American Racing Equipment Inc. is a high performance after-market wheel manufacturer started during the American muscle car era.


Romeo Palamides, an early drag racing innovator,Grandfather of Jet Racing, designed and crafted leading edge, high strength-to-weight magnesium drag racing wheels for his dragster. It was the early years of hot rodding and street enthusiast interest in the lightweight, higher tech wheels was overwhelming. Romeo's vision, working from Jim Ellison's small machine shop in San Francisco with engineering innovator Tom Griffith, evolved into America's leading aftermarket wheel company. In 1956, they formed American Racing Equipment

American Racing became famous with the Torq Thrust wheel that, although first applied on the dragstrip, became a popular street racing wheel. The Torq Thrust was specifically designed with a "tapered parabolic contour" spoke, as opposed to a semi-solid modular design, to increase brake cooling and simultaneously decrease wheel mass.

The American Racing Torq Thrust wheel is considered by some as the most famous muscle car wheel of all time^[2] and is sometimes credited as starting the entire custom wheel movement.^[2]