'Humpy' Wheeler Impacted Many People's Lives While At LMS

[DebWilliams-GFN]

'Humpy' Wheeler Impacted Many People's Lives While At LMS

By Deb Williams

When the checkered flag waved Sunday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway, it signaled more than the end of the Coca-Cola 600. It was the final curtain on an era in motorsports. Howard Augustus Wheeler, better known as H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, bid farewell to the 1.5-mile speedway he had nursed through good and bad times.

It is sad that with everything the 69-year-old Wheeler has done for the sport that he couldn't retire from his executive position with LMS and Speedway Motorsports Inc. entirely on his terms. However, it is indeed fortunate that he won't disappear from the racing landscape.

To those outside the racing community, Wheeler was simply known for his executive position at LMS, or as the person who created outlandish promotions and extravagant pre-race shows. However, to drivers, team owners, crew chiefs and media members, as well as speedway staff, he has been a mentor and an adviser.

Wheeler counseled Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Buddy Baker early in their careers, and even admitted last week that Earnhardt Sr. probably wouldn't even receive a shot at stock car racing's pinnacle today. Why? Because when Earnhardt Sr. was attempting to get a ride in Cup racing, he had stringy hair, always wore dirty blue jeans, was shy, and didn't speak well. But Wheeler knew he could “drive the hell out of a race car” and, therefore, he would be good for the sport.

When Alan Kulwicki moved south, it was Wheeler whom he often sought for advice. Wheeler told him he needed to do something special when he won his first Cup race, something that would distinguish him from all other drivers. Thus, Kulwicki's “Polish Victory Lap” was born.

Wheeler also played a role in my career with two solid pieces of advice. First, he told me that if I wrote something every day, it would help me become better at my profession. I haven't always followed his advice, but I can certainly tell a positive difference when I do.

Then, in 1984, I was at a crossroads in my career. My employer was in financial trouble and everyone had taken a 25 percent pay cut. Sunbelt Video was creating a new TV show for 1985 entitled “Inside NASCAR.” I was offered a position with the show, but I didn't know whether to accept it; my career goal since I was age 13 had been to be a motorsports writer. When I sought Wheeler's advice, we sat on the track's pit wall and discussed the situation. He pointed out to me that if I took the job, it would make me more valuable in the marketplace, because I would have TV, wire service and newspaper experience. I took his advice. Even though the position didn't materialize into what I had been promised, learning to write video scripts greatly improved my feature writing. It also was the beginning of a strong professional friendship between Wheeler and me.

With a degree in journalism and a former public relations position with Firestone, Wheeler possessed an understanding of the media and how to acquire publicity. But, more importantly, he understood people and their emotional and psychological needs.

When Tim Richmond died in August 1989, Wheeler knew the motorsports community needed a memorial service for the Ohio driver, even though he had spent his final two years in seclusion. He put one together and it was held on the sixth floor of the Smith Tower.

In the fall of 1990, when a young Rob Moroso was killed in a traffic accident after the North Wilkesboro race, Wheeler again understood the motorsports community's need to mourn together. Once again, it was the sixth floor in the Smith Tower where last respects were paid. At the time, there were those who criticized Wheeler for “sticking his nose where it didn't belong.” But in retrospect, Wheeler did the right thing.

When several fans were killed at LMS during an IndyCar Series race, Wheeler stopped the event. He admitted at his press conference last week that not everyone agreed with his decision and it cost the track a great deal of money. However, it was the correct thing to do and he wouldn't do anything different if faced with the same crises again.

During his career at LMS, Wheeler never hesitated to create a new word or a new way of defining something. In the early 1980s when the debate raged over whether race drivers were athletes, Wheeler invented a new word:

Mechathlete. He defined it as an athlete that used a machine, i.e., a race car, to compete.

Among many media members, LMS became known as “Humpy World.” Wheeler was even nicknamed the “P.T. Barnum of Racing.” His promotion tactics and pre-race shows were often ridiculed, and some didn't quite go as planned. Such was the case with the largest marching band, which ended with numerous young people passing out on the frontstretch's grassy apron due to the heat.

However, make no mistake, Wheeler loves racing; it's a sport that has fascinated him since childhood. And even though the father of three has been known to be hot-tempered, and, at times, confrontational, he truly cares about people and what he believes is good for the sport.

Wheeler will be missed at LMS, but the good thing is he won't be absent from the sport. And for those of us who were fortunate to receive a bit of guidance or fatherly advice from him, we will always be grateful.