Joe Lunati
Like nearly everyone involved in drag racing, Joe Leonardi got started in the sport as an enthusiast and a competitor. In fact, he enjoyed the sport so much, he became one of its leading manufacturers. Early in his race career, Joe became known as well for holding some of the ugliest cars ever raced, but soon won respect from his fellow competitors and fans by building and racing some of the quickest and fastest cars in their various classes. One of Joe’s most famous cars was his Chevrolet powered Devon bodied sports car that was as quick as it was ugly. Unlike a lot of the early drag racers who were located on the West Coast, Joe was from the Midwest, so he was geographically in a position to expose a lot of fans in that area of the country to some really exciting and unusual equipment.
In 1964 Joe won the division points championship for his area, set eight new records, and won Street Eliminator at the Indy Nationals. In 1967 Joe switch to funny cars, building a flip top Corvair that was considered by many to be the forerunner to today’s funny cars. The Corvair performed well, but Joe had much more success with a Camaro he later campaign. While the Camaro provided him with some great performance numbers, it was an accident in it that made Joe decide to retire from driving.
Because of his involvement as a builder and racer, as well as, his desire to make his equipment more competitive, it wasn’t long before Joe was building parts and pieces to make his cars go quicker and faster and soon after that again producing them for other racers. Joe was always concerned with the cost of quality pieces, and one of his goals as a manufacturer was to build the very best parts for the lowest cost possible so that the average competitor could afford to be more competitive.
Lunati Cams became one of the most recognized names in the performance parts industry. Not only is Lunati involved in drag racing, but it also provides parts for enthusiast in oval track racing, street performance, boating, motorcycles and just about every other motorsports there is. Joe always appreciated and acknowledged the contributions to drag racing made by the sportsman class cars, and as a result, Lunati was quick to give them recognition and support to the sportsman class racers as much as to the pro-category racers.
While Joe owned Lunati Cams it was a strong source of funding for racers through it sponsorships and more importantly it’s contingency program, both of which were aimed primarily at the sportsman classes. Joe always made sure the racer received visibility as well as financial support through the company’s advertising and promotions. Joel sold his company but was still a man who a large number of people involved in drag racing owe a lot to because of his unselfish support of the sport, something he did without seeking personal accolades.