We are excited to announce that Indianapolis 500 and USAC legend Johnny Capels will not only be joining us on our 1st Music City Motor Jam tour, but will also be the featured guest speaker at our evening’s dinner banquet.

Born In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Johnny began his racing career at the age of 15. Establishing himself quickly as a racing driver of exceptional skill, Capels was able to carve out a successful 19 year career behind the wheel before moving to Indianapolis to work for Parnelli Jones Racing, all while continuing to race in USAC sprint cars.

While he was chief mechanic for Joe Leonard, Capels captured two Indy car national championships in 1971 and 1972, then racked up four National Dirt Car Championships- two with Al Unser, one with Mario Andretti, and one with Poncho Carter.

Capels then went on to start an Indy team with California Food Company, which he would eventually own from 1975 to 1989, winning several Indy car events including two Michigan 500s while under his ownership.

From team owner to CEO;  Capels’ next step was moving on to become the president and COO of the Indy Car sanctioning body C.A.R.T. Ultimately Capels would find himself back as an Indianapolis resident when he took his final position as president and CEO of USAC, a position he would retire from in 2001. He is currently USAC’s Chairman of the board of directors.

Johnny Capels now enjoys his retirement in the Indianapolis area. One of his first retirement projects was building a ‘32 Ford roadster for himself, a car not unlike the early flat-head powered roadsters that he began his career with, and he and his fellow Indianapolis pals built several unique race car-inspired features into it. Johnny is happy to say that he’ll be driving his roadster on our 1st MCMJ tour and is excited to meet and greet with all who attend.

Participants of the tour will enjoy a presentation with Johnny Capels, followed by an audience q-n-a, during our evening’s dinner banquet at the Lane Motor Museum.

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