John Kinder Labatt

Place: Santa Ana

Born: 1974

Biography:

John Kinder, also known as John Kinder Labatt, was born in Santa Ana, California in 1974. He is a Japanese American stock car racing driver. He began his racing career in 1991 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, California. He competed in the NASCAR Winston West Series between 1995 and 1997, posting a best finish of second at Mesa Marin in 1996. He also competed in twelve events in the 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman, finishing 23rd in the series standings with a best finish of 13th, recorded at Evergreen Speedway and Flemington Speedway. In 1997, Kinder was selected to participate in the Suzuka Thunder Special, a NASCAR exhibition race held at Suzuka Circuit in Japan; he was the only Japanese-American driver to compete in the event, and he finished 17th in the race. In 1998 he moved to the ARCA Racing Series, competing in six races over two years with a best finish of eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway, then to the Hooters Pro Cup Series from 1999 to 2003 for PowerBase Motorsports, competing in 59 races with a best finish of third at Concord Speedway. He has not competed in major-league stock car racing since 2003. John Kinder Labatt is also known as the founder of the Labatt Brewing Company, an Irish-Canadian brewer who immigrated to Canada in the 1830s and established himself as a farmer near London, Upper Canada. In 1847, he invested in a brewery with a partner, Samuel Eccles, launching 'Labatt and Eccles'. When Eccles retired in 1854, Labatt acquired his interest and renamed the firm the 'London Brewery'. He was assisted by his sons Ephraim, Robert and John. In 1849, Labatt started a new venture along with several other London businessmen including Thomas Carline called the Proof Line Road Joint Stock Company. The company built a road that linked London and the northern hinterlands. Upon completion, the road had three tollgates. Beyond the brewery, Labatt was a town councillor for Saint David's Ward from 1850 to 1851 and a founding member of the London Board of Trade (which is now The London Chamber of Commerce), as well as the founder of the London and Port Stanley Railway. Upon his death, his son John Labatt purchased the brewery, which grew to become one of the largest in Canada.