Leo Mehl
Leo Mehl is one of the most influential men in the world of motor-sports. That is a strong statement, but it is true, and his circle of influence includes not only drag racing but all forms of oval track and road racing as well. Leo joined Goodyear as a chemical engineer in 1959, and in 1963 when Goodyear made a commitment to winning the Indianapolis 500, Leo started assisting in delevoping the tires needed to accomplish this feat. In 1967, Leo saw the Goodyear dream become a reality when A.J. Foyt drove to victory at the ‘500.
Over the years, Leo worked with racers from every form of the sport, including Formula One, NASCAR, Sprint Cars, Le Man’s, CART, IRL, and drag racing. If a race car has Goodyear’s on it, the man responsible for them being there is Leo Mehl.
There are several ingredients that make up the formula for the success Mehl has obtained in the sport. First of all, he truly loves racing and the competitiveness of the sport, regardless of what form of racing it is. In addition to his love of the sport, Leo blessed with a great wit, the ability to use laughter as a tool, and the ability to talk with the drivers, mechanics and crew chiefs and find out what their perception of the available product was. Simply put, did the tires work,what was coming down the road, and what was Goodyear going to need to do to continue as a successful part of everyone’s program?
According to Mehl, one of the toughest technical task Goodyear undertook was building a tire for drag racing as the speeds climbed to 300 mph and more. It was his dedication to drag racing and his insistence to the company that better tires were necessary, especially for the safety factor, that resulted in Goodyear producing better tires for today’s races.
After working for Goodyear over 36 years, 22 of them as the company’s top racing person, Leo retired in 1996 to spend time with his family and enjoy his hobby of boating.
In addition to being responsible for much of the success Goodyear has enjoyed in the racing world, Leo has also been the recipient of a host of awards that include the Tony Hulman Award, Cavalina Contribution Award, United States Auto Club Special Recognition Award, Buddy Schuman Trophy, Autosports Magazine Award and the STP/Richard Petty Achievement Award, to name a few. In 1993 he was inducted into Motorsports Hall of Fame and now the Drag Racing Hall of Fame.