American Racing Custom Wheels

The drag race was a creation of popular culture. It did not come out of boardrooms or marketing plans - it was a creation of the street. Two of the sports' early stars were San Francisco machine shop owner Jim Ellison and partner and drag racer Romeo Palamides.

Drag racing is the only racing style to have grown out of urban driving. The original Christmas tree that starts drag races was the standard three color stop light. The quarter mile drag race was not a variation on the track run by quarter horses - it was the distance from one stop light to another.

In San Francisco machine shop owner Jim Ellison and his partner, dragster driver and designer Romeo Palamides, were looking for a new kind of wheel - a wheel that took advantage of the new strong but light metals being developed for use in airplane design. In 1954 they developed the first magnesium wheel for an automobile. The wheels were so stylish the Funny Car crowd wanted them and so efficient in terms of weight to strength that the drag and street racing crowds wanted them. Two years later the partners, along with design engineer Tom Griffith started the after-market wheel and car accessory business, a business model that has flourished ever since.

In 1962 Griffith created the most famous after-market wheel in automotive history, the Torq Thrust. His parabolic tapered 5-spoke design broke with everything that had gone before and broke with the semi solid wheels that were the main line of pursuit of other automotive wheel design.

The American Racing Torq Thrust wheel was so innovative and so stylish that it crossed over frpm the car fanatic market to mainstream America. Cars that we think of as prime examples of American Iron muscle cars, like the Chevy Bel-Air, were actually targeting the conservative mid-market when they were introduced. But when A set of Torq Thrust American Racing custom wheels were added, the car suddenly became an entirely different animal. Today original the Torq Thrust wheels are highly prized by car collectors.

Where did this collector's item come from and why is it so sought after? The answer to that question shows both the quality of American Racing custom wheels and the company's penetration into pop culture.

Appearances by American Racing Custom Wheels are common in the movies. Film directors love the powerful look they give to any vehicle and stunt men love the dependability and strength. You can see American Racing custom wheels in the seminal car chase movie Bullit, both Dukes of Hazzard theatrical release movies, The Game, Die Hard With A Vengeance, The Fast and Furious franchise and last summer's blockbuster Transformers.