To say H.A. ‘Humpy’ Wheeler has left his mark on the motorsports industry would be quite the understatement.  The long-time promoter and general manager of the Lowe’s Motor Speedway has become a legend in his own right by making fans the number one concern and always putting on a good show.  Now retired from his role with the speedway, Wheeler has turned his focus to helping those hurt by job cuts, putting the final touches on a book and ensuring short track racing survives these tough times.

Partnering with the North Carolina Motorsports Association in November 2008, Wheeler was instrumental in creating the NCMA Employment Task Force to help workers displaced by industry lay-offs get back on their feet.  At a time when hundreds of workers have lost jobs and are struggling to compete in a highly competitive industry, Wheeler has extended his hand when others have turned their backs.

A true showman with a caring personality, Wheeler’s mark and influence can be seen everywhere in racing.  From the development of the Legends cars, to pre-race celebrations for the fans, to developing programs for those suffering from tough times, Wheeler has always stepped in to do all he could do and more.  

“Well I think we tried to be as innovative as we could,” Wheeler said of his many contributions.  “With putting lights in – a lot of people said that couldn’t be done on a superspeedway level – also the pre-race shows that we had, nobody had done that before – particularly the invasion and the air shows, that took a lot of work and creativity to do that.  Of course, very close to my heart was the Legends car, because I was trying to get the sanctioning bodies to do something about lowering the cost of racing and try to get something done that would enable us to have a car that we could control the cost on.  I think I’m real proud of the fact the Legends car has stayed at a price of $13,000 for the last seven or eight years.  Right now there are over 4,000 of those cars racing around the world.”  

Making racing affordable for both fans and competitors has always been one of Humpy Wheeler’s goals.  Learning from people such as Russ Catlin, former public relations manager at the Darlington Raceway and whom he calls, “the best publicist racing has ever had,” Wheeler has been on the edge of innovation and fan relations throughout his career.

Working closely with many short tracks these days, the Belmont, North Carolina-native is getting back to his roots.  After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Wheeler went to work running the Robinwood Speedway in Gastonia, N.C.  Now just a memory, Wheeler is hoping he can help short tracks around the country stay in business and avoid the fate of the Robinwood Speedway.

“It is vital that they survive and it’s vital they do well,” Wheeler explained.  “I’m seeing some good things out there, some energetic young promoters that are doing things that are bringing some life back in it.  A lot of people just about put short track racing out of business because of expense.  This has been going on for as long as racing existed.

“Really it’s up to the track owner, not the sanctioning body to keep a lid on that,” he went on to say of the rising costs.  “The people in the grandstands, all they care about is close side-by-side racing, you have to have some element of speed in it, but it’s very important we keeps these tracks healthy and I think they’ll make a comeback.

“Big track racing is so expensive, even with them discounting tickets, and people still want to see racing.  Frankly, I’d rather go to the short track than a big track right now.”

One of those short tracks Wheeler mentioned was the Ace Speedway in Elon, N.C.  The 4/10 paved oval is a hotbed for motorsports and has provided fans an inexpensive way to watch racing for years.

“I’ve had a warm place in my heart for Ace Speedway for a long time,” Wheeler explained.  “It’s in a great location and it’s the perfect size track.  The fact there is no vim or vigor being put in it is very important and I think it can be very, very successful.  I know the new management is doing a good job with innovation and programs that are designed to get people to keep coming back because there will be something different every week.”

A truly unique figure, Humpy Wheeler has left his mark on the motorsports industry and continues to do so each and every day.  One of the finest human beings to grace the sport of auto racing, Wheeler has set the bar high for anyone looking follow in his footsteps.