American Racing is the original custom wheel company. Some say the aftermarket for light alloy wheels was created by the success of the American Racing Torq Thrust wheel. This wheel started its career on the drag strip, but soon found its way to the muscle street cars that came onto the roads in the first half of the 1960s. The Torq Thrust was designed with "tapered parabolic contour", as opposed to a semi-solid modular design, to increase brake cooling and make the wheel lighter. It has been developed over the years to accommodate disc brakes and new hub designs, but the basic style has not change. It was perfected from the very beginning.