Bo Butner has spent enough time fighting something far more serious than a race car. Now cancer-free with a clean bill of health, the two-time NHRA world champion is ready to get back to fighting for win lights.
Butner will return his focus to NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition with new backing from America’s Auto Auction/America’s Clark County for the remainder of the 2026 season. The partnership will put America’s Auto Auction branding on each car Butner races, beginning this week at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
For Butner, the relationship reaches well beyond putting another sponsor on the side of a race car. His connection to America’s Auto Auction dates to childhood and his family’s longtime involvement in the automobile business.
“I’m really excited and honored to welcome America’s Auto Auction to the team,” Butner said. “It’s special to me to have their name on the cars that I’ll be racing this year, because I remember being a kid and going down to their auction in Ft. Myers, Fla., with my dad when they first started. At that time, they only had maybe 15 cars. It was an itty-bitty deal, just the beginning for America’s Auto Auction, and now to see how they’ve grown to have a ton of auctions nationwide and even some overseas – it’s really impressive.”
Butner is CEO of Jim Butner Auto Group in Clarksville, Indiana, a family business started by his father in 1955. He operates the dealership with his son, JB, and other members of the family.
Butner, a 34-time NHRA national event winner, will race alongside his wife, Randi Lyn, the 2021 North Central Division Stock Eliminator champion. Their first weekend carrying the new colors comes during a doubleheader at Beech Bend featuring the North Central Division event and JEGS SPORTSnationals.
From there, Butner heads to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for the NHRA U.S. Nationals, a race he has won three times.
America’s Auto Auction operates physical auction locations across 26 states while also conducting sales through digital platforms. Butner sees plenty of similarities between the auction company and the business his family has spent decades building.
“Their business is a lot like how we operate at Jim Butner Auto Group; it’s really about helping people get what they want and need,” Butner said. “It’s a great partnership for us, and I think the best way to honor that will be to put America’s Auto Auction in the winner’s circle. It’s sure going to be a lot of fun trying.”
