Ronald Wayne Shuman (born September 15, 1952) is an American sprint car race driver from

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

. Shuman won the

Turkey Night Grand Prix The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving ni ...

, a major event in the midget cars series, on eight occasions in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1992 and 1993. He won the

Knoxville Nationals The NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals is an annual sprint car event held at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa. An Associated Press writer called winning the event "sprint car racing’s premiere title". It is nicknamed "The Granddaddy of ...

in 1979. He tried his hand at

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

racing in 1980 and finished in 11th place in his first race at

Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located in Ontario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: United States Au ...

in April of that year. However, a month later he failed to qualify for the

1980 Indianapolis 500 The 64th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 1980. Johnny Rutherford won the pole position, led 118 laps, and won the race by a commanding 29.92 second margin. Af ...

. In 1981, Shuman sided with USAC in their split with

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

and Shuman entered in two dirt track races on USAC's "Gold Crown" Champ Car calendar, failing to qualify for one and finishing 15th in the other. The following season in 1982 Shuman notched his best Champ Car finish at the

Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack is a one mile long clay oval motor racetrack on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, the state capital. It is frequently nicknamed The Springfield Mile. Constructed in the late 19th century and r ...

with a 5th place and competed in two other dirt track Gold Crown races. He made another appearance in 1983 before the series ended. Shuman continued to race sprint cars during his foray into Champ Car and still makes occasional appearances in major sprint car events to this day. Ron was a regular on the

World of Outlaws World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, originally known as the World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO) is an American national touring dirt track racing series. It is owned and operated by World Racing Group, and was rebranded when the World of O ...

sprint car series for a number of years 1979–1987. His best finish was 3rd in points twice and had 14 series wins. In 1988 Ron left the WoO series and joined the California Racing Association wingless series. He promptly won 4 championships in a row 1988–1991. He won 69 CRA races. Ron then raced with the SCRA series that replaced the CRA. He won titles in 1994, 1996, and 1997. Shuman ran occasional USAC Silver Crown events and took the checkered flag three times. He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2003. A race named in honor of him, The Ron Shuman Classic, is held every year in Kansas City, Kansas at Lakeside Speedway.

External links

Ron Shuman
at ChampCarStats.com

References

1952 births Champ Car drivers Living people National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Tempe, Arizona Racing drivers from Phoenix, Arizona USAC Silver Crown Series drivers World of Outlaws drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub