Anatoly Arutunoff is a renaissance man.

His Sports Car Club of America® exploits began when he purchased a Porsche Carrera Speedster GS in 1958, and soon after a $25 SCCA membership. In what can only be described as a bargain, Toly watched the lifetime membership price increase to $120 and purchased the membership before it could go up again. To date, that works out to one dollar and eighty-five cents per year – and his experience has been well worth that cost.

As a driver, Toly began lining up on SCCA grids in the 1960s, and through the years competed in Cannonball Runs, Pikes Peak Hill Climbs and multiple times in Italy’s Targa Florio. His crowning achievement as a driver came during the 1981 SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, when he started 11^th in the H Production race, climbed to the lead at lap six, and held on for the final 12 laps to win the Championship and the President’s Cup.

His most well-known contribution to the Club, and to road racing as a whole, is a favorite son of Mid-States drivers. Armed mostly with a bulldozer and his racing knowledge, Arutunoff laid out and built the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit near Tulsa, Oklahoma. The resulting 1.8-mile, 11-turn track can be run in either direction to this day, and is enjoyed by driving schools for its series of unique corners.

Though mostly a Club Racing track, Hallett hosted IMSA, Trans Am®, and the final ever Can-Am race in 1986.

Off the track, Arutunoff’s automotive collection is revered amongst car lovers for its uniqueness, stepping off the traditional beaten path for cars that he personally finds interesting. Just like the man steeped in his own interesting adventures, those cars are often one of a kind.

Toly Arutunoff was inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame in 2024.