Justice brothers (Ed, Gus and Zeke) were figures in

motorsports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...

and automotive industry. Founding a company in the oil additive industry.

Youth - Paola, Kansas

Edward Ray Justice, Sr. was born June 12, 1921, in

Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. In Greek it is Polina. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment * Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consist ...

, Kansas. Lawrence Milton "Zeke" Justice was born March 12, 1920, in Paola. James Russell "Gus" Justice was born July 16, 1916, in Paola. The Justice brothers were associated with cars and speed since the earliest years of their life. Growing up in

, Kansas, they started driving before they were teenagers. Their dad, Harry Milton Justice was an auctioneer in the Horse and Mule market. He would also auction farms and other large ticket possessions. Their mother, Anna Rule Justice was the more mechanically minded of their parents and where the boys were influenced with mechanics. They had three older sisters; Elma, Alberta and Marie. The first time the brothers did business together was when Ed and Zeke started a bike rental business at their home. The hung a sign on the tree in front of their house, "Justice brothers Bike Rentals". They had bought old bikes, some broken down and repaired and repainted them before putting them in their rental fleet. Two of the three brothers were involved in serious auto accidents in their youth. Gus was thrown from his Chevrolet after hitting another car that had pulled into a farm road intersection illegally. He was permanently paralyzed from this accident. Gus had to leave college due to his injuries. Zeke was involved in an auto accident with a truck in which one of the occupants of the car was killed. Gus bought a Cafe in Paola with the money that the townspeople had donated after his accident. Both Zeke and Ed worked at the Cafe for Gus. Ed would apply to and be accepted by Fry Aircraft School in Kansas City, Kansas. Zeke went to work at Western Auto in Kansas City.

Pre War, Early years - California

The lure of the car crazy culture of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

called and Ed Justice, Sr. responded by driving out on the famed

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

to his new home. The trip was paid for by his three passengers who paid $25 each and were allowed to bring anything that fit in a peck sack. Ed was able to convince his brother Zeke to leave his job at

Western Auto Western Auto Supply Company—known more widely as Western Auto—was a Chain store, specialty retail chain of stores that supplied auto part, automobile parts and accessories operating approximately 1,200 stores across the United States ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

by getting him a job with the legendary multi-millionaire Joel Thorne as part of his race shop fabrication crew. Thorne and his crew won the 1946 Indy 500 with George Robson as his driver. During his time there, Zeke met a young

Frank Kurtis Frank Peter Kurtis (born Kuretich; January 25, 1908 – February 17, 1987) was an American racing car designer. He designed and built midget cars, quarter-midgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, and Formula One cars. He was the founder of ...

who had a rented space in the Thorne shop. Zeke would later become Frank's first employee when he formed

Kurtis-Kraft Kurtis Kraft was an American designer and builder of race cars. The company built midget cars, quartermidgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Bonneville cars, and USAC Championship cars. It was founded by Frank Kurtis when he built his own midge ...

after World War II. During his time at Thorne Engineering in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

, California, Zeke worked on a variety projects including the occasional side projects. Two interesting side projects were the modification of a car for a young Bill Pollack and the development of a three-wheel car under Frank Kurtis. Bill Pollack would later win the first grand prix at

Pebble Beach Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California, United States. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of ...

in 1951. Bill also designed the road racecourse in Southern California known as Willow Springs. The three wheel car was sold to Gary Davis and became known as the Davis Motor Car Three Wheel, appearing on the cover of the August 1950 issue of Motor Trend magazine.

War years

Ed enlisted into the Army Air Corps during the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and served in the eighth airforce in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Zeke suffered from

Polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

and was unable to serve in the military. He continued to work for Joel Thorne, whose shop was now making aircraft parts for the war effort. Gus Justice had been paralyzed in an automobile accident in Kansas at the age of 21 and was unable to serve in the military in World War II.

