Longtime World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series team owner Casey Luna died on June 2. He was 95 years old.
Luna, who was elected into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2010, is best known for fielding Ford-powered cars during a time period when the manufacturer had no involvement in sprint car racing.
Luna first entered sprint car racing as a team owner for Robby Unser in 1985 and because he owned a dealership Casey Luna Ford, he wanted to race cars with Ford power.
Learning that there was no Ford equipment available for sprint car racing, Luna took it upon himself to develop a Ford powerplant.
Luna’s first big success came when his No. 10 machine won the 1989 World of Outlaws championship with Bobby Davis Jr. at the wheel. However, it was during the season in which the World of Outlaws tour was split with USA and Luna did not find that title satisfying.
Dave Blaney came to the team in 1990 and the No. 10 operation were consistent frontrunners with Blaney winning the World of Outlaws championship in 1995. At the end of that season, the Lunas left the sport.
Casey Luna also served a term as Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico.
