1999-2005 Cadillac Escalade - American Racing Wheel AR-172 Polished Baja - 16 x 8 in., Polished, 8 hole, Alloy wheel

American Racing

We at American Racing trace our roots back more than 50 years, and continue to reinvent ourselves and, quite literally, the wheel. Today’s American Racing still prides ourselves on the mission that began when drag racing innovator Romeo Palamides teamed up with J.O. Ellison, a San Francisco machine shop owner, to design and craft high strength-to-weight ratio racing wheels for his dragster. Palamides and Ellison, along with engineering innovator Tom Griffith formed the pioneering company in aftermarket wheels. From the golden age of hot rodding to today’s street enthusiast, American Racing is reinventing the way wheels are viewed from our classics to new trend-setting styles. In the late 50s, when European racing wheel companies were focused on semi-solid modular designs, designer Tom Griffith conceived the tapered parabolic contour spoked American Racing "Torq Thrust" which reduced wheel weight and promoted brake cooling. Considered by many to be the most famous wheel of all time, the Torq Thrust started the custom wheel craze, making the conversion from strip to street. Today authentic "old school" Torq Thrusts are highly collectible and sold around the world. Often imitated, never duplicated, the Torq Thrust is the signature wheel for performance and custom purists. During the seven seasons (147 episodes & 2 made-for-TV reunion movies) of the hit television series "Dukes of Hazzard", the Warner Brothers studio built a total of 340 "General Lee" 1969 Dodge Chargers. All "General Lees" were equipped with American Racing "Vector" wheels. Of the 340 General Lees built for the series, 321 were destroyed as a result of stunt car jumps. Of the 1360 American Racing Vectors jumped and stunt driven for the series, only one wheel failed by breaking and it is a collector item in a private collection in Sylmar, California. Beyond Hazzard County, American Racing wheels have had cameo appearances in some of Hollywood's most famous films including The Game, Die Hard With A Vengeance, Transformers, 2Fast 2Furious, and perhaps the most important Ford Mustang film of all time, Bullit. What do you get when you combine the world’s most respected wheel company with the world’s most respected hot rod designer? In 2005, American Racing acquired Boyd Coddington specialty wheels combining two of the top names in wheel design. Coddington, a nationally-recognized auto enthusiast specializing in automotive restoration and customization, continues to work on wheel designs, sales efforts, marketing and events. In addition to his exploits in the automotive industry, Coddington became a national figure when the Discovery Channel launched the popular hit television show "American Hot Rod."