Herb Porter

HERB PORTER, a great proponent of supercharging (and later of turbocharging), was an Indianapolis 500 chief mechanic from 1951 through 1966. Andy Linden qualified for the front row of the 1952 Indianapolis 500 race driving a supercharged, Offenhauser-powered entry Porter set up. He was chief mechanic for Rodger Ward’s five United States Auto Club National Championship race wins in 1957 and 1958. Porter was the first to experiment with turbocharger units on Offenhauser engines (in 1966) and Bobby Unser won the 1968 Indianapolis 500 with a Porter-prepared, turbocharged Offy. It was not long before the entire starting field had turbocharged engines. He joined Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company as its engine development engineer and later formed his own business, as a result of which virtually every track speed record for the next three decades would carry his stamp.