During
World War II, Shaw was hired by the tire manufacturer
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company to test a
synthetic rubber automobile tire at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), which had been closed due to the war. He was dismayed at the dilapidated condition of the racetrack and quickly contacted then-owner
Eddie Rickenbacker, the
World War I flying ace and president and founder of
Eastern Air Lines. When the United States entered
World War II, ending racing at Indianapolis and elsewhere for the duration, Rickenbacker padlocked the gates, and the racecourse slowly begin to disintegrate. During a meeting soon after the test, Rickenbacker informed Shaw that what was left of the track would be demolished, and the land turned into a housing
subdivision. Shaw sent out letters to the major car manufacturers trying to find a backer to buy the speedway. However, all indicated that should they buy the IMS they would turn it into a private testing facility for their own cars only. Shaw then met
Terre Haute businessman
Tony Hulman who had inherited his family's business,
Hulman & Company, a wholesale grocer and producer of coffee and baking powder,
Clabber Girl. A lifelong fan of automobile racing in general and the "500" in particular, Hulman listened with great interest to what Shaw had to say. Despite what Hulman saw amongst the weeds and deterioration when Shaw took him to Indianapolis, he purchased the Speedway from Rickenbacker in November 1945 for the sum of $750,000. As a reward for his efforts to revive the Speedway, Shaw was appointed as its president, where he would have complete day-to-day control over the track. To this job, Shaw brought his extensive knowledge of the business of auto racing, something Hulman would admit that he himself didn't have, and Shaw's hard work only cemented the reputation of the "500" as the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Hulman poured money into improvements, and Shaw delivered the race to enthusiastic crowds, which grew in number by the year. The Indianapolis "500" of the late forties and early fifties was a special event through the work of Hulman and Shaw, although Hulman was always sure to point out that it was Wilbur putting it all together. == Death ==