August 21, 2025 • 8 mins
Bo and Beth welcome former President of PRN Doug Rice to get a sense of Humpy Wheeler's impact on Charlotte and NASCAR as a whole after Humpy Wheeler's passing.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
News Talk eleven ten, WBT nine thirty eight On your
Thursday morning, Mark Harrison just had the breaking news and
this direct from NASCAR dot com. H Humpy Wheeler, who
helped usher NASCAR's presence onto the national stage in the
nineteen seventies with imaginative, over the top pre race shows
and a completely new vision to racetrack facilities, has died.
(00:24):
He was eighty six years old and native of Belmont,
North Carolina. And of course you can't talk about Charlotte
Motorspeedway and not mentioned Humpy Wheeler in the same sentence
thirty three years at the helm of Charlotte Motor Speedway,
and Beth, we have somebody who's agreed to come on
with us on very short notice, and I so appreciate
him doing this because I know he's been inundated with
(00:45):
phone calls and will be all day. But look, there's
nobody better to talk to about the legacy of somebody
like Humpy Wheeler and give us perspective than the guy
who was the spearhead of everything with the Performance Racing
Network over the year, and he recently retired. But the
longtime voice is Doug Rice and he joins us right
now on WBT, Doug, thank you for coming on on
(01:07):
short notice.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Both, thank you so much, and I'm honored to come
on and talk about Humpy. His greatness can't really be
measured in words, but thanks for asking me to be on.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Oh, we're certainly honored that you are spending some time
with us this morning as you got the news. First
of all, just where where are your thoughts? Where is
your heart right now? Because I'm sure this was a
shock to you the way it was to all of
us this morning learning the news.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well new Humpy had been in declining health, but yeah,
it's still the reality sinks in when you hear that
somebody you've admired passed so much. Beth, I can tell
you just from my personal aspect, my career is almost
one hundred percent due to Humphy, who are encouraging me,
giving me direction, telling me that I could go on
(01:57):
and do things that I didn't think I could do.
And he took a chance on me, a guy from
the small market radio station, and kept massaging me as
he did so many other people. And I think that's
what folks are going to find out in the upcoming days.
All of the people that Humpy helped. Yeah, they remember
him for the great pre race shows and the stunts
(02:19):
and all the big things he did. But the fact
that he was such an awesome humanitarian helping people he
didn't know, people that he did know that that is
a legacy that I hope gets told about this man
because he was always giving.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, you know Doug growing up in this area and
Beth did too, right near the in race Country. You
think about Humpy Wheeler and the word that keeps coming
back to me. I've only known about this for five minutes,
but I know the long legacy of Humpy Wheeler and
you can't you can't talk about Humpy and not use
the word vision. This is a guy that had big ideas.
But not only did he have big ideas, he figured
(02:57):
out ways to make those things into reality.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh, he absolutely did. And he was paired up with
the right guy in Bruton Smith. I mean when they
were teamed up together, that was a powerful duo. But
you look back at the condominiums at Charlotta the Speedway
and people called those a falling until they tripled their
value in the first year. And the Speedway Club here again,
that's a joint vision. Lighting the speedway that was huge.
(03:25):
No people told us over and over again that couldn't
be done. But Humpy went out and found a way
to do it. He tracked down a lighting company from Iowa,
from Muscatine, Iowa must go lighting, and they came in
and did that. And that's all attributed to his vision
and his ability to see what was the next thing. He,
(03:46):
I think, more than any other person, and I don't
want to short anybody, brought NASCAR from its rural days
of we're kind of a backwater sport into the next century.
What he thought fans needed and the experience that they wanted.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You know, we're going to hear over the next few days. Well,
we'll certainly read a lot about his resume and like
you're saying, all that he did for the motorsports industry,
but like you mentioned, he was a helper. He liked
people and he liked to help move people forward. Is
there a story that you that comes to the top
of your mind about your relationship with him, Something you remember,
(04:26):
a funny story, you know, a serious story, or something
that you learned from him, or a time that he
gave you a talking to, you know, any of those,
Any of those things from your personal life.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, I got a couple of those talking to you,
and you pretty much shut up and listened because he
had a way of getting your attention. Yeah. I got
called into his office one time and you you all
were an attention. I mean, that's pretty close to the
principal's office. And I thought, I don't have anything that
should be on his desk right now. And he called
(04:57):
me in and he talked to me, and he told
me two things. He goes, Dougie says, you know what
people like in North Carolina, and I'm going and no, beans,
I don't know. And he goes, they like he said,
they like Mayberry. He said more than that, they liked
the idea of Mayberry. And I thought on that a while.
