Logan racing makes historical debut at Texas.
Dr Jim Logan is a well respected Air Force veteran and chiropractor. He has been involved in the US racing scene since the late 1970s and has recently established his own IRL team.
On Sunday he made history when he became the first African-American owner of a car entered in an Indy Racing event. Logan, who is the sole patron of Logan racing, achieved what no other African-American has since the very first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. His single car entry for Billy Roe was the first such entry in the history of top flight American oval racing.
Dr Jim Logan is a well respected Air Force veteran and chiropractor. He has been involved in the US racing scene since the late 1970s and has recently established his own IRL team.
On Sunday he made history when he became the first African-American owner of a car entered in an Indy Racing event. Logan, who is the sole patron of Logan racing, achieved what no other African-American has since the very first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. His single car entry for Billy Roe was the first such entry in the history of top flight American oval racing.
Logan has been a regular attendee of IRL events since the series was incepted in 1996 and was present at the very first IRL event at Walt Disney World in January 1996. Since 1993 he has entered a team in USAC's Silver Bullet series but eventually decided to take the plunge with the Indy Racing Northern Light Series earlier this year.
The team had planned to try and qualify for the Indy 500 but couldn't find a driver in time, Roe was hired to drive at Texas after he met with Logan on Pole Day at Indy. The young driver from Arizona has four IRL starts to his credit including two Indy 500's where his best finishing position was 22nd in 1997.
Roe was one of the lucky drivers who made it out in qualifying on Friday before the rains came although he was forced to start from the back of the grid during the organisers re-shuffle. In the race he was forced to retire the car after 60 laps when the engine blew. Despite the disappointment Roe and Logan will return to action at the Radisson 200 this Sunday.
The humble Logan was typically downbeat about his achievement although he recognised the IRL's friendly nature to new teams as a major factor in his decision to enter the series.
"I think we're still in America, and there should not really be a need foe emphasis placed upon any type of diversity, whether it be male, female, nationality, religion or anything else," said Logan. "This is a privilege to be involved with an organisation such as this."
Logan Racing will contest the remainder of this year's IRL schedule with a view to entering the Indy 500 next year. Logan one day hopes to field an African American driver in the event but is perfectly happy with the driver he has at the moment. "Naturally being a black man myself, I'd like to see people of colour into every area of life on earth," said Logan adding, "My primary concern is that I would like to have a competitive team."
