Joe Hrudka, the Cleveland-born founder of Mr. Gasket Co. and SEMA Hall of Famer, passed away on May 24, 2026. He was 87.

An accomplished drag-racer himself, Hrudka used his own '57 Chevy as a rolling test bed for the development of specialized, heat-resistant gaskets for his race cars before ultimately launching Mr. Gasket Co. in 1964.

Selling the gaskets out of the trunk of his car, word got around to other drivers, and soon Hrudka was literally "Mr. Gasket," selling the sealers, at first under the Speed Specialties name, then as Mr. Gasket Co., selling a line of head gaskets, exhaust gaskets, oil pan gaskets and fasteners. Today, the Mr. Gasket brand is part of Holley Performance Brands.

In addition to being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 1980, Hrudka was a SEMA Memorial Scholarship subfund sponsor and member of the East Coast Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

Traci Hrudka, niece of Joe Hrudka and daughter of Tom Hrudka, shared the following message on social media (edited for length):

To all who knew him, his extraordinary and legendary accomplishments in the entire racing and performance industry are all well known and revered.

Joe's biggest passion in the industry was taking care of racers, and being an avid racer himself, he knew where the need was and made sure it was done.

Joe's mentor and inspiration was Chris "The Greek" Karamesines, and his hero was John Force. Oh, how many times he would call me when John was at a race, putting his two cents in. 

The industry just became a lot dimmer with his loss, yet the legacy will always shine brightly.

Read Hrudka's full obituary.