Forrest Lucas, a man that is considered one of the richest men in Indiana and founder of Lucas Oil Products, passed away at the age of 83 on Aug. 23. Lucas was considered a lovely man by many; including his family, his friends, his community, and the charities/foundations he has created, supported, and funded. He is considered a legend in the racing industry and community, supporting places and events like the Anderson Speedway with his company sponsoring the Little 500, NXG Youth Motorsports, and even has his own movie production company called Forrest Productions. However, most people don’t actually know who he is or his beginnings.
Lucas was born on Feb. 1, 1942. Being the oldest out of four siblings, he grew up in poverty on a small farm in Elkinsville, IND but was born in Ramsey, IND. According to Street Muscle Magazine they described the farm Lucas and his siblings grew up in as “rural deprivation”.
After graduating high school Lucas didn’t know what to do with his life. According to Street Muscle Magazine they claim Lucas said he wanted to be a lawyer but couldn’t afford the college tuition. So instead he decided to buy his first truck at 19 years old. Lucas got a job at a factory, working the night shifts while he drove a dump truck during the day. After some time he realized he didn’t want to work in a factory forever.
According to an interview of Forrest Lucas with the Indianapolis Business Journal, “I was working in a factory—the night shift—and driving a dump truck by day. I already had kids and I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in a factory. I wanted to have my own business”.
After buying his first semi-truck, he quit his job and later got a job at Mayflower Transit. Trying to save for a few years so he could open a gas station or garage but his first wife had other plans.
According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, when asked about how he got into trucking he also mentions his first marriage and how that affected him in the long run. “I bought a truck, went through training, and went out and made a lot more money than they thought I could. I was working night and day and living cheap. Unfortunately, my first wife blew the money as fast as it came in. In two or three years, I thought I’d be able to save enough money, sell the truck, and start a gas station or something like that. It never happened. I had to divorce [my first wife] and start life over again. And I later ended up with a fleet of trucks”.
Lucas kept working hard, day and night, until he could afford a fleet of 14 trucks and started a freight company. Lucas saw himself as a good mechanic and worked on most of the trucks himself. It later gave him the idea to make his own oil. According to Street Muscle magazine, “Lucas thought of himself as a decent mechanic and performed a lot of the maintenance on his trucks. He felt that his trucking company needed better oil, so he began learning how to make oil on his own”.
That was how Lucas Oil Products was born in 1988. Because of this business he became filthy rich beyond his wildest dreams. As mentioned earlier he founded a movie production company, founded different charities and non-profit organizations, helped support and sponsor sports teams, etc. However, on Aug. 25, Lucas passed away at the age of 83.
The cause of his death hasn’t been revealed yet but it’s safe to assume it might have something to do with his old age. As previously mentioned, multiple articles including Fox 59 news, Yahoo, IndyStar, and other news sources claim he died at the age of 83. The cause of his death is currently unknown and undisclosed.
