<p>The look on his car owner’s face in the euphoric aftermath of the 2018 Little 500 is a memory that five-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion Kody Swanson won’t soon forget.</p><p>Gene Nolen was beaming, and he would be for some time.</p><p>“Gene had been chasing that for a long time,” said Swanson, remembering posing with Nolen with the Little 500 trophy on the stage at Anderson Speedway. “The magnitude of the moment, to be able to share that with him, was really special.”</p><p>Nolen, a Greenwood resident who owned Whiteland-based Nolen Racing, passed away at the age of 77 Wednesday after battling kidney failure and pulmonary fibrosis for the past year. Nolen had been hospitalized since developing pneumonia three weeks ago.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>His nearly four decades as a car owner were highlighted by 16 victories, including three Hoosier Hundreds at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Among the others who drove for him in addition to Swanson were three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, 12-time Indianapolis 500 qualifier Johnny Parsons, Jerry Coons Jr., Larry Rice and the late Bryan Clauson.</p><p>“Gene was definitely a nice and innovative guy who was dedicated to racing,” said Franklin mayor Steve Barnett, who drove a few races for Nolen in the late 1990s. “I just knew Gene to want to win, but he was patient about it and never lost his cool.</p><p>“And he was caring to others. Gene was a great guy who helped a lot of people in racing.”</p><p>Rick Laughlin of Whiteland, who helps set up the cars at Nolen Racing and is the team’s only full-time employee, knew his boss for 27 years.</p><p>“Gene was a very determined person. Pretty much a self-made man, and it was the same thing with his racing team,” Laughlin said. “No airs or anything like that. Gene grew up in pretty humble beginnings on the southside of Indianapolis.</p><p>“It’s not like he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and someone just handed it all to him. You have to respect that.”</p><p>Nolen graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1961. At 31 he was one of four men who founded Manar, Inc., a custom plastic injection molding company, in Edinburgh. He was still the company’s chairman and CEO at the time of his death.</p><p>In 1983, Nolen purchased his first midget car with Paul Huntington as his driver, and was part of racing through the 2019 season.</p><p>“Gene had a quiet competitiveness even though he always had a smile on his face,” said Joe Axsom, another one of Nolen’s former drivers. “When you got to know Gene on a personal level, he became family and not just a friend.”</p><p>No obituary would be able to fit everyone whose life was positively impacted by Nolen. His drive to succeed was exceeded only by his giving nature.</p><p>Parsons, now 75, remembers his introduction to Nolen.</p><p>“In 1989 or 1990, I showed up at Springfield (Illinois) Speedway without a ride and was walking around looking in the pits when Gene and Glen Niebel asked me if I wanted to drive their car,” Parsons said. “I was so excited and thrilled, and thought, ‘Man, this thing is a rocket.’</p><p>“Gene was obviously very into his racing, and a reliable car owner. He was good to run with, and this is a big loss for USAC. Gene will be greatly missed, for sure.”</p><p>Nolen, who was inducted into the Little 500 Hall of Fame in 2010, has also won USAC’s Robbie Stanley Award, named for the former driver from Brownsburg who won three USAC national sprint car titles in the early 1990s before losing his life in an accident at Winchester Speedway in May 1994.</p><p>Nolen had chased a Little 500 win for years before winning his final two with Swanson behind the wheel. Nolen Racing was particularly dominant in last year’s race as Swanson and another team driver, Shane Hollingsworth, combined to lead all but one of the 500 laps.</p><p>“I think of Gene as a family friend. He kind of saw me grow up and came to my wedding,” said Hollingsworth, who lives in Lafayette and placed fourth at last year’s Little 500. “It’s a big void. Silver Crown owners are kind of a staple of the industry, and Gene was definitely part of that.</p><p>“He tried to do his own thing and win races with people who were his friends. It was kind of old school. I always respected that.”</p>
