"Humpy" Wheeler Leaves Quite a Legacy

For years, race fans have heard promoter H.A.superspeedway in '92 to keep NASCAR from pulling
"Humpy" Wheeler's take on everything concernedthe All-Star event from LMS, and made clean and
with NASCAR-from car and equipment changes toaccessible restrooms a priority above coveted luxury
venue expansions, controversial decisions, foreignsuites, which came later along with year-round,
racers, rule revisions, wild finishes, feuds and fights . .on-site condominiums. Among his unique brand of
. and most of all, whatever the casual fan needed toentertainment-often involving animals-he was also
be entertained. The list never ended for one ofknown for promotions that backfired, like in '82 when
NASCAR's greatest salesmen.elephants brought in for a three-ring-circus made
It won't be the same without racing guru 'Humpy'unwanted deposits that had to be scraped and
Wheeler around. Mr. Wheeler, chief operating officerscoured from the track before the race could start.
president of Speedway Motorsports and presidentAt an Indy Racing League event in '99, flying
general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, haswreckage from a crash killed three spectators and
officially retired. Lauded as a pioneer and visionary,injured eight. Wheeler kept a long, haggard look after
the recent Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C., was histhe tragedy and vowed that LMS would never again
swan song from the sport.hold IRL events under his watch. He also weathers
Well, sort of. Before stepping down from his officialthe time when an unprepared dynamite operator lost
post, Wheeler, 69, vowed to stay involved with andhis thumb after a planned explosion came late.
serve the sport in different respects-ways that havePrecise reasons for Wheeler's sudden departure are
not been mentioned yet. He has already signed withnot clear. He indicated to assembled media and
author Peter Golenbock to highlight his many andfriends last week that not everything that has
varied NASCAR experiences and the unique individualstranspired was on his terms, and there were other
he worked with through the years. He wants toissues he'd rather not discuss at the moment.
keep hosting the 'Humpy Show' on the SPEEDBillionaire Bruton Smith, owner of LMS and Wheeler's
Channel, and still plans to chair the Charlotte Regionalboss, did not attend the press conference (his son,
Partnership in 2009, among other endeavors.Marcus Smith, said he was sick), but sent prepared
The main event at LMS has always been the Worldremarks that described his longtime friend and
600 (through 1984), later re-named the Coca-Colaassociate in glowing terms.
600 and held on Memorial Day weekend of eachA former football collegian and Golden Gloves boxing
year. Wheeler, as much a patriot as an innovativechampion, Wheeler worked his way up after working
promoter, started an elaborate tradition in '82 atfirst as a sports writer and later in a variety of
then-called Charlotte Motor Speedway. As part of apositions at Firestone Rubber & Tire Co. He
pre-race extravaganza, he had military helicoptersjoined Charlotte Motor Speedway in '75. Along with
drop in airborne and howitzers from 60 feet of rope,Smith, he set the standard for motorsports
followed by full-scale military maneuvers. Amongentertainment as LMS became a one of the country's
other memorable sideshows, he honored 5,000major facilities for NASCAR and other events. The
assembled firefighters at LMS after the United Statestrack has also been used as a backdrop for popular
was attacked by terrorists on 9/11, and thenmovies such as "Days of Thunder."
announced to a thrilled packed house of 167,000 thatWheeler was named to several halls of fame
our armed forces had begun the invasion ofthroughout his career. His most recent induction was
Afghanistan. He brought expensive lights to theto the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006.