As one of USAC’s founding fathers, Bob Estes was monumental in the club’s formative years both on and off the track.

Born in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 1913, following a foray as a driver himself, Estes’ focus soon shifted toward business and race team ownership.

Following his service in World War II, Estes purchased a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Inglewood, California. With his dealership employee and car builder Jud Phillips as his sidekick, Estes’ team captured AAA Midwest Sprint Car champi-onships in 1953-1954 with Pat O’Connor.

At USAC’s inception in 1955, Estes was elected as the national car owner representative, a role he helmed until 1960. Later, he’d also serve USAC as its western regional representative.

O’Connor and Estes earned the inaugural USAC Midwest Sprint Car title in 1956. With Don Branson in 1959, Estes’ team duplicated its USAC Midwest Sprint championship. Estes also fielded several Indianapolis 500 entries, finishing a best of third with Don Freeland in the 1956 race.

Aside from the ovals, Ken Miles captured victory during the 1959 USAC Road Racing opener in Pomona, California, driv-ing a Porsche RS Spyder owned by Estes. Estes died on December 11, 2001, at the age of 88.

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