercials for his STP fuel and oil additives, as well as the turbine-engine STP-Paxton car of Parnelli Jones that pushed the field at the 1967 Indianapolis 500.

In a 2001 interview with SEMA News upon his induction into the SEMA Hall of Fame, Granatelli provided this answer when asked what he considered his proudest accomplishment: "My sons," he said. "In the business world," he continued, "it would be the job I did at STP. I took a little-known company and made it into a household name in nine years", he stated. "There were [STP] decals on every kid's motorcycle, bicycle, notebook, wagon and car," he added.

No funeral services for Granatelli have been announced.