Sportsman, dilettante, racer, comedian are all words that have been used at some point in time to describe the irascible Anatoly Arutunoff (ah-roo-TOON-off). Born into a wealthy family, โTolyโ has never made any bones about the fact that his familyโs affluence has afforded him the opportunity to feed a lifetimeโs passion for cars and racing. From the Targa Florio to Sebring and Daytona, Tolyโs done them all and even built and run his own racetrack in Hallett, Oklahoma to boot. Casey Annis had lunch with the voluble Arutunoff in Tulsa to learn more about his fascinating racing lifeโฆbut itโs taken us several years to sort out all of Tolyโs entertaining, but rambling answers!ย
How did you get started in racing originally? What was the impetus that got you going?
