Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People
A full-color photography book showcasing Oklahoma paired with the histories of companies, institutions, and organizations that have made the state great.
A full-color photography book showcasing Oklahoma paired with the histories of companies, institutions, and organizations that have made the state great.
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JOHN “JACK”<br />
SMITH ZINK<br />
When he authored the life story of the<br />
legendary Jack Zink in To Indy and Beyond<br />
(2008), Dr. Bob Blackburn quoted from<br />
remarks Jack made at his induction into the<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> Hall of Fame in 1989:<br />
“[It] is an appropriate summary of Jack’s<br />
life: The man who wins is the man who tries.<br />
I hope this book will encourage others to<br />
do the same. Jack would want it that way.”<br />
The life work of John “Jack”<br />
Smith Zink truly epitomizes<br />
this concept. Jack tried a lot—<br />
and with tremendous success.<br />
A Tulsa native, John<br />
“Jack” Smith Zink was born<br />
on October 17, 1928, and<br />
entered <strong>Oklahoma</strong> A&M<br />
University (now <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
State University) in Stillwater<br />
in 1946, where he received a<br />
degree in mechanical engineering<br />
in 1951.<br />
His passion for racing<br />
began in 1937 when he visited<br />
the Detroit Motor Speedway<br />
with an uncle, and was fueled during countless<br />
summer nights learning the names and<br />
styles of his favorite drivers back home<br />
at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Speedway. He built<br />
his first race car in 1941<br />
and fashioned his first dirt<br />
race track west of his father’s<br />
industrial plant on Peoria<br />
Avenue in Tulsa. By 1951,<br />
Jack had become “one of the<br />
most successful drivers on<br />
regional dirt tracks [and] was<br />
a regular at Taft Stadium in<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City.” Just four<br />
years later, Jack and his race<br />
team would celebrate the first<br />
of two consecutive wins at<br />
the Indianapolis 500.<br />
At the same time, Jack<br />
began his career “as the<br />
only sales engineer” for John<br />
Zink Company, which was<br />
founded by his father in<br />
1929. It was a position that<br />
he took very seriously and a<br />
period in which the company<br />
was flourishing with new innovations in<br />
the combustion field. After he was named<br />
president of John Zink Company in the<br />
early 1960s, Jack grew the company into an<br />
international corporation. <strong>Through</strong>out his<br />
entire career, he remained dedicated to the<br />
field of manufacturing and engineering,<br />
authoring thirty-five patents on combustion<br />
and other equipment.<br />
Jack was honored with a number of significant<br />
awards throughout his life and career<br />
in the field. His alma mater, <strong>Oklahoma</strong> State<br />
University, inducted him into its College<br />
of Engineering Hall of Fame and awarded<br />
him the Henry G. Bennett Distinguished<br />
Service Award. He was named Outstanding<br />
Business Leader by The University of Tulsa<br />
and was honored by the Boy Scouts of<br />
America with the Silver Beaver Award for<br />
service to youth.<br />
A veteran race car driver, Jack was inducted<br />
into the Motor Sports Hall of Fame by the<br />
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and served on<br />
the board of directors and was chairman of<br />
the engine committee of the United States<br />
Automobile Club.<br />
Jack’s commitment to his life’s work was<br />
rivaled only by his dedication to the community.<br />
A lifetime supporter of scouting, he<br />
served five terms as president of the Indian<br />
O K L A H O M A : A S t o r y T h r o u g h H e r P e o p l e<br />
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