(05:18):
He goes, they want that comfort, They want what comes
from living in a town like Maybury, where everything works,
And I thought, why are you telling me this? But
then it kind of dawned on me that that was
part of what he wanted people to have, a comfort
level and a familiarity with people. And then he gave
me a book to read that had nothing to do
(05:38):
with Maybury that same day called Pillars of the Earth.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Oh yeah, and it was.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
It was kind of an odd book and I read
it and then I realized, Okay, there was a purpose
that he gave me this book to read because it
was about building things that last from the ground up,
and those two things I will I don't know that
I'll never forget that moment because I felt like that
was aimed just for me. So that meant a lot,
(06:04):
you know what I think about.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And this is probably a good place to end because
I know you've got to go, and this is going
to be quite a day as everybody processes this news.
But if you want to know how big a deal
Humpy Wheeler was when that movie for Disney. And my
kids were right at the age when this movie came out,
so we saw it in the theaters. But when Cars
first came out, you know what, fifteen years ago or so,
(06:28):
you know, they had Richard Petty and they had big
names in that movie that were voices for this animated
Disney deal. Humpy Wheeler was in the movie. He was
a character. I think his name was Tex if I
remember correctly, I have to find the clip, but that
tells you all you need to know, right that Humphrey
Wheeler was big enough to be in that Disney movie
when they wanted the Who's Who to create that sort
(06:48):
of stock car race and.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Feel No, you're right, bo. I mean that's a promoter
that made the cock yeah, to get into a major
Disney release. I will say this, he was original. There
are no more like him, and that's kind of sad
and his big saying that he said it. I don't
know how many meetings I was in. He goes, we
(07:10):
bring technicolor to people's black and white lives, and I thought, Okay,
that's all I need to know. Let's go.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Well. Look, I literally called you five minutes before you
came on, and you knew why I was calling as
soon as I did. But you picked up and you
came on, and we really appreciate it because I can't
imagine a better person to help us. You know, remember
Humpy Wheeler and for the younger crowd, have them understand
his legacy because you can't talk about NASCAR without mentioning him. So, Doug,
(07:40):
longtime voice of the Performance Racing Network. I hope you're
enjoying retirement and I hear you from time to time
doing things and that's the way it should be. But
thanks for coming on this morning.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Guys, thanks so much, And NASCAR's not where it is.
If we don't have a Humpy Wheeler, I'll just leave
it at that.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, Amen, thank you much so much. Dog there he
goes Doug Rice, one of our You know, he's a
guy who has come on many times over the years
and always been gracious with his time, and like I said,
I can't imagine a better voice to sort of put
in perspective.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Humpy Wheeler's lost this morning and certainly heavy hearts in
the world of NASCAR as people are finding out this news.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Humpy Wheeler has passed away at the age of eighty six.
News Talk eleven ten, WBT nine thirty eight On your
Thursday morning, Mark Harrison just had the breaking news and
this direct from NASCAR dot com. H Humpy Wheeler, who
helped usher NASCAR's presence onto the national stage in the
nineteen seventies with imaginative, over the top pre race shows
and a completely new vision to racetrack facilities, has died.
(00:24):
He was eighty six years old and native of Belmont,
North Carolina. And of course you can't talk about Charlotte
Motorspeedway and not mentioned Humpy Wheeler in the same sentence
thirty three years at the helm of Charlotte Motor Speedway,
and Beth, we have somebody who's agreed to come on
with us on very short notice, and I so appreciate
him doing this because I know he's been inundated with
(00:45):
phone calls and will be all day. But look, there's
nobody better to talk to about the legacy of somebody
like Humpy Wheeler and give us perspective than the guy
who was the spearhead of everything with the Performance Racing
Network over the year, and he recently retired. But the
longtime voice is Doug Rice and he joins us right
now on WBT, Doug, thank you for coming on on
(01:07):
short notice.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Both, thank you so much, and I'm honored to come
on and talk about Humpy. His greatness can't really be
measured in words, but thanks for asking me to be on.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Oh, we're certainly honored that you are spending some time
with us this morning as you got the news. First
of all, just where where are your thoughts? Where is
your heart right now? Because I'm sure this was a
shock to you the way it was to all of
us this morning learning the news.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well new Humpy had been in declining health, but yeah,
it's still the reality sinks in when you hear that
somebody you've admired passed so much. Beth, I can tell
you just from my personal aspect, my career is almost
one hundred percent due to Humphy, who are encouraging me,
giving me direction, telling me that I could go on
(01:57):
and do things that I didn't think I could do.
And he took a chance on me, a guy from
the small market radio station, and kept massaging me as
he did so many other people. And I think that's
what folks are going to find out in the upcoming days.
All of the people that Humpy helped. Yeah, they remember
him for the great pre race shows and the stunts
(02:19):
and all the big things he did. But the fact
that he was such an awesome humanitarian helping people he
didn't know, people that he did know that that is
a legacy that I hope gets told about this man
because he was always giving.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, you know Doug growing up in this area and
Beth did too, right near the in race Country. You
think about Humpy Wheeler and the word that keeps coming
back to me. I've only known about this for five minutes,
but I know the long legacy of Humpy Wheeler and
you can't you can't talk about Humpy and not use
the word vision. This is a guy that had big ideas.
