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Corporate America Reluctant to Back Logan Racing Owned by Minority Racing Entrepreneur
By Bob Moore, SLFP.com
"Indy Car Racing opened the sport to individuals who before couldn't get into the sport regardless of how much money or backing they had because the sport was closed by way of a franchise," Logan said. He explained that to be involved in the high end of racing, you had to get with someone and convince them to lease to you or sell you one of their franchises. "That wasn't going to happen. So I watched it until 2000 and then decided to make the move and get involved myself." Up to this point, Logan has personally financed the Logan Racing team. To successfully compete in open-wheel racing, he is looking at every possible option to raise the money. "We're currently discussing with various corporations and businesses throughout the country different ways of getting them to partner up with Logan Racing and become involved with our efforts to fill the team next year." "I have three cars here," said Logan. Standing next to his sleek black #19 Indy car which ran in 2000, he noted that Logan Racing is the first African-American solely-owned team in the history of Indy Racing business, which goes back to 1911. Logan added that he is also the only African-American owner in the Silver Crown division of the U.S. Auto Club. "We started racing there in 1993. We used those cars to run a lot of young men who ordinarily couldn't get to race with the big teams that are already funded and have the so-called stars of series racing," he said. "It's been a campaign of mine to give people a chance to get started in racing who wouldn't ordinarily have a chance," Logan added. "We're proud of that and now we are working on the 2002 season." Logan's love of racing goes back to the seventies when he began racing with his kids. "My young boys, Jimmy and Anthony, raced in the Southern Illinois Quarter Midget Association and they both won championships locally. We never went nationally because I had just started my practice at that time. I got back involved in organized racing in about '79 with sprint cars and then moved to late model dirt cars," he said. In addition to dealing with the complex business side of racing, Logan has had to deal with social issues. He explained that there were black racing series way before the more contemporary racing series were started. "Just as with the baseball league, we had the Negro Leagues. Before Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella broke the color barrier and came into major league baseball, we had black players of major league caliber. Because of discrimination and the sociological times, they were unable to fulfill their talent in the mainstream where they could be paid on the same level," he commented. "Wendell Scott was actually the first black racer to race in the highest level of NASCAR what is now called the Winston Cup Division. He is also the only black racer to have won in that Division," noted Logan. "Racing is same way and at this stage of the game, auto racing is not integrated to the degree that it should be. There are African-Americans involved with various levels of racing. Again, I am the first and at this point, the only black entrant as a sole owner in this series of Indy car racing whether it be CART or IRL," stated Logan.
Although Logan personnally has only done a little drag racing, his vast knowledge and understanding of the technical aspects of race cars stems from years of experience in aeromechanics. As a student at O'Fallon High School, an experimental combined prep and tech school in St. Louis, he learned about aircraft and all the elements that went into building and maintaining aircraft. "When I started there in 1958, I chose aeromechanics as my shop. At 13 years old, I was assembling and disassembling jet engines as a part of my training. I was also dealing with composite materials at a time when composites were unheard of in race cars," said Logan, adding that he graduated with a grade point average that allowed him to attend college. Logan joined the Naval reserves and served during the Cuban Missile Crisis. "Working on 18 cylinder radial engines in the Navy was a lot more complex than working on a V-8 engine in a racing car," he laughed. "My first job in manufacturing was at McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. So those kinds of things were extremely beneficially in my knowledge and understanding of how these race cars work." "When I came into the auto racing business, a lot of folks who were not aware of my background, looked at me and wondered how does he know anything about racing cars. I probably have been exposed to more about the principles that are employed in these racing cars through the aircraft industry than at lot of these people have ever thought about," he said proudly. Undeterred by formidable obstacles, Logan set about entering open-wheel racing by assembling top-notch mechanics, engineers, and talented drivers in Indianapolis. "We call our integrated team, the Team of Opportunity. We are bringing people on who have reasonable skills, and mostly desire, and we will show them what they need to know." The team includes chief mechanic, Jeff Collins, an official for the U.S. Auto Club and for the Indy Racing League; and team manager Craig Leeke, formerly a racing team owner and engineer. Logan explained that he bought a used Dallara car from another team. The crew quickly built the Logan Racing Indy car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2000. "The car came in kit form already assembled. We had to disassemble it and get all the pieces inspected and certified and then reassemble the car and put what they call a setup on the car." "You have to tune the car to the rules of the package of the series that you are running. They have technical data that you must adhere to. When we built this car according to the rule book, the first time it went through technical inspection, it had only one defect. The rear wing was a quarter of an inch too tall. That meant unbolting four bolts and dropping it down to the next set of holes," related Logan. "We were not able to get on the race track at Indianapolis because I'm not known politically well enough through the powers that be that they would trust me to get on the race track especially after building a car in such a short period of time," he continued. He stated that their standin driver, Billy Roe, was an experienced driver, but had not run in the past year. "After we didn't race there, we went to Texas and showed the racing community that we were capable of getting the job done. And getting the job done with the handicap of not having the financing that the established teams have." Roe qualified 27th and finished 25th at the Casino Magic 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Stevie Reeves drove the car for the final three events of the 2000 season (and of fourty-two entries, Logan Racing finished twenty-eighth in points). USAC driver David Bridges and Indy Racing Northern Light series driver Donnie Beechler have driven for Logan in the Silver Bullet Series. Logan acknowledged that he is currently talking with Pat Rummerfield, the world's only known fully-functional and fully-recovered quadriplegic who also holds the land speed record in an electric-powered car. He stated that before a driver can be licensed in these cars, they must past a test. "All the activities surrounding qualify him for testing is really expensive. That's where Pat and I are aligning ourselves now in an effort to raise the funds necessary to get him tested to the degree that he would be able to qualify for a license," said Logan hopefully. "I have talked with several corporations owned by blacks over the years, including Wittnauer Watches. But it seems that there is a reluctance to get involved with an area where there is not a lot of familiarity. The black businesses are not interested." "In fact, the reality is that auto racing is perhaps the least known, best value in marketing in the world. It is the fastest growing sport and has outstripped soccer as being the largest sport worldwide," he added. Logan acknowledged that numerous attempts to talk with Anheuser Busch were futile. "Whenever I can and do get in touch with them, the first thing they tell me to do is contact their diversity or their charity division. That is an insult. They don't do that with their other teams. This is a motor sports team. We are not a charitable organization. But that is one of the ways that corporate America has of passing the buck or sending you around the horn," stated Logan, noticeably frustrated. "Once we get to the point that we can show that we don't need them or say that we can get along without certain entities being involved with us, they will come to the forefront and want to get involved. So, survival is the name of the game. I'm not condemning all corporations and I'm sure that there are some people out there in business who will see the value and will also see past the obvious social stigmas that we have of getting involved with a minority entity that could do some good for them," he surmised. "As a matter of fact, from a business point of view, I think it would only be good business. With the African-American community in America fiscally being as powerful as the fifth largest nation on earth, I can't see why any shrewd or astute business person wouldn't see this as being a natural fit for any corporation," Logan commented. "I'm sure that based upon the experience that my team has and the knowledge that I've got about auto racing, the first company that comes on board with us will be thankful that they did so. And the rest will follow suit," stated Logan confidently.  Return to St. Louis Front Page 
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