	Sign In Sign-Up

Retirement not Slowing Spoehr

by Joe Verdegan

When someone says retirement, thoughts of spending time up north at the cabin come to mind. Maybe wetting a line or two with the grandchildren. A few rounds of golf, perhaps.

Bryce Spoehr's idea of enjoying his golden years is by strapping himself into a Limited Late Model stock car on Thursday nights and burning rubber with drivers who probably weren't even born when he began racing in 1960.

The 75-year old driver from Black Creek, WI is in his 38th full season of stock car racing in the Fox Valley. The former heavy construction worker hung up his hard hat in 1990 and bought a new racing helmet, wheeling his familiar orange number 78 stock car Thursday nights at Wisconsin International Raceway's quater-mile, paved oval.

"My first race car was a '37 Dodge," Spoehr recalled. "Back then, we would run as many as five nights a week at Apple Creek, Shawano, Shiocton, DePere, Francis Creek, and Oshkosh. In fact when I started, WIR wasn't even built yet."

Bryce has always been a driver who has run each season on a shoestring budget. No five figure sponsorship deals here. "Right now our car is probably the cheapest car you'll find on the track. It's always been a hobby, and in stock car racing, I don't know of anyone around here that makes money."

With the amount of maintenance today's modern day machines demand to stay competitive, Spoehr has curtailed his racing to Thursday nights only. "It's just too difficult with a full time job nowadays. If anybody chases a lot of different shows all week long, you almost need two cars to make it work."

Like any good driver, Spoehr readily admits you are only as good as your pit crew. Some crew members who have been with him throughout much of his career include his son Gary, Dave Moderson and his car owner Cal Breitrick. "Cal and I have been together 32 years. He does most of the engine work on the car."

During the last 20 years or so, two sponsors have helped Spoehr out on his car, Tim's Auto Body and Dougherty TV. Before that, Bryce says his operation pretty much went unsponsored.

Despite his age and homebuilt equipment, the crafty veteran remains competitive. On May 14th at WIR, Spoehr drove the wheels off his machine to victory in the Limited Late Model Semi-Feature. And while he has never won any big races or captured any major racing titles, the thrill is still there for Bryce.

I couldn't wrap up an interview with Spoehr without asking the inevitable question: How much longer will you keep going? He smiled, ran his hands through his gray hair and said, "I always told my wife I would hang it up when my age reached my car number, so I've got a few years left in me."

Back to