LeMay – America’s Car Museum opens world-premiere For Gold & Glory: A Tribute to Charlie Wiggins with Ed Welburn, culminating in an emotional reunion between the Wiggins family and a race car once believed lost to history
- For Gold & Glory: A Tribute to Charlie Wiggins opened September 19 at LeMay – America’s Car Museum, bringing the remarkable true story of champion race car driver, mechanic, builder and innovator Charlie Wiggins to a new generation
- The original, one-of-one Wiggins Special was unveiled to the public for the first time in more than 90 years after its unexpected discovery only months before the exhibition opened
- Wiggins’ great-niece Angie Rodgers traveled across the country with her two sons to experience the exhibition and reunite the Wiggins family with Charlie’s race car for the first time in nearly a century
- Guest curated by legendary automotive designer Ed Welburn, the world-premiere exhibition will remain on view at LeMay – America’s Car Museum for the next 12 months
TACOMA, Wash., Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — More than 90 years after it disappeared from public view, a race car built and driven by one of the most remarkable figures in early American motorsports has returned to the public eye.
On Saturday, September 19, LeMay – America’s Car Museum opened For Gold & Glory: A Tribute to Charlie Wiggins, a world-premiere exhibition bringing to life the story of Charlie Wiggins, the champion race car driver, mechanic, builder and innovator who competed during the deeply segregated era of American motorsports in the 1920s and 1930s. The exhibition’s public debut drew an enthusiastic response, with more than 1,000 guests visiting the Museum on opening day.
Joining the Museum for the opening was guest curator Ed Welburn, former Vice President of Global Design at General Motors, who has spent years championing Wiggins’ legacy and working to introduce his extraordinary story to a wider audience. But even Welburn could not have predicted what would become the centerpiece of the exhibition.
A Race Car Thought Lost to History
Only three months before For Gold & Glory was scheduled to open, the location of the original Wiggins Special was unknown. The one-of-one race car, built by Wiggins himself and driven to four Gold & Glory Sweepstakes championships, had not been seen publicly in more than 90 years and was believed lost to history. Then, in the final months leading up to the exhibition, the remarkable happened. Welburn traveled to a barn in a small Ohio town, where he discovered and confirmed the identity of the surviving Wiggins Special, found in pieces more than 90 years after it
disappeared from public view. The discovery set into motion an extraordinary race against time to preserve the car and bring it to Tacoma.
The historic pieces were transported to The NB Center for American Automotive Heritage in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where its team undertook the painstaking work of preserving and reassembling the Wiggins Special. Just days after its discovery, work was already underway to bring the surviving car back together. From Ohio to Pennsylvania and ultimately across the country to Washington state, the Wiggins Special completed an unexpected journey back into public view.
On September 19, LeMay – America’s Car Museum unveiled the car during the grand opening of For Gold & Glory, marking the first time in more than nine decades that the public could stand face-to-face with the machine Wiggins built, developed and raced to four championships.
The discovery transformed the exhibition. What began as an effort to recover the story of Charlie Wiggins now had one of its most important surviving artifacts at its center.
A Family Reunited with Its History
The return of the Wiggins Special also created a moment no one involved in the exhibition initially knew would be possible. After learning about For Gold & Glory, Angie Rodgers, Charlie Wiggins’ great-niece, traveled across the country with her two sons to Tacoma to experience the exhibition and see the race car built and driven by her great-uncle
Their visit brought the Wiggins family and the Wiggins Special together for the first time in nearly a century. For Rodgers and her sons, the exhibition offered something more personal than encountering a chapter of American motorsports history. They were able to walk through Charlie’s story, see his achievements brought to life and stand beside the machine their great-uncle built with his own hands. The reunion underscored the larger purpose behind For Gold & Glory: restoring a human story that for decades existed outside many of the traditional narratives of American motorsports.
More Than a Race Car Driver
Wiggins’ achievements extended far beyond his success behind the wheel.
A gifted mechanic, builder, designer and innovator, Wiggins became one of the dominant figures of the Gold & Glory Sweepstakes, a racing series created for Black drivers who were excluded from many of the country’s most prominent motorsports events during segregation.
Through historical imagery, artifacts, automotive design, sound and immersive interpretation, For Gold & Glory places visitors inside the world in which Wiggins lived and competed, exploring both his extraordinary accomplishments and the barriers faced by Black racers in segregated America.
“Charlie Wiggins was so much more than just a great race car driver,” said Ed Welburn, guest curator of For Gold & Glory. “He was a brilliant mechanic, an innovator, a craftsman, and a champion who achieved extraordinary accomplishments despite barriers that should never have been placed in his way. I have carried Charlie’s story with me for many years, and seeing it come to life through For Gold & Glory is deeply personal. My hope is that people walk into this exhibition not knowing his name and leave inspired by his story and unbelievable perseverance.”
A Story That Continues
The September 19 grand opening marked the beginning, rather than the conclusion, of the Museum’s effort to share Wiggins’ story. For Gold & Glory: A Tribute to Charlie Wiggins will remain on display at LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, for the next 12 months, giving visitors from across the country an opportunity to discover Wiggins’ life, accomplishments and enduring impact.
At its center now sits something that, only months before opening day, no one expected would be there: Charlie Wiggins’ own race car.
More than 90 years after the Wiggins Special disappeared from public view, the car and the story of the man who built it are together again.
And this time, they are being shared with the world.
Media Assets: Watch the Story
An eight-minute short film documenting the discovery and preservation of the Wiggins Special, the opening of For Gold & Glory, the public unveiling of the car and the Wiggins family’s visit to Tacoma is available for media viewing and editorial use.
High-resolution photography, B-roll, exhibition imagery and additional editorial assets are also available in the official For Gold & Glory media kit.
FOR GOLD & GLORY MEDIA KIT AVAILABLE HERE
Visit For Gold & Glory
For Gold & Glory: A Tribute to Charlie Wiggins is now on view at LeMay – America’s Car Museum, 2702 E. D St., Tacoma, Washington.
VISIT THE OFFICIAL FOR GOLD & GLORY WEBPAGE HERE
About LeMay – America’s Car Museum
LeMay – America’s Car Museum, located in Tacoma, Washington, is one of the largest automobile museums in the world. The Museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history and culture of the automobile in America. With a collection of more than 250 vehicles and engaging exhibitions, LeMay – America’s Car Museum offers a dynamic experience for visitors of all ages, promoting automotive heritage through its educational programs, exhibits, and events. LeMay – America’s Car Museum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and an entity of America’s Automotive Trust. For more information, visit americascarmuseum.org or follow ACM on Facebook and Instagram.
For the latest news, stories, photos and videos, visit https://www.americascarmuseum.org/articles
CONTACT:
Jake Welk – Marketing & Communications Director
LeMay – America’s Car Museum
253.225.5623
jake.welk@aat.org
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SOURCE America’s Automotive Trust
