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Ken Wright's broad base of other technical skills, including painting, welding, tuning motors, rebuilding transmissions and rear ends, and complete suspension work, transferred readily to BAR's initiatives. Wright prepared the Lola T-324 and T-620. He became a loyalist of the team and was critical to
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For two years BAR did not compete in auto racing, then it started afresh in grassroots competition under other names. Ken Wright remained a booster for the team, but Ron Hines emerged from retirement in 1980 to catapult BAR into several dirt track victories with his superior engine knowledge at the
234:, Wright's skills were extremely rare among African Americans. He was one of only a few to hold jobs in the auto body trade at a mainstream facility in one of the wealthiest regions of America. Citizens in the community, including African Americans, would note Wright's capacity at every pass.
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302:(BARA) in 1972, Wright became a charter member. Through this unique group, which comprised 5,000 African American auto racers from coast to coast and encompassed drag racing teams, mechanics, car collectors, and participants in
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Wright remained on the BAR team after
Viceroy's unmatched sponsorship expired in late 1975. He was a VIP guest for Benny Scott's and Leonard W. Miller's induction into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame at the
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competition in the
Southeast and a Jamaican driver for Formula BMW Americas from 1990 to the present. Leonard W. Miller's son, Leonard T. Miller, has been a significant element in those efforts.
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hot rod convertible. Riding in the car, and watching the advanced modifications made to the motor, sparked Wright's interest in becoming a full-time automotive technician after graduating from
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driver and mechanic for, among other teams, Black
American Racers, Inc. (BAR), the first African American auto racing team to acquire national sponsorship in the United States.
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Ken Wright retired from hands-on mechanical race car preparation after
Thompson's death, working instead with recreational motor boats and restoring his 1961
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persuaded him to continue the BAR concept in 1977. Ken Wright was a critical component of that team, helping it advance to an SCCA Northeast
Championship at
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In 1956, Wright co-founded the Black Hawk Auto Club, with Horace “Buddy” Sparrow and other
African American youth living in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of
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Ken Wright, Ron Hines, and
Leonard W. Miller remain in close contact, attending and entering classic car shows and competitions around the United States.
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At a Mini-Indy event on
September 27, 1978, Tommy Thompson was killed in a crash coming off the fourth turn at the 1.5-mile kidney bean-shaped
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in
Philadelphia, along with Dexter Miller. He graduated in 1962. After graduation he was employed at Horsiey's Automotive Service Center in
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In later years Miller Racing Group, Inc. became the solid outgrowth of BAR, recruiting
African American grassroots stock car drivers for
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its extraordinary milestones through the 1970s - a period some call “the last decade of the golden era of American road racing.”
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492:(The Red Sea Press, Inc., Trenton, New Jersey, USA), pp. 35–36, 38, 41–42, 116, 136–137, 139–40, 145, 156.
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Wright's friendship with the Miller brothers - Dexter G. and Leonard W. - began at age five. His love of
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series, where select races were paired with Indy Car events held on popular oval courses under the
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Leonard W. Miller started an independent effort in FSV racing after African American driver
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station wagon to dozens of track victories for Miller Brothers Racing at Atco Dragway in
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Silent Thunder: Breaking Through Cultural, Racial, and Class Barriers in Motorsports
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After high school, he began his apprenticeship training at Sharpless Auto Body in
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to race on the famed one-mile oval. FSV racing transitioned into the
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Wright in 1970 with Mr. Diplomat, the Miller Brothers 1955
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and other FSV races around the country that BAR entered.
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with 19-year-old African American driver Bruce Driver.
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In 1973, Wright and Hines joined forces with Miller's
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in 1976. The event's master of ceremonies was actor
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416:The team, including Ken Wright, traveled to the
43:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
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181:and race cars began in earnest at age 13, when
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547:20th-century African-American sportspeople
498:(Trenton, NJ), April 11, 1974. p. 80.
306:(SCCA) sports car competition, Wright met
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298:When Leonard W. Miller helped launch the
86:American auto racing mechanic (born 1940)
74:Learn how and when to remove this message
294:Black American Racers Association (BARA)
342:(FSV) road racing on circuits such as
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542:21st-century African-American people
390:, ABC television sports commentator
522:People from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
527:African-American motorsport people
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300:Black American Racers Association
428:(USAC). Wright also traveled to
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244:School District of Philadelphia
185:would visit his community in a
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260:National Hot Rod Association
258:In 1969–70, Wright drove a
242:In 1966, Wright joined the
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486:Miller, Leonard W. (2004)
352:Watkins Glen International
304:Sports Car Club of America
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382:, legendary soul singer
165:(born 1940) is a former
109:station wagon drag racer
29:This article includes a
426:United States Auto Club
272:Englishtown, New Jersey
126:Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
58:more precise citations.
465:Flemington, New Jersey
434:College Station, Texas
276:McGuire Air Force Base
221:Narberth, Pennsylvania
288:Mohnton, Pennsylvania
228:Civil Rights Movement
217:Spring Garden College
191:Conestoga High School
138:Spring Garden College
430:Texas World Speedway
394:, and boxing legend
322:Road racing mechanic
226:In the midst of the
195:Berwyn, Pennsylvania
461:Flemington Speedway
284:Maple Grove Raceway
213:Devon, Pennsylvania
202:Wayne, Pennsylvania
537:Mechanics (people)
532:Auto racing people
453:Chevrolet Corvette
396:Jersey Joe Walcott
386:, boxing promoter
332:Viceroy Cigarettes
206:York, Pennsylvania
31:list of references
340:Formula Super Vee
248:Temple University
183:Leonard W. Miller
163:Kenneth W. Wright
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384:James Brown
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232:Vietnam War
173:Early years
144:Occupations
56:introducing
506:Categories
481:References
447:Retirement
376:Bill Cosby
282:, and the
93:Ken Wright
422:Mini-Indy
372:Manhattan
308:Ron Hines
264:Chevrolet
187:1940 Ford
388:Don King
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314:legend
52:improve
472:NASCAR
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