Claude Stout Brinegar was born December 16, 1926, in Rockport, California. He earned a B.A. in Economics with great distinction (1950), an M.S. in Mathematics and Statistics (1951), and a Ph.

D. in economic research (1953) from Stanford University.

Brinegar was senior vice president of Union Oil Company of California and a member of Union Oil's board of directors and executive committee. He was also president of the Union 76 division of Union Oil.

Brinegar served as secretary of Transportation in both the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford administrations from 1973 to 1975. Following his service, Brinegar returned to Union Oil as its senior vice president. He also served on the transition team from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan in 1980.