Post World War II years

After the war Ed joined Zeke at Kurtis-Kraft where they helped build many of the now legendary Kurtis-Kraft midget, Indy cars, and sports cars. During their time at Kurtis-Kraft, Ed and Zeke opened a separate shop in Glendale, California where they would do race car fabrication and repair. This was filling the need caused by the tremendous demand at the time and also Kurtis-Kraft's lack of time to address repairs due to the production of new cars. Kurtis-Kraft midgets were available in completed form or also in "kit" form. The Justice Brothers were hired by many to build "kit" cars for them, including

Bill Vukovich William Vukovich (born Vaso Vukovich, December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500s, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, and died while leadin ...

, Loren Bennett, Jack Zimmermann and others. While at Kurtis-Kraft, Ed and Zeke installed the first

Dzus fastener The Dzus fastener, also known as a turnlock fastener or quick-action panel fastener, is a type of proprietary quarter-turn spiral Cam (mechanism), cam lock fastener often used to secure skin panels on aircraft and other high-performance vehicles ...

s on a race car while Frank was out of town on business. At first Frank was not happy with their change to his design, but later realize the benefit of using Dzus fasteners. The idea came from Ed's training as an aircraft mechanic. Ed had worked at

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace and defense company based in Southern California. Founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr., it merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas, where it operated as a di ...

Flight Test in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, California before the war and was an A&E. The first race car with Dzus fasteners was "Bullet" Joe Garson's Kurtis-Kraft midget sponsored by Bowes Seal Fast and owned by famed race car driver

Rex Mays Rex Houston Mays Jr. (March 10, 1913 – November 6, 1949) was an American racing driver. He was a two-time List of American open-wheel racing national champions, National Champion, won four Pole position, poles for the Indianapolis 500, and is g ...

. It was during their time at Kurtis-Kraft that Zeke met Chestein Wynn, a retired attorney who had received a formula from his son Clarence for an oil additive. The product grabbed Zeke's interest which caused him to share it with his brother Ed. They both were convinced that their future would be bright selling a product that no one had heard of on the opposite coast from where it was being made. Selling a midget that they built, they took the $2,500 profit and moved to

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. At the time they moved, Ed's wife was six months pregnant with their first child. Their distribution territory was Florida,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The Justice brothers later relocated back to California.

Famous employees and business associates

Johnnie Parsons John Woodrow Parsons (July 4, 1918 – September 8, 1984) was an American racing driver in the AAA Contest Board, AAA and United States Automobile Club, USAC Championship Car series. He was the 1949 AAA Championship Car season, 1949 AAA List of ...

- 1950 Indy 500 winner *

Roger Ward Roger Ward (born 24 July 1937)Wilmingham, Margot "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of. Australian Showbiz is an Australian actor and scriptwriter who has had a considerable career in film and television, noted for "tough guy" roles in which he of ...

- 2 time Indy 500 winner *

Duane Carter Duane Claude Carter (May 5, 1913 – March 7, 1993) was an American racecar driver. He raced midget cars, sprint cars, and IndyCars.Bob Bondurant Robert Lewis Bondurant (April 27, 1933 – November 12, 2021) was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. Bondurant was one of the most famous drivers to emerge from the Southern California road ...

- 1965 World Manufacturers Champion *

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, an ...

- Daytona 500 winner & NASCAR Cup Champion

Notable sponsorships

- 1950 Indianapolis 500 - Winner *

Jim Rathmann Jim Rathmann may refer to: * Jim Rathmann (racing driver), (1928–2011), American racing driver {{Hndis, Rathmann, Jim ...

/Grantelli Brothers - 1952 Indianapolis 500 - 2nd Place * Johnny Mantz - 1950 Southern 500 - Winner *

Don Garlits Donald Glenn Garlits (born January 14, 1932) is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Born in Tampa, Florida, Garlits is considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pion ...

- Legendary Drag Racer - First Sponsor *

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American former racing driver who competed in numerous disciplines of motorsport. He is best known for his open wheel racing career, and for becoming the first four-time winner of the India ...

