John Bartlett founded the Grant Piston Ring Company and pioneered the development of rings built to the highest standards for applications in auto racing. The Grant emblem is synonymous with major racing, a frequent image at the annual Indy 500 race. Grant was a founding member of SEMA, and John, an attorney, drafted the bylaws for the Association to represent performance parts for the automotive aftermarket—and "SEMA was born.”

Sandy became famous for his line of performance exhaust systems that included dual kits for both flatheads and OHV engines of the late 1950s and early 1960s. His love of racing inspired him to build and maintain a drag strip, Carlsbad Raceway, in Carlsbad, California. But Sandy began racing much sooner—in 1938, he hit the dry lakes; his roadster was one of the first 100 cars to nail a land speed of more than 100 mph. He was also a founding board member of the Western Timing Association. Later, his muffler company even designed for the OEMs; his company became such a success, he built a steel mill near Los Angeles to founder his own exhaust tubing.

Harvey was an accomplished engineer when he embarked on the design and development of improved camshafts for performance engines. Crane Cams, which he launched in 1953, became identified with on-track victories, although most of the company’s performance cams were sold for street use. Harvey and Crane were also behind the first roller-tip, needle-bearing fulcrum gold anodized rocker arms for stud-mounted cylinder heads, and the super port-flow cylinder heads are the first fully ported, ready-to-install racing cylinder heads available. Additionally, Harvey launched the Cam School and Design School.

Jack operated a successful warehouse for many years, making performance parts and accessories readily available for aficionados on the East Coast. He avidly supported SEMA and other trade groups, such as PWA. In fact, he was part of the initial group that met in a hotel room to discuss the concept of organizing warehouse distributors, or what later became PWA, for which he served as its first president. And in winning the 2008 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series March Meet, Jack set a new ET record with 5.56.

Cloyce always maintained a low profile, but anyone who ever raced at the popular Lions Drag Strip in Long Beach, California, knew “Pappy” Hart as the track manager. He’d remained active in drag racing for many years after retiring from Lions, serving as one of the team members on the NHRA Safety Safari—a tribute to his spirited stamina. You could say he invented drag racing as it is today. He organized the first commercial drag race on June 19, 1950, on a runway at the Orange County Airport in California. His pioneering efforts at the Santa Ana Drags determined many of drag racing’s cornerstones, from the track’s quarter-mile length (he borrowed the distance from horse racing) to dividing those early dragsters into classes based on the car’s axle ratio, engine displacement and whether it was a stocker or modified. In 1965, he succeeded Mickey Thompson as manager of the Lions Drag Strip, where he continued his drag-racing innovations. It was at Lions that he established the Junior Fuel class and also developed bracket and grudge racing. He was inducted in to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Robert “Rob” Petersen started Hot Rod magazine in 1948 with $400.  The Petersen empire grew to become the largest and most successful publishing enterprise in the west.  Hot Rod, Motor Trend and dozens of other Petersen titles packed the racks of newsstands throughout the U.S.  At their peak, Petersen magazines reached nearly 80 million readers a month.

In the 1950s, new cars were sold with automatic transmissions. But the “slush shift” “trannies” had to be modified. Bob designed transmission kits so automatics could handle the hopped-up engines in hot rods and street-driven modified cars. The company he founded, B&M, flourishes today as a supplier of street rod gear, superchargers and shifters. Throughout the 1960s, B&M earned a reputation as the premier racing automatic transmission company. In 1961, the Hydro Stick became the only patented four-speed automatic racing transmission in history. And in 1969, B&M teamed with Andy Granatelli and Plymouth on a program to develop the only automatic transmission for Indy/USAC car racing. B&M was one of the original 13 founding companies of SEMA, and Bob was the chairman of what was then called the Technical Committee, which developed minimum specs for everything from fire suits to dragster chassis. He was PWA Person of the Year in 1996, and B&M was named the PWA Manufacturer of the Year in 1977, 1978 and again in 1993. Bob served on the SEMA Board of Directors and was the first SEMA Person of the Year in 1969.

“As reps go, there were few who could match the knowledge and integrity of Jim,” said an industry veteran about Jim Vaughn, a popular sales representative. He was an innovator, well known and well liked.

Chuck operated one of the midwest’s most successful warehouse distributor operations, CB Sales, based in Chicago, during the heyday of speed equipment distribution. Chuck was a “doer” in the truest sense of the word, known for being reliable and dedicated to his company’s manufacture and wholesale clients.

A prominent professional drag racer who is credited with innovations such as the rear-engine dragster design, Donald Glenn "Don" Garlits is a legend of the quarter-mile acceleration sport, a driver whose following of fans remains virtually unmatched in automotive racing sports. He won his first NHRA race in 1955, turned pro three years later and amassed a career total of 144 national event wins and 17 championships. In 1957, he was the first drag racer to go faster than 170 mph, the first faster than 180 in 1958, and the first to the 200-mph mark in 1964. He wasn’t through setting speed records, either, and was the first to break 250 mph in 1975 and 270 mph in 1986. Swamp Rat was the name of his cutting-edge Top Fuel dragsters, and the one that broke the 270-mph record was placed in The Smithsonian. ESPN ranked him as one of the top drivers of all time, while the NHRA ranked him on its Top 50 Drivers list. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Motorsports Hall of Fame America, among countless other honors. Florida is home to the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing.