Reinventing the Wheel
From the earliest hot-rod cylinder heads to Bell helmets and Cragar wheels, a huge
chunk of the speed-parts industry grew out of one modest storefront in L.A.
By Brock Yates, 1993 Car and Driver
The buildings stand blank faced, iron-barred, and ignored in the midst of a seedy
Hispanic neighborhood. For nearly 60 years, they served as the epicenter of high-performance
madness for the entire Los Angeles basin, if not the whole nation. Bell Auto Parts--once
located at 3633 Gage Avenue in the L.A. suburb of Bell, and now dispersed and fragmented
into several multimillion-dollar industries across the country-was for years the
mother load of speed for every hot rudder, sports-car nut, dry lakes competitor,
street racer, round tracker, and crazed backyard wrench wizard in America.
Full Story (123k PDF)
Timeline
1930: Cragar founded by Crane Gartz and Harlan Fengler to make automotive
cylinder heads. The name Cragar is derived from the first three letters of "Crane"
and the first three letters of "Gartz"
1955: Cragar assets are acquired by Roy Richter's Bell Auto Parts Company.
1964: Cragar Equipment Company founded by Roy Richter.
1964: Cragar S/S® Super Sport Wheel introduced and quickly gains a prominent
position in the custom wheel industry.
1965: Car with Cragar S/S® wheels wins the Sports Car Division of the annual
Pikes Peak Hill Climb Race.
1967: Cragar introduces their new Cragar Wheel Care cleaning product, designed
to help keep your "Mag" wheels in top shape.
1969: Cragar, Dodge Motor Company and Car Craft Magazine introduce yearlong
nationwide contest where a new Dodge automobile with Cragar's Swinger Wheels is
to be given away.
1969: Ground is broken on 90,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Compton,
CA.
1969: Cragar introduces their new "Cool Blue" Headers. Designed by racers
and engineers, these new headers set the standard for maximum performance from a
custom exhaust system. The top names in racing including Prudhomme, McEwen, Snow,
Nancy, Johnston and Burkhart all turned to Blue Power for maximum horsepower.
1970: Cragar establishes S.A.E. guidelines and specifications for one and
two-piece aluminum wheels.
1970: New Super Trick Wheel is introduced.
1970: Cragar S/S® Wheels are used by pace car at the inaugural California
500 at the new Ontario Motor Speedway.
1970: Cragar shocks the competition with the introduction of the new Cragar
Super Power Package. This new high performance Distributor and Capacitive Discharge
Ignition combination is designed for the strip or street.
1970: A new world land speed record of 622.407 miles per hour is set by Gary
Gabelich with his rocket engine powered Blue Flame outfitted with specially designed
Cragar wheels.
1971: Tom Shedden succeeds Roy Richter as President of Cragar Equipment Company.
1971: Cragar voted Pro-Stock Sponsor of the Year.
1972: Cragar Five-Second Club founded for first sixteen 'Top Fuel' dragsters
that take the 1/4 mile strip in less than six seconds.
1972: Tommy Ivo becomes first member of the Five-Second Club.
1972: Cragar is voted Manufacturer of the Year by Car Craft Magazine.
1974: Frank Bradley becomes last of sixteen members of the Five-Second Club.
1974: Cragar equipped cars win 302 of 377 eliminator victories in major NHRA,
IHRA and AHRA sanctioned events.
1974: Cragar S/S® Wheels are now used by many amateur and professional custom
car exhibitors.
1975: Roy Richter announces semi-retirement.
1975: Cragar founds new Five-Second Club for the 'Funny Car' drivers running
the 1/4 mile in under five seconds.
1975: Don Prudhomme becomes first member of the 'Funny Car' Five-Second Club.
1975: Cragar equipped drivers win 22 of 24 drag race World Championships
in NHRA, IHRA and AHRA.1978Roy Richter announces retirement.
1981: Tripp Schumake becomes last member of 'Funny Car' Five-Second Club.1984Kenny
Bernstein first Funny Car driver to break 260 MPH barrier.
1989: Cragar celebrates its 25th anniversary
1992: Kenny Bernstein becomes first Professional Drag Racer to exceed 300
MPH (at 301.70) in a sanctioned 1/4 mile run.
1996: Kenny Bernstein sets elapsed time record of 4.598 seconds in a 1/4
mile run.
1996: Kenny Bernstein wins Top Fuel Points Championship on Cragar wheels.
Is the first person to win both Top Fuel and Funny Car Overall Championships. Both
were won on Cragar wheels.
1999: Cragar celebrates its 35th anniversary.
1999: Cragar licenses Weld Racing the rights to produce and distribute Cragar
forged aluminum wheels.
1999: Cragar licenses Carlisle Tire and Wheel Co. to produce and distribute
Cragar steel wheels including the nostalgia line and wire wheel line.
2000: Cragar finalizes a license with Performance Wheel Outlet to design,
develop, market and distribute Cragar one-piece cast aluminum wheels.
2001: Cragar licenses Playing Mantis the rights to include Cragar wheels
on a new Cragar series of Johnny Lightning die cast replicas.
2001: Cragar licenses Racing Champions/Ertl to produce a line of Cragar branded
1/18th scale replicas and 1/18th to 1/25th scale model kits, all featuring Cragar
wheels.
2002: Cragar licenses Model Rectifier to produce a replacement wheel kit
for replica vehicles.
2002: Cragar licenses Georgia Marketing and Promotions to produce replacement
wheels for 1/10th through 1/43rd scale die-cast replicas, as well as 1/24 and 1/43rd
scale die-cast vehicles with Cragar wheels.
2008: Brad and Jeff Danbom buy Cragar Industries, Inc. from Global Entertainment
Corporation