- 4 Time Indianapolis 500 - Winner *

Gary Beck Gary Beck (born January 21, 1941) is a two-time World champion drag racing driver. Born in Seattle, Washington and raised in the United States, Beck married a Canadian and they made their home in her native Edmonton, Alberta. He competed in stock ...

/Larry Minor - 1983 NHRA Champions *

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its f ...

- Early NASCAR competitor - Daytona 500 winner *

Curtis Turner Curtis Morton Turner (April 12, 1924 – October 4, 1970) was an American stock car racer who won 17 NASCAR Grand National Division races and 38 NASCAR Convertible Division races. Throughout his life, he developed a reputation for drinking and ...

- NASCAR Legend *

Fireball Roberts Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (January 20, 1929July 2, 1964) was an American stock car racer. Background Roberts was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida, where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. ...

- NASCAR Legend *

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...

- NASCAR Legend - 7 time NASCAR Champion *

Rex White Rex Allen White (born August 17, 1929) is a retired auto racer and NASCAR champion. White was one of the drivers who competed for the original Chevrolet racing team. He began racing in 1956, grabbing fourteen top-ten finishes. After a part-time ...

- NASCAR Legend - 1960 Grand National Champion *

Buck Baker Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. (March 4, 1919 – April 14, 2002), better known as Buck Baker, was an American stock car racing, stock car racer. Born in Richburg, South Carolina, Richburg, South Carolina, Baker began his NASCAR career in 1949 and won his ...

- Early NASCAR competitor *

Connie Kalitta Conrad Kalitta (born February 24, 1938) is an American businessman and former drag racing driver, nicknamed "the Bounty Hunter." Kalitta is the CEO of Kalitta Air and the owner of Kalitta Motorsports.

- Drag Racing Legend, Driver & Owner *

Don Prudhomme Don Prudhomme (born April 6, 1941, in San Fernando, California), nicknamed "the Snake", is an American drag racer. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991. Racing career Prudhomme crewed for "TV Tommy" Ivo on Ivo's ...

- Drag Racing Legend, Driver & Owner *

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...

- 7 time NASCAR Champion * Alex Gurney - Formula Atlantic competitor

In media

* Rock and Roll star

Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...

founded an early band called the Justice Brothers after seeing a Justice Brothers delivery van in the California beach area. He also worked at an auto parts store and had sold the products they originated. * Products made by the Justice Brothers appeared in the movie GREASE * Actor

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...

wore a Justice Brothers T-shirt in the movie ''

The Machinist ''The Machinist'' is a 2004 psychological thriller film directed by Brad Anderson and written by Scott Kosar. It stars Christian Bale as the title character, a machinist struggling with paranoia and delusion after being unable to sleep for an ...

''. This T-shirt celebrated the race car building time of the Justice Brothers life. Some fans of the film think it had an underlying message to the film

* Actor

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

wore a Justice Brothers designed drivers uniform in the movie ''

EDtv ''EDtv'' is a 1999 American satirical comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebecois film '' Louis 19, King of the Airwaves (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)'' (1994), it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrels ...

''.

Death

James “Gus” Justice died in 1983. Lawrence “Zeke” Justice died on August 9, 2001. Ed Justice, Sr.sadnews2008.htm died on August 30, 2008.

Awards and recognition

* Ed Justice - Founders Award - International Drag Racing Hall of Fam

* The Justice brothers - 1999 Western Racing Association Honoree

* The Justice brothers - Inducted into the Route 66 Hall of Fam

* The Justice brothers - Inducted into the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fam

* The Justice brothers - Inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fam

* The Justice brothers - Inducted into the Jacksonville Stock Car Racing Hall of Fam

* The Justice brothers - Inducted into the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summe ...

br>

References

{{Reflist

External links

Company websiteYouTube Video - The Justice Brothers StoryEd Justice Jr website
American motorsport people United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Oil companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Duarte, California People from Paola, Kansas