Writer, historian, editor, publicist

Sheffield, PA-born Russell A. Catlin was an internationally recognized racing writer, historian and publicist, writing books and contributing articles to several publications. Catlin’s interest in motorsports began when the Akron Beacon Journal’s sports editor gave the then-copyboy two tickets to the Indy 500. Later Catlin became press relations director for the American Automobile Association (AAA), where in 1952, he published a revised list of AAA championship results from 1902-20, which remains controversial among the sport’s historians. (There was no AAA championship until 1916, so Catlin created the earlier ones retroactively.) He also served as editor of Speed Age Magazine. In the late ‘50s, Catlin was hired as publicist for Darlington Raceway. He guided several influential figures in the motorsports field, including former Charlotte Motor Speedway General Manager Humpy Wheeler, who established the annual Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism in his honor. Catlin’s books included “The Life of Ted Horn: American Racing Champion” (1949). Catlin received the National Motorsports Press Association’s Myers Brothers Award in 1960.