But not only did he have big ideas, he figured
(02:57):
out ways to make those things into reality.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh, he absolutely did. And he was paired up with
the right guy in Bruton Smith. I mean when they
were teamed up together, that was a powerful duo. But
you look back at the condominiums at Charlotta the Speedway
and people called those a falling until they tripled their
value in the first year. And the Speedway Club here again,
that's a joint vision. Lighting the speedway that was huge.
(03:25):
No people told us over and over again that couldn't
be done. But Humpy went out and found a way
to do it. He tracked down a lighting company from Iowa,
from Muscatine, Iowa must go lighting, and they came in
and did that. And that's all attributed to his vision
and his ability to see what was the next thing. He,
(03:46):
I think, more than any other person, and I don't
want to short anybody, brought NASCAR from its rural days
of we're kind of a backwater sport into the next century.
What he thought fans needed and the experience that they wanted.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You know, we're going to hear over the next few days. Well,
we'll certainly read a lot about his resume and like
you're saying, all that he did for the motorsports industry,
but like you mentioned, he was a helper. He liked
people and he liked to help move people forward. Is
there a story that you that comes to the top
of your mind about your relationship with him, Something you remember,
(04:26):
a funny story, you know, a serious story, or something
that you learned from him, or a time that he
gave you a talking to, you know, any of those,
Any of those things from your personal life.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, I got a couple of those talking to you,
and you pretty much shut up and listened because he
had a way of getting your attention. Yeah. I got
called into his office one time and you you all
were an attention. I mean, that's pretty close to the
principal's office. And I thought, I don't have anything that
should be on his desk right now. And he called
(04:57):
me in and he talked to me, and he told
me two things. He goes, Dougie says, you know what
people like in North Carolina, and I'm going and no, beans,
I don't know. And he goes, they like he said,
they like Mayberry. He said more than that, they liked
the idea of Mayberry. And I thought on that a while.
(05:18):
He goes, they want that comfort, They want what comes
from living in a town like Maybury, where everything works,
And I thought, why are you telling me this? But
then it kind of dawned on me that that was
part of what he wanted people to have, a comfort
level and a familiarity with people. And then he gave
me a book to read that had nothing to do
(05:38):
with Maybury that same day called Pillars of the Earth.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Oh yeah, and it was.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
It was kind of an odd book and I read
it and then I realized, Okay, there was a purpose
that he gave me this book to read because it
was about building things that last from the ground up,
and those two things I will I don't know that
I'll never forget that moment because I felt like that
was aimed just for me. So that meant a lot,
(06:04):
you know what I think about.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And this is probably a good place to end because
I know you've got to go, and this is going
to be quite a day as everybody processes this news.
But if you want to know how big a deal
Humpy Wheeler was when that movie for Disney. And my
kids were right at the age when this movie came out,
so we saw it in the theaters. But when Cars
first came out, you know what, fifteen years ago or so,
(06:28):
you know, they had Richard Petty and they had big
names in that movie that were voices for this animated
Disney deal. Humpy Wheeler was in the movie. He was
a character. I think his name was Tex if I
remember correctly, I have to find the clip, but that
tells you all you need to know, right that Humphrey
Wheeler was big enough to be in that Disney movie
when they wanted the Who's Who to create that sort
(06:48):
of stock car race and.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Feel No, you're right, bo. I mean that's a promoter
that made the cock yeah, to get into a major
Disney release. I will say this, he was original. There
are no more like him, and that's kind of sad
and his big saying that he said it. I don't
know how many meetings I was in. He goes, we
(07:10):
bring technicolor to people's black and white lives, and I thought, Okay,
that's all I need to know. Let's go.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Well. Look, I literally called you five minutes before you
came on, and you knew why I was calling as
soon as I did. But you picked up and you
came on, and we really appreciate it because I can't
imagine a better person to help us. You know, remember
Humpy Wheeler and for the younger crowd, have them understand
his legacy because you can't talk about NASCAR without mentioning him. So, Doug,
(07:40):
longtime voice of the Performance Racing Network. I hope you're
enjoying retirement and I hear you from time to time
doing things and that's the way it should be. But
thanks for coming on this morning.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Guys, thanks so much, And NASCAR's not where it is.
If we don't have a Humpy Wheeler, I'll just leave
it at that.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, Amen, thank you much so much. Dog there he
goes Doug Rice, one of our You know, he's a
guy who has come on many times over the years
and always been gracious with his time, and like I said,
I can't imagine a better voice to sort of put
in perspective.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Humpy Wheeler's lost this morning and certainly heavy hearts in
the world of NASCAR as people are finding out this news.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Humpy Wheeler has passed away at the age of eighty six.
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