Black American Racers Association

Conventions, award recipients and sponsors

BARA held annual conventions that honored black racing figures. At the 1974 convention in Trenton, New Jersey, Sumner "Red" Oliver was recognized for his driving career from the 1920s through the 1950s and his work as a mechanic on the USAC championship circuit; in the 1970s he served as a crew member on the Patrick Petroleum-Wally Dallenbach Indy car team. Corporate awards that year included the BARA-Schaefer Brewing Company Award to Stock Car Racing magazine for its 1973 coverage of blacks in racing, and to Champion Spark Plug Company for supporting black racing development.

The 1975 convention in Arlington, Virginia honored Wendell Scott, a longtime NASCAR competitor from Danville, Virginia and BARA's first vice-president, who was the only black driver to win a NASCAR race (1961 in Jacksonville, Florida). The 1975 BARA–Schaefer Brewing Company awards went to Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company for its pioneering sponsorship of Black American Racers Inc., a Formula Super Vee Gold Cup and Formula 5000 road racing team with driver Benny Scott, and to Wendell Scott for his NASCAR pioneering efforts; the Ford Motor Company refused to recognize Scott's accomplishments at the banquet.

At the 1976 convention, BARA's first president, Malcolm Durham, was honored for his drag racing achievements, including many wins on the NHRA circuit and the match racing circuit with his "Strip Blazer" Pro Stock cars. Durham owned and operated Supercar Engineering in Hyattsville, Maryland, until his death in 2006, with sponsors including Pennzoil, Cragar Industries, A&A Fiberglass, Inc., Accel Ignitions, Edelbrock Corporation, Champion Spark Plug Company, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Hurst Performance, STP, and Fram filters.

Publications

BARA published a Black Racers Yearbook in 1974, a 32-page official annual sold for one dollar. It covered topics such as obtaining sponsorship and challenges for black racers, and included black racing history from the 1930s to the early 1970s. Seven major corporations placed ads, and thousands of copies were sold in the United States. BARA also issued a monthly newsletter highlighting black accomplishments in auto racing nationwide.

Association race event

On March 10, 1974, BARA sponsored the opening program at Madison Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, a Pro Stock Race featuring the United Soul Racing Team. The event included African American drag racing stars such as Rufus "Brooklyn Heavy" Boyd, Malcolm Durham, Bill "Tuff Rabbit" White, "Wicked" Will Smallwood, Sam Carroll, and Joe Fisher driving Ronald Lyle's Hemi Colt, with Herb McCandless driving Boyd's second car. More than 25,000 spectators attended.

Legacy

BARA's first chairman, Leonard W. Miller, is a noted authority on the history of blacks in motor racing and has owned and presided over winning teams in drag racing, road racing, dirt track racing, and oval track racing. He authored Silent Thunder: Breaking Through Cultural, Racial, and Class Barriers in Motorsports (2004). Miller and Ron Hines, BARA's first secretary, show classic cars and street rods at Northeast auto shows. Eugene Gadson is a retired psychologist, and Charles Singleton is a car collector and assistant manager of a New Jersey funeral home; both are dedicated NASCAR fans who have attended races since 1968, including the Daytona 500.