RPW Column: The Rear View: Bill Wilson Snaps Long Victory Drought In Big Way At OCFS In 1980
RPW Column By: MIKE TRAVERSE / RPW – MIDDLETOWN, NY – It was 40 years ago this week on August 16, 1980 when Bill Wilson lined up for the Orange County Fair Speedway Modified feature.
It had been a bit over 15 years since he had won his only feature race. Wilson had been running well at OCFS that season, so it wasn’t a huge surprise that he broke the winless streak that night.
However, what happened in the following two Saturday’s was probably quite surprising to the OCFS fan base and to the northeast dirt racing world in general.
Wilson had been racing at OCFS since the early 60’s. The familiar #7 coupe became a fixture at OCFS. Bill was the epitome of a weekend racer. He scored his first career win on July 3, 1965. And while he was able to get many good finishes, he was never able to make that 2nd trip back to Victory Lane.
Part of the lack of wins was due to the fact of the formidable roster of drivers at OCFS during that 15 year stretch. The names are legendary. Frankie Schneider, Rags Carter, Bob Malzahn, Will Cagle, Jackie Evans, Buzzie Reutimann, Fuzzy Van Horn and the list goes on from the 60’s into the 70’s where he had to contend with Tighe Scott, Gary Balough, Wayne Reutimann, Bobby Bottcher, Richie Eurich and a young star, Brett Hearn. It was very tough competition for the weekend racer to compete with. But Wilson was always in there, giving it his best. He became popular with his competitors and the fans.
But the road to getting that second win was anything but smooth for Bill. At the final regular season race in 1976, Wilson announced that he was retiring from racing. He finished 3rd in the 100 lap regular season finale that night. Bill was only 36 years old at the time, but it appeared that his time in racing was done.
Wilson remained inactive in racing during 1977. But in June of 1978, he resurfaced at OCFS, behind the wheel of Ted Kamienicki’s #72K which he ran for a few races. Wilson decided that he would return to race at OCFS in 1979, once again at the wheel of the #7 coupe. Bill was one of the last holdouts who used the old style bodies.
Wilson suffered a terrible misfortune at OCFS on June 16, 1979. After getting some service at welder’s station, Bill’s car erupted in flames after his exhaust ignited some spilled fuel while he drove through the pits. Wilson was able to escape the totally engulfed on fire car, but not before suffering serious burns to his hands and less serious burns to his neck and face. He was transported to the nearby Horton Hospital and later transferred to Hackensack Hospital Burn Center. Despite the seriousness of his burns, Bill made an amazingly quick recovery. He was discharged from the hospital after a couple of weeks and he returned to OCFS on July 14th to spectate. By late August, Wilson had recovered sufficiently to resume racing. He finished a respectable 12th in points in that fall’s Tri-Track Series
As the new decade started, 1980 saw Wilson return to OCFS with an all new Autoweld car, carrying the usual #7 along with Bill’s familiar yellow and white paint scheme. It took some races to get the new car into good form. But by June, he was making his way into the top 5 with some regularity. But as always, the roster at OCFS was stellar and it wasn’t easy to crack the winner’s circle. As the season reached mid August, only Hearn, Eurich, Billy Osmun and Kevin Collins had been repeat winners on the Hard Clay with Harry Behrent, Chris Berton and Rich Ricci Sr. recording single wins.
On August 16th, Wilson lined up for the feature in 11th starting spot. He moved up quickly though the field, passing Danny Mitchell for 2nd on lap 7 and Hank Goranson for the lead on lap 15. Wilson survived a series of restarts over the final laps, holding off Larry Brolsma to secure his first trip to Victory Lane in 5,524 days. As a fan in the stands that night, I couldn’t help feeling super happy for this veteran driver, having overcome the obstacles that he had faced to not only return to racing, but to put the Autoweld Gremlin into Victory Lane. But the Wilson show of August of 1980 was just getting started. Bill obviously liked the feel of Victory Lane and he was looking for more.
As the OCFS Modified feature of August 23rd lined up, Wilson was deep in the pack in 14th spot by virtue of his recent finishes. As the race got underway, Wilson again moved quickly through the pack. He moved into 2nd on lap 8 and passed Joe Romer Jr. for the lead on lap 11. Wilson built up a big lead, but two late cautions bunched up the field. But Wilson was easily up to the task on the restarts and took the win over Behrent and Scott. The win secured 8th place in the final 1980 OCFS points for Bill, a great finish for him. But Wilson wasn’t done yet.
OCFS had a 4 race 100 lap series in 1980, and August 30th was the final of these races. Wilson won the first heat that night and by the luck of the draw, picked the pole for the feature. Based on his recent performances, I wondered if some of his competitors kind of groaned when he drew #1. At the drop of the green for the 100 lap grind, Wilson jumped out in front of Collins and except for a brief period around lap 40, he led every lap and pretty much dominated the race with Osmun and Hearn trailing in 2nd and 3rd. It was most likely Wilson’s biggest career win. According to the Hard Clay article about the race that night, Wilson seemed to be shocked about the win and his recent success.
The only thing that kept Wilson’s wins from being consecutive was the Schaefer Qualifier race run on August 19th, won by Hearn. Wilson took 5th in that race. But make no mistake. For 3 straight Saturday’s in 1980, Bill Wilson was the King of the Modifieds at OCFS. It’s was the kind of streak that everyone who straps into any type of race car can hope for, but few can ever achieve. It was a great run by a great driver with the drive and perseverance not to give up and to keep pushing forward despite some setbacks.
Wilson went on to win 3 more features over the years at OCFS, the last coming on June 2, 2007. He raced long enough to race for several seasons with his son Donnie, a 2 time OCFS Modified winner. These days, Bill can be found in the pits at OCFS, assisting with with Donnie’s racing.
I don’t know Bill at all. On race nights, he has often walked over where I take photos and we exchange hellos and have just a bit of a chat. He sits down on the jersey barrier and watches the Modified heats. I once noted that when the cars were on the other end of the track, he was staring out to the racing surface. I was wondering one night if he was having some flashbacks to the great streak he had in 1980. I hope that he has great memories of that season and that streak. I certainly remember them. Bill Wilson, a great part of the illustrious history of the Orange County Fair Speedway.
