Andy Granatelli
Better known for his involvement in oval track racing, particularly the Indy 500, Andy Granatelli was also a pioneer in the drag racing arena. He opened the first speech shop in the Midwest, which was located in Chicago. In 1943, Andy was purchasing small amounts of speed equipment in Southern California and hauling it back to Chicago to sell to other hot rodders. In 1944, he and brothers Joe and Vince opened the first Midwest based full-blown speech shop. By 1957, Grancor was doing more total volume then all of the other speech shops combined. Pioneering the practice of using full-page newspaper advertising for the speed parts they carried. The success of this practice soon led him to begin a national regular automotive parts dealer/warehouse distributor network which made Grancor the first wholesale speed equipment business ever. Andy also pioneered the practice of discount pricing for multiple part purchasing and is credited with beginning the practice of purchasing product by the truckload, not by the piece. Andy is in a large part responsible for the nationwide success of many of the new familiar names in industry, including but not limited to Winfield, Belond, Weiand, Edelbrock, Herbert Cams, and others.
Andy’s pioneering spirit in drag racing didn’t stop with the speech shop business. In 1951 while attending one of CJ Hart’s now famous drag races at Santa Anna, California. Andy was so excited by what he saw that he actually purchased the clocks from CJ on the spot and return to Chicago, where he leased an abandoned airfield in Libertyville Illinois, (re-named Half Day Raceway) and in 1952 successfully promoted the first nationally advertised drag race ever with over 26,000 people in the bleachers.
Andy’s contributions to drag racing was the support he gave the sport when he became president/CEO of STP in 1963. Andy provided a total support package to the sport that included free product, contingency money, prize money, and vast amounts of sponsorship funds not only for the race teams but for race tracks and associations as well (STP was NHRA’s first major sponsor as well as supplying funding to AHRA and IHRA). He also used funds from STP’s budget to advertise and promote drag racing on radio, TV, in print, and for outdoor signage. In fact, STP was the first company to promote the new popular “Welcome Race Fans” banners and signs that appear at races worldwide.
Andy’s contributions to the industry and to racing of all types have been recognized by several organizations. In 1967, Andy was awarded the world’s largest trophy (over 10 feet tall) the “Outstanding Contribution to Motorsports Trophy” by AHRA President Jim Tice for his participation in and promotion of drag racing.