2011 Hall of Fame
Bill Gray
October 27, 1938 - July
3, 2010
Longtime Track Official
& Groundskeeper
Bill Gray went by many
names over his lifetime
and decades of service
at MIR, and depending on
the era, folks may
remember Bill
differently.
To his brothers and
sisters, he’ll always
just be “Junior,” which
others might find
surprising for the
towering man with the
vice like grip! To a
grateful country, Bill
was known as “Veteran,”
after serving in the
U.S. Air Force from 1956
to 1972.
To 60s era racers, Bill
was known as “crew
chief” -- he crewed on
Joe "Woody" Wood’s '63
Ford that match raced
Mousey Brown's '62 Chevy
at St. Marys Drag-O-Way
in the early days of
this track.
After Woody provided
Bill with a '55 Chevy,
Bill turned it into a
drag car and earned yet
another nickname. His
wild driving style and
occasional encounters
with guardrails led to
the title of “Guardrail
Gray!"
In 1973, new track
owners Tod Mack and
Larry Clayton officially
brought Bill into the
MIR family after seeing
how he watched over all
the cars during a car
show at the DC Armory.
Bill worked on the
starting line and
maintained the facility,
a job that he never
left. He lived on the
track property from 1973
until his death in 2010,
just after he was
honored in advance at
that year’s Legends
event. Everyone in the
nearby Budds Creek
community knew and loved
Bill, who was a regular
fixture at Stone's
Store. Bill’s earned a
new name over those
years, that of a friend
and advocate for MIR
racers, young and old.
As Tod Mack put it, "He
was the most loyal and
the most fun of any
person associated with
MIR. He became the
racers’ voice to and
from the the MIR staff."
During the last 10 years
or so at MIR, Bill
earned a new nickname --
the “Music Man.” He was
well known for his
"rolling jukebox" golf
cart with tunes playing
from the loudspeaker on
the back. You always
heard Bill before you
saw him!
Above all, Bill’s final
nickname is being
remembered today:
Legend. No other person
spent as much time at
MIR as Bill did. He
looked after the racers
when the gates were open
and he looked after the
property when the gates
were closed. For nearly
four decades, Bill Gray
was the one constant at
MIR, through different
owners, employees,
racers, and fans.
Current MIR track owner
Royce Miller puts it
this way, “I had the
privilege of knowing and
working with Bill for
over 20 years. He loved
the track and all the
folks who attended --
racers & fans alike. It
was his life. He had the
biggest heart of anyone
I've known and it's not
the same around here
without him. However,
every day there's
something I see here at
the track that reminds
me of Bill, or someone
will share a story about
him. So Bill Gray lives
on at MIR and always
will."
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