Hinchman Racing Suits celebrating 100 years of protecting drivers

INDIANAPOLIS — In May 1925, Peter DePaolo won the Indianapolis 500 wearing a Hinchman Racing Suit.

Since then, dozens more Indy 500 champions have donned the work of the local company to win the greatest spectacle in racing.

”All of AJ Foyt’s wins were in a Hinchman suit,” said Nancy Chumbley, the owner of Hinchman.

But Hinchman’s client list isn’t just drivers. The company has made racing suits for Elvis Presley, Arnold Schwarzenegger and other famous celebrities.

Chumbley bought the company from her longtime boss, who was the son of the founder.

”Mr. Hinchman’s dad worked for an overall factory,” Chumbley said. “I think they were laid off and he knew a lot of the drivers at the various garages. He was a tailor and his wife was a seamstress. He would go from garage to garage talking to the guys and eventually they wanted him to make them a suit to cover their clothes. He just started pedaling suits and eventually everyone wanted one.”

As technology advanced, the suits went from just looking cool to keeping drivers safe. There are several suits in front of their shop that show their success. 

”It always makes us really happy to open up the suit and see it [fire] didn’t get past the outer layer,” Chumbley said.

When a driver orders a suit and submits their measurements, the process starts with Joe Whisler.

”We’ll pattern it off that,” Whisler said. “Make panels for embroidery, make panels for design.”

Then it’s to Nancy for embroidery and off to the sewing machines. Each Hinchman suit is made of a material called Nomex.

”What it won’t do is it will not melt, it will not drip,” Whisler said. “Once it hits that certain temperature, I believe it’s 600 degrees, what it’ll start to do is char.”

As Hinchman Racing Suits celebrates 100 years, the company mainly serves short track racers now, but still operates under the same guiding principle. 

”Mr. Hinchman always had something he made sure everybody knew, didn’t matter if you were running the local fairgrounds or you were winning the Indy 500, you were the same customer to us,” Whisler said.