The Vault
WAUSAUKEE’S BOB MENOR – THE RANGER CITY RACER
Posted on: Sunday February 18, 2024
Wausaukee’s Bob Menor poses next to his late model at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna in the mid-1980’s. (Pete Vercauteren photo)
(The following is an excerpt from the 2019 release ‘Racing In The 906’)
Long before he became a front running competitor at Norway Speedway, “The Ranger City Racer” Bob Menor raced as often as he could on the dirt tracks of Wisconsin and Michigan in the 1970’s.
Menor earned his moniker because his hometown of Wausaukee, Wisconsin had Rangers as the high school’s team nickname. “A buddy of mine Bob Beatte from Amberg helped me out early as a pit crew member with setups and stuff,” Menor recalled. “Those were the mid-70’s and the days of racing mainly Novas and Chevelles.”
Menor raced as often as he could wherever he could. He’d tow south to the half-mile dirt tracks at De Pere and Shawano. “I became real good friends with Scott Hansen, Jeff Millar and Richie Wauters,” Menor recalled. “Sometimes those guys would help me out.” A local friend, Richard “Toad” Smith would also lend a hand with Menor as a crew member for many years.
When big block chevy motors were still popular, Menor was one of the first in Northeast Wisconsin to battle with a small block chevy. “We struggled a bit at De Pere on the big half mile,” Menor said. “We’d try to pass guys and they’d just mash the gas and pull ahead. I’d catch them in the corners though. Eventually (Pete) Parker got the small block too and made it work at WIR and also on the dirt at De Pere and Shawano.”
A big blue school bus was renovated into a racing hauler. “If that hauler could talk,” Menor joked. “We had a lot of good times driving from track to track with that bus hauler.” One time, Menor and a dozen friends took the big blue bus across the Mackinaw Island bridge to attend a special indoor dirt late model race at the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit.
Bob Menor
When he wasn’t racing Menor hauled logs for a living and whenever possible he’d try to mix in work with play. “We used to run up north at Eagle River and Crandon even had an oval for a while,” Menor said. “What I would do on Tuesdays in Eagle River I’d load logs and park my work semi up in Park Falls. I’d have the pit crew tow the race car up in the bus. After the races they’d drop me back off to my semi wherever it was parked and I’d sleep in the cab. They’d bring the race car home to Wausaukee for me. It’s crazy to think of the things we did back then. That Crandon oval didn’t last very long though. It was real rough. That track was full of rocks – I remember that.”
(editor’s note the Crandon oval was located near the current Crandon off road track, with the old backstretch from the oval still being used on the offroad course)
At Norway, Menor earned his stripes on the dirt track. “The Bubloni’s were always tough on the dirt and so was Kent Pearson,” Menor said. “I liked the dirt at Norway. In the ‘70’s up that way guys were still building most of their own stuff in their shops. Those were pretty eventful times back then.
“I remember Earl Iverson prepped Norway’s dirt track for a long time. But after a while when he got out of it, it just got to be a track that became tough to prepare. Nobody wanted to step up to prep the track right. And with that covered grandstand at Norway, fans didn’t like the dust that was kicked up. But as a driver it didn’t matter much to me. The trend just evolved into pavement and that’s what it was.”
In ’78 and ’79 Menor was a hired gun, driving a car owned by Bob Heinritz of Green Bay. “I was running at WIR and De Pere with the same car on two different surfaces,” Menor said. “De Pere closed after ’79 and Jeff (Millar) and Richie (Wauters) were pro blacktop. I crashed so much that one year at WIR for the Red, White and Blue races. The car color seemed to change for each race!”
During one afternoon scrum on WIR’s half-mile Menor wound up on top of Bob Abitz after a wreck in turn one. “(Abitz) comes up to the window and asks me if I was o.k.?” Menor said. “I answered ‘You better check on the guy below me.” Bob answers “I am the guy underneath you!”
As the years wore on into the ‘80’s and ‘90’s Menor stuck with the pavement and found success at Norway, emerging into a consistent frontrunner. Menor scored three track championships in ’88, ’90 and ’92. Menor also won the prestigious Stateline Challenge race in ’91 and ’92. “Winning those specials rank right up there as being pretty neat,” Menor reflected. “I’ll always remember when we’d bring in Dick Trickle and Kenny Schrader to race. Those guys were great for our program at Norway and really drew the fans.
“The biggest thing with Trickle was he was very open. If you asked him a question he’d give you an answer that would actually help you. He came up with that V 6 motor and killed us. But looking back on all of it we were all spending a lot of money on our motors. In fact, Trickle helped me out a little bit when I did some ASA racing down the road.”
Among Menor’s chief rivals in the Friday night late model wars at Norway were Gene Coleman, Kent Pearson, Mike Kelly, Bob Iverson and Bruce White. “We all raced hard, but we all talked to each other after the night was done or at least two weeks later,” Menor joked.
The “Ranger City Racer” took his turns serving on the board of directors for the Dickinson County Racing Association (DCRA). “I served as secretary, vice president and member-at-large,” Menor said. “It’s a time- consuming deal but we had a really good group of people who all worked together. I know Red Adair has all the stats but we had a several year run where the payoff was really terrific for the racers – an average of something like $10 a point. But we all know there is never enough money. We’d have guys like Mark Schroeder who’d come up from Green Bay and built a car just to run Norway. We’ve also had guys like Greg Ives who’ve gone on to be NASCAR crew chiefs. People up this way – they are smart.”
Menor had something in common with one of his on-track foes. “Bob Iverson and I both hauled logs for a living and were in the same business,” Menor said. “So, we always got along on and off the track. Bob was a very dedicated and hard charging racer. A real good racer. And to me, Jamie was just as good as Bob was over the years. He worked all day and they’d go race. Hard working folks the Iverson’s are. Jamie came up racing different than Bob. Bob ran those modifieds. So, you can see where he got his aggressiveness from. Jamie came up through super stocks with less horsepower. You can see the difference in their driving styles and I think the classes they came from had a lot to do with that.”
For a bit, when the DCRA fell upon hard times, Menor was one of several folks who put their own money up to keep the club afloat. “We all wanted to make sure nobody walked off with our money like had happened in the recent past,” Menor said. “We had some real good, hard working people who all stepped up. Everyone got their money back too.”
Eventually Menor would have two more racers from Wausaukee who battled at Norway weekly – his own son Adam Menor and Matt Parkansky would also race late models for a bit. “I was very proud when Adam won his first feature race,” Menor recalled. “Jamie (Iverson) was behind him and I finished third. Those are great memories I have.”
Menor was running strong when the crate motor was introduced to the Norway late model scene in the 2000’s. “Red Adair was very organized and smart and helped introduce the crate motor to Norway,” Menor said. “I think that motor is a perfect fit for that size of track. I’m happy to see it still up and running at Norway. It’s very economical.”
Menor no longer attends races, having battled health issues along the way. “The younger generation of drivers are different than my generation that’s for sure,” Menor pointed out. “There is a difference. I’m not saying it’s bad. It’s different. It’s just the way it is.”
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