Scott Fowler: Humpy Wheeler's funeral turns into a family reunion for NASCAR community

Scott Fowler, The Charlotte Observer on Aug 26, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — They held Humpy Wheeler’s funeral in Charlotte at Saint Gabriel Catholic Church on Tuesday. Wheeler was buried in a simple wooden casket made of pine, a fascinating choice for a legendary NASCAR promoter who was always about making things bigger, louder and more colorful when he was on the job.

At my favorite kinds of funerals, the sorrow takes a backseat at some point to the stories. That’s what happened after this one, where Wheeler’s larger-than-life persona was celebrated by the NASCAR community.

Said Marcus Smith, the CEO of Speedway Motorsports and a longtime colleague of Wheeler’s at Charlotte Motor Speedway: “Weddings and funerals are the time when everybody gets back together. ... This felt like a family reunion of a lot of longtime friends.”

Kurt Busch, the former NASCAR Cup driver, remembered a story after the funeral about Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Wheeler served as president and general manager for 33 years.

“There was always this bump in Turn 3,” Busch said with a chuckle. “All the drivers complained about it. It would really upset the cars’ setup and it was hard to navigate. And it was called the Humpy Bump. He knew it — and he left it there. He never fixed it, because he wanted all of us to make sure we went and saw him to complain about it.”

Said Kyle Petty, another former NASCAR driver: “Humpy was magic. I don’t think until Humpy came along, that race drivers believed (driving) was a profession. We made a living doing it, but it wasn’t really a profession. He told us we were professionals. He showed us. And he gave fans that magic. ... Yeah, you buy a ticket to a race, but you’re going to see a bus jump. You’re going to see somebody rappel out of a helicopter. You’re going to see fireworks. You’re going to see explosions.”

Patti Wheeler, one of Humpy and Pat Wheeler’s three children, eulogized her father Monday night at another event and purposely included a number of funny lines she had already heard from those in the NASCAR community, including several fans. That her dad was already up in heaven helping God trying to increase attendance, for instance. Or that someone had suggested making his hearse jump 20 school buses on the way to the pearly gates.

“I said a lot of nice things, too,” she said, smiling.

The funeral itself was a sober affair, with Abbot Placid Solari — a Benedictine monk, Abbot of Belmont Abbey and Chancellor of Belmont Abbey College — providing the homily. But there were a lot of smiles before and after the funeral.

Wheeler, after all, had lived a full life. He was 86 years old when he died Aug. 20. He had been in declining health for many months. He was a devout Catholic and knew where he was going to wind up after death.

Smith noted that Wheeler and his father, Bruton Smith, had worked together for decades at Charlotte Motor Speedway to make it one of the sport’s crown jewels.

“I think he and my dad, working together, were an amazing dynamic duo,” Smith said. “I think they were better together than they would have ever been apart.”

Wheeler and Bruton Smith had a falling out, however, around the time of Wheeler’s retirement from the track in 2008. It got a little messy.

Several years later, however, the two repaired their relationship. Wheeler was the initiator, Marcus Smith said Tuesday.

“My dad called me and said, ‘You’ll never believe who visited today — Humpy,’ ” Marcus Smith recalled. “Humpy gave him a trophy, as sort of a peace offering. And they had a long conversation. And that was followed with many conversations and meetings after that at my dad’s house. It was very special. I was really grateful for that peacemaking towards the end of both their lives.”

Bruton Smith died at age 95, in 2022.

NASCAR Hall of Fame owner Rick Hendrick attended the funeral Tuesday, as did his right-hand man and former championship driver Jeff Gordon. Wheeler had helped both of them early in their careers at Hendrick Motorsports, as he did to many in the sport.

“He kind of took me under his wing,” Hendrick said of Wheeler. “We did a lot of promotions together. He was entertaining — way ahead of his years.”

Wheeler was indeed a showman. He staged fake military invasions in the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield. Rode an elephant. Stuck his head in a tiger’s mouth.

“He was known in the racing world as the PT Barnum of motorsports,” Smith said, “because he really knew how to promote. He really knew how to do things that would make people say: ‘Wow.’ ”

And like most successful promoters, Wheeler was prone to fudging a number or two on attendance estimates. With that in mind, after attending Wheeler’s funeral Tuesday with perhaps 500 other mourners, I asked Kyle Petty this question:

How many people would Humpy Wheeler have said were at his own funeral?

“Oh, there were at least 45,000,” Petty laughed. “That’s the beauty of Humpy Wheeler.”