Lucas was born in February 1942,[1] in Ramsey, Indiana, where he grew up, the eldest of four children.

[2] His parents Raymond and Marie had a small farm in Elkinsville, where he and his three sisters lived in "rural deprivation".

He built up a fleet of 13-14 trucks, and started freight brokerage.

[6] Lucas is a founder of Protect the Harvest, a nonprofit organization which opposes "the radical animal rights movement" and particularly the Humane Society of the United States, which it calls "a wealthy and successful attack group".

[7] His first wife "couldn't stand to save money ... she'd spend it as fast as I made it", and they divorced in 1969.