Althouse: "In the mid-1980s, Mr. Wheeler helped oversee the construction of 40 luxury condominiums overlooking Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval track

August 24, 2025

"In the mid-1980s, Mr. Wheeler helped oversee the construction of 40 luxury condominiums overlooking Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval track — a first for a NASCAR track."

"While the idea was widely mocked, these aeries for gearheads sold out in seven months, according to a 1995 article in The New York Times, despite the fact that 'cars with 700-horsepower engines running at nearly 200 miles per hour produce a sound somewhere between a roar and a howl, sometimes until 11 o’clock at night.'"

From "Humpy Wheeler, NASCAR’s Greatest Showman, Dies at 86/With fire-breathing robots and death-defying school-bus stunts, he brought spectacle to stock-car racing as the sport boomed in the 1970s and beyond" (NYT).

15 comments:

rehajm said...: I remember him in name only. Junior was the bigger personality I remember. Our next door neighbor grew up in Charlotte and was pit crew for Donnie Allison in Charlotte and a few other tracks. He had an engineer job but still raced a camaro at Concord with the grandpa Earnhardt butd- I keep the pic on my phone…

…Logan Lucky is one you probably missed but might enjoy if the Ocean’s movies were acceptable…; 8/24/25, 1:17 PM
Jean said...: I lived less than 5 miles from Daytona Speedway for 38 years.
Could easily hear the races at the house. And driving to work during race week was always a challenge. Bike Week not quite so bad traffic-wise.; 8/24/25, 1:28 PM
John henry said...: Great interview with him onThe[Winston Cup] Scene podcast; 8/24/25, 1:30 PM
JRoberts said...: NASCAR used to be pretty colorful and exciting to watch. Now the drivers (and vehicles) are pretty much interchangeable - like so much in our current culture.; 8/24/25, 3:14 PM
Iman said...: https://x.com/TheBabylonBee/status/1958939098359456063; 8/24/25, 3:25 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Helped oversee the construction"
That's a great gig you claim if the thing is a success, and for which you can deny any association if it fails.
I believe I helped oversee the construction as well, also the new World Trade Center and the Great Wall of China...in previous life as a Chinese royal consort and eunuch.; 8/24/25, 3:42 PM
traditionalguy said...: NASCAR is a close community, almost a small political party. And once you are accepted into it, they are very good friends to have. And they are very smart people.; 8/24/25, 3:50 PM
rehajm said...: Humpy is door handle to door handle with Dick Trickle for best Nascar name…; 8/24/25, 4:00 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: Who wants to watch cars driving around in circles for hours? Like most people, I just wanna see the crashes, and I don’t need a luxury condo for that. You get a better view on YouTube.; 8/24/25, 4:07 PM
gilbar said...: what ever happened to NASCAR?
i used to watch it.. back in the later half of the 20th century..
i haven't thought about it for a long time.
it Used To Be, a BIG THING.. i wonder where it all went?; 8/24/25, 4:40 PM
gilbar said...: of course.. dirt tracks are STILL a BIG THING.
they race here in West Union, down at the county fairgrounds;
every Friday night all summer (except for fair week, then it's races about every night ('cept for saturday: concert night)

Everybody LOVES dirt track..
It's FUN! the cars go around the corners sideways..
and it's only $5!
but NASCAR.. what EVER happened to NASCAR?; 8/24/25, 4:45 PM
gilbar said...: i think NASCAR must have hired that Cracker Barrel lady,
you know? the one with the dorky glasses.
She probably told them they were The MOST popular sport in America..
And that SHE, could help them Change that
What EVER Happened, to NASCAR?; 8/24/25, 4:48 PM
Iman said...: I like watching rallies more, but these cars and drivers are still quite amazing.; 8/24/25, 6:08 PM
Aggie said...: "...'cars with 700-horsepower engines running at nearly 200 miles per hour produce a sound somewhere between a roar and a howl, sometimes until 11 o’clock at night.'"..." I can just see those beery Good Old Boys snorting and adjusting their pants, saying 'Thas all right, don't worry - we won't bother'em.'

Early days NASCAR was a trip. One of the early racing enthusiasts that was a founding 'does-everything' member was Smokey Yunick. You could find him at his International Harvester dealership in Daytona, wearing white coveralls, a mashed-down leather cowboy hat, and smoking a pipe. He knew the rulebook inside out. When he figured he could win races by dropping a pit stop for fueling, he consulted the rule book and found, while the fuel tank was spec'd, there was no mention of specifications for fuel lines. So he removed the stock fuel line, probably 1/4" - 1/2" and then made a fuel line out of exhaust pipe, and routed enough of it through the undercarriage so that he had an extra 5 gallons of fuel capacity.; 8/24/25, 8:34 PM
Jeff Weimer said...: Aggie said...

And when they took the tank out to inspect it, suspecting his earlier basketball antics (used to inflate a ball in it to keep it under the gallon limit and then take it out) he jumped in the car and took off for the pits with the gas in the line.

He also had a second 7/8s Chevelle built and placed in the parking lot so when they questioned it, he had them measure that one to get away with it.; 8/25/25, 10:26 AM