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Sudden Departure: Wheeler pulls off another surprise with retirement
AP Photo
Humpy Wheeler flashes a smile as he answers a question at the news conference in which he announced his retirment as the president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where he has worked since 1975.
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Published: May 22, 2008
CONCORD
Humpy Wheeler's flair for the dramatic is legendary.
Remember Jimmy the Flying Greek, the guy who played Evel Knievel in a souped-up school bus? Or the re-creation of the invasion of Grenada as a pre-race show? Or that infamous Waylon Jennings pre-race concert?
All Humpy Wheeler promotions.
But suddenly, on the eve of qualifying for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, one of NASCAR's biggest races, Wheeler has pulled off an even bigger surprise: Wheeler stunned everyone by announcing he would be retiring, as general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway and as chief operating officer of Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports after Sunday's race.
"I am grateful to the fans, the staff, the media, the sponsors, and everyone who has helped me throughout my racing career," Wheeler said. "I have been blessed with a wonderful family and many close and dear friends, whom I hope to spend more time with.
"The people I've met along the way — from the salt flats of Bonneville, to Indianapolis, to my early dirt-track days, to the wild ride of NASCAR to the top — have furnished me with experiences beyond my wildest dreams.
"For a boy from the little town of Belmont, who dreamed of a racing career, I can only say that it ain't over yet. I look forward to addressing the crowd for the last time at Lowe's Motor Speedway Sunday during my 32nd Coca-Cola 600, and thanking them for being there, because without them we have nothing."
Wheeler, 69, a physical-fitness buff and serious bicyclist, has been at the track with Smith since 1975 and has been Smith's right-hand man on almost every important issue.
Indeed, Wheeler has been the face of Smith's growing racing empire for years, except for the few times each season that Smith himself has stepped onto the stage. However, it appears that Wheeler may have been forced out by Smith for some reason, or might be leaving because of some behind-the-scenes disagreement.
Smith didn't attend yesterday's news conference announcing Wheeler's retirement, although Marcus Smith, his son, did.
Wheeler conceded that while he had pondered leaving for the past year or so "the suddenness was not my idea. I would have liked to have stayed around a little bit, maybe in a part-time role.
"But it's just one of those things — it's time to go.
"It's not something I'm really looking forward to … but there just comes a time and place when you've got to move on."
Over the past several weeks, while Wheeler has been front-and-center on a number of issues, there was no indication that such a split might be coming.
No replacement for either position was announced. Those decisions will be made by the company's board of directors.
But there is little doubt that Bruton Smith will make the call. He owns the majority of the company's stock.
One logical pick to run LMS is Lauri Wilks,39, in part because she has been running the track's day-to-day operations for about two years and was recently named Charlotte's businesswoman of the year. Wilks, though, could be moving up even higher in the organization — she was key in taking the company public in 1995.
Smith's roster of management executives is quite deep, with several former key R. J. Reynolds executives, including Byrd and Powell. And just about all are classic "racers," people with their roots in the sport or its promotion.
Smith and Wheeler have prided themselves on hiring racers rather than business execs.
Smith's racing empire includes six tracks, plus numerous subsidiaries handling everything from food to radio to souvenir sales to race-car production.
There is no denying that Wheeler is one of the most popular figures in stock-car racing.
Larry McReynolds, the former crew chief now TV analyst, used the most common description for Wheeler: the P. T. Barnum of promoters.
"Humpy's contributions to NASCAR are endless," McReynolds said. "He has never been afraid to step outside the box and do things differently, even when people thought he was out of his mind."
McReynolds pointed to Wheeler's list of firsts at LMS: the first speedway to build condos, the first track with a speedway club restaurant, the first big track to put up lights and run races at night.
"It's a little scary he is retiring," McReynolds said. "The person who rolls into that office has some tremendous shoes to fill.
"Although Bruton Smith has some good people in place at his other tracks, most of them trained under Humpy."
Steve Byrnes, another veteran TV man, called Wheeler "a visionary. But what he brought to the table was not that he could predict the future, he could see the future.
"His contribution to the sport was the ability to look at the product, understand what the sport had to offer, and be able to sell it.
"Humpy understands how the fans should be treated — he is connected to middle-America and respects the fans, and knows they are spending hard-earned money to attend his races. So he realizes there are certain amenities they deserve, from clean restrooms to pre-race entertainment to easy traffic flow."
Gossage seemed as surprised as anyone by the news.
"He is such a force, such a creative energy that has played a vital role in shaping the sport we enjoy today," Gossage said. "People that don't even know his name became NASCAR fans solely due to Humpy's creative promotions. I know I am a far better promoter as a result of being a graduate of Humpy University."
Richard Petty said: "It may be a few more years before we can really measure the impact Humpy Wheeler had on the sport of stock-car racing. But over his 33-year career, he and I had one thing in common: We both have always held true to the notion that the fans are what drive our sport.
"His passion was to ensure that when each fan left the track, they felt as if they had been a part of a happening. Under his direction, Lowe's Motor Speedway became the gold standard by which all other racetracks were measured.
Car owner Rick Hendrick, whose stock-car shops are just around the corner from this track, called Wheeler "the ultimate promoter. Humpy's contributions will go down as some of the most significant in our sport's history.
"I would say we're going to miss Humpy, but I know he'll continue to be a leader in this community for a long time to come. He'll be the same character, contributor and friend he's always been."
■ Mike Mulhern can be reached at mmulhern@wsjournal.com.
NASCAR this weekend
• Sprint Cup race: Coca-Cola 600 (Sunday, 5:45)
• Site: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord
• Track: 1.5-mile quad-oval (1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns)
• Laps (miles): 400 (600)
• TV: FOX (WGHP Ch. 10)
• 2007 winner: Casey Mears
• Qualifying record (track): Elliot Sadler, 193.216 mph, 2005
• Race record (track): Bobby Labonte, 151.952 mph, May 28, 1995
• Sprint Cup qualifying: Today, 7 p.m. (Speed Channel)
• Nationwide race: Carquest Autoparts 300, at Concord (Qualifying, Saturday 3:30, Speed Channel; race, 7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2)
• Trucks race: Ohio 250, at Mansfield, Ohio (qualifying, Friday 6:30; race, Saturday 12:30, Speed Channel)
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