USAC Hall of Fame class of 2026 will officially be inducted on Wednesday, July 1
The USAC Hall of Fame class of 2026 will officially be inducted during a ceremony on Wednesday, July 1, at USAC headquarters in Speedway, Indiana.
USAC’s 13th hall of fame class includes officials Jack Beckley and John Cooper, plus car owner Blackie Fortune, promoter Sam Nunis, as well as drivers Johnny Parsons, George Snider and Tom Sneva.
The 2026 USAC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held between race days during the BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Championship at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
USAC headquarters are located just across the street from turn one of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The induction ceremony is sold out.
MEET THE NEW USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS:
JACK BECKLEY
Jack Beckley was not only one of the premier mechanics of his time, but he also went on to a distinguished second act as a USAC official.
Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa on August 16, 1918, Beckley’s racing involvement started at age 16 when he and his brother helped crew a racecar driven by Carl Forberg. By 1949, Beckley made it to the Indianapolis 500, preparing a dirt car that Jack McGrath drove to a front row starting spot.
Beckley worked as the engine man on two Indianapolis winning crews, for Bill Vukovich in 1954 and for Gordon Johncock in 1973. Beckley also had a long association with car owner Lindsey Hopkins, finishing second at Indy with driver Jim Rathmann in 1957 and 1959.
As a chief mechanic between 1950-1968, Beckley captured 12 national championship victories in AAA and USAC competition with drivers Jim Rathmann, Jack McGrath, Roger McCluskey, Tony Bettenhausen, Bobby Marshman, and George Amick.
Beckley joined USAC in 1976 as an assistant to Technical Chairman Frankie DelRoy. In 1978, Beckley became the Technical Director, and retired from USAC in 1991, but remained a consultant in the ensuing years.
Beckley passed away on January 19, 2006, at age 87.
JOHN COOPER
John Cooper will forever have the distinction of being USAC’s first employee.
Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1933, Cooper entered the motorsports world as a “stooge” for sprint car and champ car teams. After working in advertising, he was hired in 1955 as USAC’s Public Relations Director and was an administrative assistant to the Competition Director where he was tasked to prepare the entry form for USAC’s inaugural event. With USAC, he was later the Midwest Vice President and served on the Board of Directors.
He was the President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1979-1982. His election as chairman of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS) followed in 1983.
Holding numerous key posts, Cooper established his own motorsports marketing agency and was the President of Ontario Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway. He played a pivotal role as the Executive Director of the National Motorsports Committee in Washington D.C. during the 1973 energy shortage.
In 1980, he earned the Continental Casualty Company Award for his devotion to motorsports safety. He was presented the Eddie Edenburn Award in 1986 and received USAC’s Roger McCluskey Award in 1998.
Cooper died on August 17, 2016, at age 83.
BLACKIE FORTUNE
Damon “Blackie” Fortune’s passion away from the racetrack was the coal industry and was the owner of B.F.C. Coal Company. But on the racetrack, Fortune was producing diamonds as he became the most successful USAC car owner of the 1980s.
Born on May 9, 1928, in Parma, Missouri, but later residing in Boonville, Indiana, Fortune’s midget, sprint, and champ cars were a familiar presence in USAC from 1974-1990. In 1979, Fortune got the taste of his first USAC title as the sponsor of Mel Kenyon’s National Midget championship ride.
Between 1982-1988, Fortune’s own team, most often carrying No. 39 with yellow bodywork and Rose Brothers Trucking emblazoned on the sides, won a total of 30 USAC features – 21 Sprint and nine Silver Crown, while garnering four national championships in a three-season span.
In 1983-84-85, the team reeled off three consecutive USAC National Sprint Car crowns with Ken Schrader (1983) and Rick Hood (1984 & 85). Hood capped off 1985 as the Silver Crown king, making Fortune the first car owner to capture both the USAC National Sprint Car and USAC Silver Crown titles in the same season.
Fortune passed away on August 29, 2009, at the age of 81.
SAM NUNIS
Sam Nunis was an icon among racing promoters, organizing numerous major USAC events at New Jersey’s Trenton Speedway.
Born on December 16, 1902, in Esom Hill, Georgia, Nunis’ racing foray came as a driver, a career which was cut short in his mid-20s after sustaining injuries in an accident. Shortly thereafter, promoter Ralph Hankinson hired Nunis as his Director of Exploitation.
