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It
is only fitting Pat & Harold ‘Pappy’ Wilcox are entering
the Hall of Fame together. Pat and Harold had a deep affection
for auto racing, wherever Harold was racing, Pat would be right
by his side helping to get Pappy’s race car ready for the next
event.
Pat
was more than a supportive wife. She was as deeply involved in
auto racing on the grandstand side of the fence as her husband
was on the track. She was a judge (a job usually held by men)
and scorer at Unity Raceway and Pat even tried her hand at race
promoting.
Harold
began racing at Belfast Raceway in 1950 before calling Unity his
"home track" the following year. Pappy also raced at
Bass Park, Exeter Speedway and Brewer Speedway.
In
addition to racing cars, Pappy was stunt driver – jumping
ramps, going through the "wall of fire" and driving
into a 5-ton block of ice.
He
was the first driver from Maine to race the NASCAR Grand
National circuit, now Nextel Cup Series. In 1961, Harold drove
the circuit from Norwood (Massachusetts) Arena to Ashville
(North Carolina) Speedway. Pappy returned to Maine the following
year.
He
retired as a driver in 1972, after twenty-two years of thrilling
race fans, to support his son’s racing career as a car builder
and advisor. |
