Warren Wilbur Shaw

My hero is Warren Wilbur Shaw. He was born October 31, 1902 near Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States and died October 30, 1954, near Peterson, Indiana. During World War II, there was talk of destroying the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There had been no racing at the speedway for three years.

Firestone developed a tire using synthetic rubber. The Department of Transportation (DOT) was interested in saving natural rubber for wartime use, so they asked Firestone to give the tire a 500 mile test run. Since Wilbur Shaw was working for Firestone, he was asked to do it. Wilbur suggested using the speedway. Permission was granted. When Wilbur saw the track, he was devastated to see what poor condition it was in. There was grass and weeds growing on the bricks of the main straightway. These sights would haunt Wilbur for days.

The 500 miles were the loneliest of Wilbur’s life. Wilbur couldn’t shake the sad scene from his mind. So he contacted Eddie Rickenbacker to see what was in store for the Speedway after the war. Every financial backer that Wilbur contacted was interested, but wanted to use it for their own purposes with company names above the main entrance. Wilbur politely turned down each offer until the name Terre Haunted, a businessman, was mentioned. Wilbur made an appointment with Anton Hulman, Jr. which lasted several hours. But, finally on Nov.14, 1945 Anton Hulman, Jr. bought the Speedway and made Wilbur president and general manager.

Warren Wilbur Shaw is important because if he did not save the Speedway it would have been made into an industrial park. There probably wouldn’t have been any more races.

This hero is important to me because if I wanted to become an Indy racer and he did not save the Speedway my dreams would not have come true. He showed determination, leadership, and a drive to fulfill his dreams.