Bill Prietzel

Bill Prietzel

Prietzel at his 2012 Nationwide start at Road America
Born (1952-09-08) September 8, 1952
Achievements Mid-American Stock Car Series champion (2000, 2003, 2005)[1])
Awards Southeastern Wisconsin Racing Hall of Fame inductee (2015)[2][3]
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish 2012 (84th)
First race 2012 Sargento 200 (Road America)
Last race 2012 Sargento 200 (Road America)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of December 22, 2015.

Bill Prietzel (born September 8, 1952) is an American racing driver from Richfield, Wisconsin.[4] He has raced in dirt late models, the Mid-American Stock Car Series, SCCA, and had one NASCAR Nationwide Series start in 2012. He is nicknamed the "Franklin Flyer" as his lived in Franklin, Wisconsin during his dirt track racing days.

Racing career

Dirt racing

Prietzel's "Franklin Flyer" dirt late model

Prietzel began racing in 1973,[3] primarily on dirt tracks.[2] His most well-known dirt track accomplishment was winning the 1977 dirt late model track championship at Hales Corners Speedway.[2] He built a late model for an open rules show that was nicknamed the Franklin Flyer; the car featured large wings and it set the track record at Hales Corners.

Asphalt stock cars and Mid American series

2008 Mid American car at Road America

Prietzel felt that his car was becoming outdated by the early 1990s,[2] so he began tour racing on the asphalt in Mid-American Stock Car Series in 1993.[2] In a 2015 interview in Hot Rod magazine, he quoted as saying "The Mid-Am deal looked like an affordable way to go to a bunch of race tracks and have fun."[2] Prietel ended up with three Mid American titles (2000, 2003, and 2005).[1][5] In the 2008 Road America Mid American race, he spun out entering the first turn on the first lap and nearly fell down an entire lap in a twelve lap race. Prietzel caught up the entire 4 miles of the circuit under caution and passed the entire field to win the race.[6] He occasionally runs in an Area Sportsman car at Slinger Super Speedway in the 2010s.[2]

Sports car racing

Prietzel raced in the Trans-Am 2 (TA2) class of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) when it began being awarded points in 2011.[7] He began the season with a second-place finish at Sebring International Raceway.[7] Prietzel finished second in the final 2011 season points. He had two more TA2 starts in 2012 and another in 2013. He won an SCCA race in Texas as well as Daytona International Speedway in 2006.[2]

NASCAR start

Prietzel racing at Road America during his 2012 Nationwide Series start

Prietzel made his first NASCAR start on the Road America road course which was less than five miles (eight kilometers) from his hometown of Plymouth, Wisconsin.[3] He completed the entire race in the #23 entry for Robert Richardson Sr. and finished 27th.[3] Prietzel was quoted in a May 2015 edition of Full Throttle magazine, "Without a doubt the neatest thing I ever did in racing. We wanted to qualify on time, race all day and finish and we did all of that."[3]

Personal life

Prietzel with his wife Jan watching the races at La Crosse

Prietzel and his wife Jan run their racing program.[2] He owns Prietzel's Quality Auto in Richfield.

Awards

In 2015, Prietzel was inducted in the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame cited his Hales Corner Speedway championship, participation at several area dirt tracks in Sportsman and Late Model cars, Mid American championships, and racing in NASCAR / SCCA.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "The 2015 Mid American Stock Car Series in Review". Mid American Stock Car Series. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Panure, Matt (September 30, 2015). "Hall of Famer Prietzel to Make G.A.R.S Debut at Memphis". Hot Rod magazine. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame Inductees". Full Throttle (Waupaca, Wisconsin: Multi Media Channels LLC). May 2015. p. 16.
  4. ↑ "Career statistics". Racing Reference. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ Zautke, Steve (2014). Road America. Arcadia Publishing. p. 113. ISBN 1439644853.
  6. ↑ "Prietzel Spins and Wins Wild 'Fight for the Cure' 40 at Road America". Mid-American Stock Car Series. October 25, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Series race report". Motorsport.com. March 18, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2015.

External links

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