A renowned showman of publicity, Nunis served as an announcer, and soon became the Director of Events, promoting hundreds and hundreds of events along the East Coast, the Great Plains, and Canada.
“Slippery Sam” branched out on his own when racing resumed at the end of World War II, promoting scores of AAA sanctioned events. By 1956, the first year under the USAC banner, Nunis had concentrated his focus on Trenton Speedway, where it quickly became an annual staple of USAC’s East Coast schedule.
All told, Nunis promoted 42 USAC national events at Trenton between 1956-1971: Midgets (4), Stock Cars (4), Sprint Cars (1), and Champ Cars (33). His 33 “Indy Car” races promoted are the most in USAC history. His unique promotions included 250-lap USAC/ARDC Midget races in 1959 and 1961.
Nunis passed away on February 12, 1980.
JOHNNY PARSONS
In a long and successful career, Johnny Parsons distinguished himself as one of the most versatile racers of his era.
Born on August 26, 1944, in Van Nuys, California, Johnny was raised in racing royalty. His father, Johnnie Parsons, and stepfather, Duane Carter, were both renowned racers. But soon, Johnny made his own name in the sport.
JP won a total of 42 USAC main events between 1970-2000. Parsons tallied 30 career USAC National Midget wins, and he was victorious in marquee events such as the 1979 Hut 100, the 1983 & 1992 4-Crown Nationals, and the 1985 Rex Easton Memorial. He finished a career best second in the midget standings in 1977.
Parsons also added five USAC National Sprint Car triumphs and was a winner on USAC’s Silver Crown trail three times, first at IRP in 1991, and twice at Du Quoin in 1992 and 1995. His 1992 win remains the fastest 100-mile dirt champ car race ever run. His one-lap record at the Indiana State Fairgrounds will remain intact forever. He was the runner-up in Crown points in 1976 and 1989.
Parsons made 12 Indianapolis 500 starts with a best result of fifth in both 1977 and 1985.
TOM SNEVA
From the first time he strapped into a racecar, Tom Sneva truly lived up to his nickname, “The Gas Man.”
Born on June 1, 1948, in Spokane, Washington, Sneva burst onto the racing scene in the upper northwest supermodified ranks, capturing the 1970 CAMRA title, all while moonlighting as a Junior High School principal.
By 1973, he made his way to the Midwest and was a pavement dominator in Carl Gehlhausen’s rear engine machine, winning his first three USAC National Sprint races in succession at Hartford, Toledo, and New Bremen. He added three more wins later that year, turning many heads along the way.
A fixture on USAC’s Indy Car trail beginning in 1974, he won back-to-back championships for Penske Racing in 1977 & 1978. A three-time Indianapolis 500 pole winner in 1977, 1978, and 1984, Sneva became the first driver to officially lap the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in excess of 200 mph during 1977 time trials and was the first to reach 210 in 1984.
An 18-time Indianapolis 500 starter, Sneva won the race in 1983 for Bignotti-Cotter Racing and earned the 1982-1983 USAC Gold Crown title. Overall, Sneva won 13 Indy Car races, four under the USAC banner.
GEORGE SNIDER
George Snider enjoyed much success as both a driver and car owner in USAC competition.
Born on December 8, 1940, in Bakersfield, California, Snider rose to prominence quickly. He started his first race of any kind in 1961, and by 1965, he was in the lineup at the Indianapolis 500.
In a USAC driving career spanning 1964-1998, Snider amassed 17 victories – seven Silver Crown, four Midget, and six Sprint Car, including the inaugural Tony Hulman Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track in 1971.
Snider was USAC’s first Silver Crown champion in 1971 and also scored the USAC Gold Crown title in 1981-1982 and was named USAC’s Most Improved National Championship driver in 1981.
Between 1965-1987, “Ziggy” made 22 Indianapolis 500 starts. In 1966, he set new one-lap and four-lap track records of 163.014 and 162.521 mph, respectively, during time trials. Snider also gained fame for his Bump Day heroics at Indy, often making the show with little or no practice time beforehand.
Teamed up with longtime friend A.J. Foyt, Snider earned 18 wins as a USAC Silver Crown car owner. For his talent with the wrench, he was named USAC’s Chief Mechanic of the Year in 2002 and 2007.
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