From his position as Competition Director for Standard-Triumph in the United States, R.W. “Kas” Kastner was the guiding influence and prime instigator for the company’s success, essentially writing the book on how to successfully race cars on a budget and setting the standard for others in the industry to follow. He will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on June 2, 2017.
Kastner’s experience in the automotive industry spans over 50 years. He has particular experience in the field of performance vehicles and automotive racing and racing team management. Triumph powered cars still participate annually in the appropriately named Kastner Cup.
Kastner was a well-known car driver in the late 1950’s and class Champion of the California Sports Car Club in 1959 as well as the winner of the Championship for the SCCA during that same year. The Championships were won driving a 1958 TR3A Triumph. He was the Chief Instructor for the California Sports Car Club at the Riverside Raceway for several years and also the National Licensing Chairman for the SCCA. Kas was the winner of the Sports Car Club of America’s annual award for the Best Technical Article (1963).
Kas’s experience in the automotive industry spans over 50 years. He has particular experience in the field of performance vehicles and automotive racing and racing team management. He then authored and published four books starting in 2003 on Triumph racing and historical information on racing when he was the Triumph Competition Manager for the USA:
- Kas Kastner’s Triumph Preparation Manual (hard copies now sold out)
- Kas Kastner’s Historical and Technical Guide for Triumph Cars
- Racing, Winning and Other Myths in Triumph Cars
- Kas Kastner’s Triumphs, Race Cars, Street Cars and Special Cars
All books are available in various formats through his website.
Kastner was the Motorsports National Manager for Nissan of North America from 1986 thru 1990. He then moved on to be Vice President, Operations, of the new Nissan research and development facility Nissan Performance Technology Inc (NPTI) in Vista, California.
Please check out Kas’s website, where most of this biography originated. Also take a look at the article on Kastner in the November 30, 2011, Moss Motoring.
Note: This is part of an ongoing series focusing on the 23 individuals who will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame in ceremonies on June 2nd, 2017, at the Hall of Fame in Petersburg, VA.