Grant King (1999)

Grant King is recognized as one of the greatest designers and mechanics at the Indianapolis 500. Grant's genius was evident early, as his cars were competitive at the old Langford Speedway. By age 14, he could strip an engine clean, rebuild it and put it back into a winning car before you could say "Mario Andretti." Grant's remarkable local success eventually had him looking to the big leagues and by age 30 he left Victoria and the Western Speedway for Indianapolis - the Mecca of racing. Here he carved a famous career building winning cars for Mario Andretti, Art Pollard, Billy Foster and Al Unser. As one of the few independents, operating in big time auto racing without a major sponsor, Grant King was unique. He was one of the best in Gasoline Alley where few mechanics could say that they also owned their own racecars. Grant could and as owner-designer-mechanic at the Indianapolis 500 he had a fourth-place finish with Steve Kristloff behind the wheel in 1973 and a third-place finish with Tom Sneva driving in 1974.