Sonny Leonard (June 19, 1943 – January 10, 2021) was an American businessman and the CEO of '' Sonny's Automotive Racing'', a company he founded in January 1969. Leonard was known for designing and building large

engine displacement Engine displacement is the measure of the cylinder volume swept by all of the pistons of a piston engine, excluding the combustion chambers. It is commonly used as an expression of an engine's size, and by extension as an indicator of the ...

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...

s. Leonard's engines have won numerous national and global records and championships on land and sea. In 2012 Sonny Leonard developed a big block engine over .

Achievements (selection)

Sonny Leonard was specialized in creating American V8 engines of up to . * , big block engine * , big block engine * , big block engine * ,

hemispherical combustion chamber A hemispherical combustion chamber is a combustion chamber in the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine with a domed "sphere, hemispheric" shape. An engine featuring this type of hemispherical chamber is known as a hemi engine. In pra ...

engine * , Ford Hemi big block

History

After turning his hobby into a business, Sonny Leonard opened a garage in 1968 in a building in

Madison Heights, Virginia Madison Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The population was 10,893 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Fort Riverview (44AH91 and 44AH195 ...

. In 1987, Leonard made history with Bill Kuhlmann, who drove Sonny's 615 cubic inch engine to the first speed of 200 mph in history with a full-bodied car. In 2013 Sonny Leonard became a partner for the 2013 season in the X-treme Drag Racing League (X-DRL). Sonnys Racing Engines celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018. In 2019 Sonny Leonard built a second engine to raise funds for Victory Junction. In the same year he led John Montecalvo to the PDRA Pro Stock Championship. Sonny Leonard died on Sunday, January 10, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Sonny 1943 births 2021 deaths Engine manufacturers of the United States V8 engines