The event is held in the memory and honor of the late Elmer Musgrave, who passed away at the age of 72 on September 20, 2000. Musgrave was a long-time Chicagoland stock car competitor, racing at tracks throughout the Midwest and the Chicago area. Musgrave was a front-runner at the Wilmot (Wis.) Speedway and at the old Waukegan (Ill.) Speedway, where he was the stock car champion in 1952. Musgrave was the winningest driver in competition at the Waukegan dirt oval in the early 1950’s. For a number of years, Musgrave was a regular at the old O’Hare Stadium in Schiller Park, Ill.

In addition to his local stock car racing success, Musgrave also competed on several "national" circuits, including the United States Auto Club (USAC) and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), which was formerly known as the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC). Musgrave captured two stock car events on the old USAC tour with the first coming at California’s Ascot Stadium in a 1958 Pontiac. He later followed up with another USAC victory at Illiana in 1963, wheeling a ’63 Mercury.

Musgrave won a total of five MARC/ARCA race, including a victory in a 250-mile event on the road course at the old Meadowdale International Raceway in Carpentersville, Ill. in 1964.

Musgrave’s youngest son, Ted Musgrave was the 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion. Ted began his racing career at Waukegan in late model action in 1974. He raced at various Chicago area short tracks before moving his attention to the Wisconsin stock car scene, in addition to competing in ARTGO and American Speed Association (ASA) competition. Ted Musgrave made a total of 305 career starts in NASCAR Nextel (Winston) Cup racing from his first start in 1990 through 2003 before turning his attention to the NASCAR’s truck series.

Elmer Musgrave’s oldest son, Tom, was also a front-runner in Midwest stock car racing. Tom Musgrave was a two-time late model track champion at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Ill., winning back-to-back titles in 1974 and 1975.