No Vintage IRA collection is complete without a mention of Johnny Reimer!
No one can possibly forget the beautifully prepared A3's that John drove for
Freddy Nielsen.
No one can possibly forget the beautifully prepared A3's that John drove for
Freddy Nielsen.
1972 Asphalt car
Here's Joel in the #19 and Johnny in
the Marescalco #1 rocket at Capitol!!!
Check the Marescalco section for
some awesome color shots from the 73
season!
the Marescalco #1 rocket at Capitol!!!
Check the Marescalco section for
some awesome color shots from the 73
season!
| Motor Sports writer Paul Kuyawa has submitted an interview that he did a number of years ago with Johnny. This was recently posted in his column at Hoseheads.com , a popular Open wheel site. Here it is again for those who haven't seen it! Thanks for sharing it Paul! |
| Runnin’ the High Groove By Paul Kuyawa There comes a time when all of us wish we could turn back the hands time. For those of you with a little gray hair I’m sure you remember the Way Back Machine from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. It was manned by Sherman and controlled by Mr. Peabody. With the formalities in place I will give you an interview with a gentleman that was one of the best racers ever. His name if familiar if you know what an IRA modified is. The man is Johnny Reimer and for myself it was a true privilege to sit down with this man, my hero, and talk about his wonderful career behind the wheel of various race cars. Reimer still calls Caledonia, WI home and his nickname, the Caledonia Clipper still is with him today. Now semi-retired John still keeps busy in his shop restoring race cars, real race cars, front engine Indy cars, complete with the Offenhauser powerplant. He has also brought back to life several modifieds, the coupe of Miles "The Mouse" Melius and the A3 sedan he built and raced. When Reimer restores a race car they come out like an artists painting, his restoration talents are second to none. Through his twenty-some year career Reimer was able to amass countless victories and championships. Reimer honed his talents to the point that it was generally considered that he was going either win or finished up front. John’s career started out at the local drag strip. From the years 1953 thru 1957 Reimer was a consistent winner and was a track record holder for the class A Sports Cars at the Great Lakes Dragway, with a top speed of 112 mph and an elapsed time of 12:43. Not a rocket by today’s standards but in the mid- 1950's that was flying. Giving up the straight line racing Reimer tried his hand at road racing and was an instant success. For the two years he spent on the road courses Reimer was able to pick up victories at such tracks as Solider Field in Chicago, IL, Wilmot Hills, and at State Fair Park in West Allis, WI. These races were run under the watchful eye of the MG Sports Car Club. He also competed with the United States Auto Club. Reimer would start his career in the open wheeled modifieds in 1960 and once again he proved to be a fast learner as well as an excellent race car fabricator. Driving a car he built from parts from a salvaged Corvette Reimer began to establish himself as one of the areas top chauffeurs. It didn’t take long for other car owners to notice the talent that the man from Caledonia possessed. Fred Neilsen was the man who came calling to Reimer. For years the combination of Neilsen’s fast and beautiful ruby red A3 race cars would dominate victory lane at local tracks. Together the Neilsen/Reimer and A3 Racing would strike fear into the competitors hearts where ever they would unload the A3. " Fred was having some trouble not achieving the results he wanted. I knew Fred was not afraid to put together a first class car so in 1963 we teamed up and things clicked right away," Reimer said. In their first season together 1963, Reimer captured the track championship at the Waukegan, IL Speedway. The following year John bagged track crowns once again at Waukegan and at the Hales Corners, WI Speedway. 1965 Reimer was champion at Waukegan and the Capital Super Speedway in Oregon, WI. By the end of the 1966 season Rockford, Il Speedway and Waukegan were tracks that Reimer was champion. Rockford and Waukegan fell once again to Reimer in 1967. Championships came Reimer’s way in 1968 they included Rockford and Waukegan speed plants and the Lake Geneva, WI Raceway. The A3 Racing Team really hit stride in 1969 with Reimer securing championships at Rockford, Waukegan, Lake Geneva and the Kenosha County Speedway in Wilmot Speedway. Reimer gave the United States Auto Club stock car division a try in 1970, going up against the likes of Butch Hartman, Don White, Bay Darnell, Roger McCluskey and other top USAC stars. Reimer continued to pilot his USAC car in 1971 but also went back to Neilsen’s A3 modifieds. Once again that magic was there and Reimer secured crowns at Wilmot, Waukegan, Capital, Raceway Park, Blue Island , IL and the Santa Fe Speedway. Reimer continued to race with USAC and Neilsen in 1972, championships in the modifieds came at Wilmot, Lake Geneva and Capital in Wisconsin and Raceway Park and Grundy County Speedway in Illinois. In 1973 Reimer stunned the IRA ranks when he left the A3 car of Neilsen to drive for Kenosha, Wisconsin