Replacing Humpy? Good luck

This weekend's Coca-Cola 600 will be Humpy Wheeler's final race at the president of Lowe's Motor Speedway. From this point on, there will soon be another track president at LMS. But there won't be a replacement for Humpy Wheeler. Sure, someone will have his old job, but there won't be any replacing him. Much like other legends of racing, there won't be any replacing him. It just isn't possible.

First and foremost, Humpy was a racer, not a businessman. It was that spirit that deserves much credit for Lowe's being the premiere track in NASCAR. LMS set the standard, and because of it, the model was set for first-class venues in Atlanta, Bristol and Texas, among other places.

A racer at heart, he also sought to make racing fun for the fans and engaging for the new and old folks around the sport. Seen as a very creative promoter, Wheeler always had ideas of how to draw attention to race at LMS from the circus, military vehicles invading the track or the car-eating dinosaur, he always made LMS a fun and entertaining place.

NASCAR and its fans have been fortunate to have someone who loves racing as much as Wheeler is such a high profile perch, and the sport is better for it.

Surely Bruton Smith will have someone in line, if he doesnt already, to run LMS. Whoever it is will certainly have a pretty big shadow to live up to.

Humpy Wheeler stepping down

per a news release from Lowe's Motor Speedway

H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler is Retiring
From Speedway Motorsports and Lowe's Motor Speedway

CONCORD, N.C. (May 21, 2008) - Speedway Motorsports, Inc. announced
today that H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, chief operating officer and president of
Speedway Motorsports and president and general manager of Lowe's Motor
Speedway, is retiring from both positions following the Coca-Cola 600.
A decision will be made on Wheeler's successor in the near future by
the Speedway Motorsports, Inc. board of directors.
"'Humpy' Wheeler is a true legend in motorsports and his
contributions will be missed," said Bruton Smith, chairman and chief
executive officer of Speedway Motorsports. "His career with Lowe's Motor
Speedway and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. has been filled with many innovative
promotions and I am sure that he will be remembered as one of the greatest
promoters in racing history."
"While it is with sadness that I announce my retirement from
Speedway Motorsports and Lowe's Motor Speedway, it is time for me to move on
to other things," said Wheeler. "I have devoted my entire life to racing and
I don't intend on leaving it, just serving it in different ways.
"I have made arrangements with a well-known author to co-write a
unique book interweaving my various experiences in the sport with the
wonderful human drama and rich characters that abound in it," Wheeler added.
"I will resume the 'Humpy Show' on SPEED Channel and look forward to being
chairman of the Charlotte Regional Partnership in 2009. I also look forward
to other endeavors, including lecturing and working with the motorsports
management program at Belmont Abbey College."
Born in Belmont, N.C., Wheeler attended the University of South
Carolina on a football scholarship and graduated in 1961 with a degree in
journalism. In addition to football, Wheeler was an outstanding amateur
boxer, compiling a 40-2 record including a dozen Golden Gloves
Championships.
Prior to joining Lowe's Motor Speedway, Wheeler worked as a sports
writer, a real estate manager and a dirt track promoter. He served in a
variety of executive positions in the racing division at Firestone Rubber &
Tire Co. from 1964 through 1971. He joined the speedway in 1975 and has been
general manager since 1976. He was named president in 1980.
During his 33 years at the speedway, Wheeler worked closely with
longtime colleague Smith to set the industry standard for motorsports
entertainment and to build Lowe's Motor Speedway into the showplace of
NASCAR facilities.
In April 2006, Wheeler joined an elite group of those who shaped
motorsports history when he was inducted into the prestigious International
Motorsports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the North Carolina Sports
Hall of Fame; the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame; and
the North Carolina Public Relations Hall of Fame.
"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
who 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, N.C., 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 concluded.
"We owe Humpy a tremendous debt of gratitude for all he has done for
Speedway Motorsports and Lowe's Motor Speedway," said Smith. "We wish him
all the best in any future endeavors and hope that he and his wife Pat have
a great retirement with their family."

New car a cure of insomnia

When the Car of Tomorrow has races on smaller tracks this year, the racing has, for the most part, been good. The 1.5-mile tracks, well, not so much.

Racing at Atlanta and Texas left a bit to be desired with side-by-side racing lacking. Even after an open test at Lowe's Motor Speedway recently, the all-star race didn't produce much to get excited about. Once a car got into the lead, it was pretty much untouchable unless it had a Joe Gibbs Racing engine under the hood that later caused engine problems.

More noticeable was that even with a million bucks on the line, there were no cautions brought out and few instances of close hard racing. It wasn't an painful to watch with the all-star race being shorter. But if the races is as bland for 600 miles Sunday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, it will very likely be a fiasco for the Car of Tomorrow.

The COT was partially brought in to help make the racing more competitive. The Coca Cola 600 will be a telltale sign of how far the car has come on 1.5-mile tracks. But if the All-Star race is an indicator, there is still a lot of work do with the new car.

Time to scrap the fan vote

On Saturday, two drivers will race their way into the most exciting night in nascar - the Sprint All-Star race - by laying it all on the line and racing their hearts out, all for a chance to race for no points and a million bucks.

And then there will be a third driver voted in by the absurd fan vote. It's time for this to end. A spot in the all-star race should be about earning it, not getting in because fans organized a voting plan online that would make some political candidates proud.

I'm not against fans being involved. But for them to vote for a driver that Dale Jr might unofficially endorse when others are more deserving is wrong.

Why not have fans vote on the finishing position of the race to get into the all-star race, at least then there would be something of substance to race for.