Born in Danville, Pennsylvania, and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Chuck Schwartz studied at Ohio State before entering the U.S. Army, where he served in military intelligence. A move to California landed him a job at a seat cover and muffler shop in San Diego—The Big Wheel—where he began by installing dual exhausts and mufflers and was then promoted to salesman and played a key role in the company’s expansion.

“If you have an idea and a plan, share it. Who knows, maybe you will start something cool.” That’s been the motto of John Towle, whose stellar career in the performance aftermarket has spanned five decades.

Go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and you’ll find the Economaki Press Conference Room. At the New Jersey Motorsports Park, you’ll find The Chris Economaki Media Center. And each year on the day of the Daytona 500, thousands celebrate Chris Economaki Day.

Pinpointing a single reason as to why Art Chrisman is being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame is difficult. For many, it’s unlikely that a reason is even needed.

A car show can be as simple as placing a few eye-catching vehicles on display and then selling tickets to local enthusiasts. In fact, when Bob Larivee Sr.’s car club, the Motor-city Modified Auto Club (MMAC) participated in the Michigan Hot Rod Association’s (MHRA) first Detroit Autorama in 1953, it featured only 45–50 vehicles parked at the University of Detroit Field House. While the event was modest in size, it was a hit with attendees and the first of many successful car shows for Larivee Sr.

Mark Heffington was born October 2, 1941, in his grandmother's home in Memphis, Tennessee. As a fifth grader, he enjoyed helping out in the school library, where he became inspired by three car books, The Modern Racing Engine, a technical book published in late '40s, and two fictitious novels, Hot Rod and Street Rod, both written by Henry Gregory Felsen. By the time he was 15, he had his mother taking him and friends to local drag races.

William Henry Getty France Sr. is remembered throughout the world as the founder of NASCAR, the most successful stock-car racing series on earth. Born in Washington, D.C., on September 26, 1909, France developed an interest in racing early on. As a teenager, he played hookie from school to take the family Ford Model T to a local board track near his Laurel, Maryland, home. Legend has it he would while the day away doing laps at the track until the last possible moment, then race home before his father could get there and discover what he had actually been up to.

Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At 13, he was reading articles by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.

Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old. The year was 1970, and he was working at his father’s Shell gas station, which Kawasaki describes as a window into what was coming in his life. “Just filling up those cars with gas, washing their windows and checking their oil—I got to look under their hoods,” he explained. “That was cool stuff!”

At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part. A lawyer by trade, he couldn’t be classified as a "car guy" per se. Yet his profound impact on the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s earliest years cannot be disputed. After all, he was SEMA’s very first executive director—and how that came to be involved an incredible twist of fate.