race car fabricator Randy Marescalco. Reimer called the number 1 of Marescalco "the best race car I have ever driven". This was a huge compliment to Marescalco and his ability to put together a winning race car. This duo made the IRA pavement tracks their own personal playground. Capital Grundy Lake Geneva, and Wisconsin International Speedway in Kaukauna, WI. all saw the red number 1 score multiple wins. This race car featured both a top wing and at times a huge front wing that glued that racer to the big half mile tracks. One very interesting fact about this car is Marescalco has the car back and is currently restoring this rocket to it’s once famed glory. Rumor has most of the old crew being involved with the restoration. This was my first involvement with a race car and team. Can you say gofer, that was me at 13 years old. From 1974 thru 1977 Reimer concentrated on pavement late models. Capitol, LaCrosse, Wisconsin Dells, Kaukauna and Slinger in Wisconsin while Grundy and Rockford in Illinois saw Reimer visit victory lane. Reimer decided to hang up his helmet after the 1977 season. A couple of other Reimer career highlights were the infamous walks on his hands after a victory and the fact he never once had a race car upside down. John was very easy on a car owners equipment. Here were a few questions I asked Reimer the night I visited his home. RTHG: What made John Reimer so good? Reimer: I never considered myself anything special as a driver. I feel the way I was able to prepare a car and make the car feel good to myself is what made me as successful as I was. RTHG: I was fortunate to see you race and I like to compare you to today’s great, Steve Kinser, how do you see this comparison? Reimer: Oh wow! I’ve seen Kinser race and I don’t think I hold a candle to him. He has those things people talk about being gigantic. RTHG: Who was your toughest competition? Reimer: My biggest competition came from the boys from the Milwaukee circuit. Miles Melius, Billy Johnson and Fuzzy Fassbender. On the southern end, Waukegan and Wilmot Whitey Harris, Roger Otto and Billy Bohn were guys to beat. RTHG: What was the magic behind the A3 cars? Reimer: The magic behind the A3 cars was Fred Nielsen’s wallet. Now I don’t mean that with any bad intentions. We all know it takes much money to field a race car and Fred would spend the money to get his cars in victory lane. Freddy also had a good crew that worked with much concern and they were very dedicated. None of the crew were members were mechanics by trade but they were racers, always there and they cared very much for the race cars. They to were a big reason for the A3 Racing Teams success. RTHG: Waukegan was the first track I saw racing and John Reimer. The pretty red cars you drove caught my eye, then you were kind enough to wave to a pesky little kid every time you came by during wheel packing. It was a small tight quarter mile, tell me a little about the old Waukegan Speedway? Reimer: I had some good races at Waukegan. I raced with some real good drivers, Harris. Otto, Bohn. These guys were very predictable, but most importantly they were gentlemen. It was a matter of doing to others as you would have them due unto you. We would treat each other the way we wanted to be treated. RTHG: What are some of your most memorable moments in your racing career? Reimer: They were all memorable, every single one. We looked through all my scrapbooks here tonight and the memories that they bring back are just unbelievable. Some of my most memorable were when I ran that car for Marescalco on the pavement at Sam Bartus’ old Capital Super Speedway in Oregon, WI, now Madison International Speedway. That was such an unbeatable car, a flying machine. Yes, I think some of my best times behind the wheel of a race car was when I drove Randy’s number 1. RTHG: What was the best race car you drove? Reimer: Definitely, Randy Marescalco’s number 1. It was not a real good dirt car because of it’s low center of gravity and width, but those are two of the things that made it so fast on the pavement. Good car, excellent power, just a super combination. RTHG: What were your favorite tracks? Reimer: On the pavement, without a doubt the Capital Super Speedway. On the dirt I always liked the Hales Corners, WI Speedway, for whatever reason that place suited me and those A3 sedans real nice. RTHG: When you were racing, how did the prize money compare to the cost of fielding a competitive race car? Reimer: It seems that the prize money being offered at some of the local tracks is not a whole lot different now from when I was racing. At the time the race cars were maybe a tenth of the cost of what they are today. I can’t imagine how a guy can afford to race on a weekly basis in today’s day and age. Well there you have it, some thoughts and career highlights from one of the best drivers to come out of the state of Wisconsin. I hope some of you had a chance to watch Johnny Reimer apply his talents to a race car. When he raced the fast guy started last, Reimer always came from the back. For me it’s a treat to write about my childhood hero. Reimer is a driver who knew how to take care of his fans. After 40 years I’m still a Johnny Reimer fan. Thanks John. That’s all for now, take care and God Bless. |