8/22/2025
Postman 68
Thank You Humpy
Humpy Wheeler has died.
This from Winston Kelley, Executive Director, NASCAR Hall of Fame:
“Humpy was well known for mentoring and assisting hundreds, if not thousands, of people throughout the NASCAR industry.”
Here is my story.
It was the summer of 1998, and I recently started my first "talking job" in North Carolina as one of the announcers for the Tuesday night Summer Shootout for Legends cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the early 1990s I was announcing Penn Can and Moc-A-Tek Speedways in northeastern Pennsylvania prior to chasing my dream to the Tarheel State in 1995.
It was one of the first couple of nights as I was learning the ropes in the announcer’s booth, I turned around and there stood Humpy.
He reached out a hand and said, "I'm Humpy Wheeler".
"Hello Mr. Wheeler, I am Steve Post" I replied, with a little shock, that he felt the need to introduce himself. Everyone knew Humpy but as I would learn that was just who he was.
If the moderate shock of that was not enough, he followed with; "You have a strong voice, and I really like how you sound."
At that point I remember nothing else about our short visit as I was stunned.
It was a heck of a first meeting.
I was doing media for teams in NASCAR at the time, so our paths would cross regularly in the non-Summer Shootout season. We developed a comfortable acquaintance, and, on many visits, he would be complimentary of my voice.
A few years into my tenure at Summer Shootout my phone rang, it was Doug Stafford - Humpy's right-hand-man. Doug said he did not want to take much of my time and said Humpy had directed him to call to gauge my interest in announcing the NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A few days later I was in the Speedway Motorsports office at the track putting the deal together to be the announcer at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
It was surreal to think that in less than 10 years I had moved from some rough and tumble dirt tracks (that I loved) to announcing at one of the premier motorsports’ facilities in the world.
And yet, that opportunity might not be the biggest thing Humpy did for me.
Humpy had a strong friendship and business relationship with Ken Squier.
He asked Ken to "sit in with me" at the NASCAR events.
I had just enrolled at "Squier University" -- the single greatest mentorship program possible for a young aspiring guy who wanted to talk about racing for a living.
My job was simple; talk when the job required it and become a sponge the rest of the time.
Days at NASCAR events in that era were long with lengthy practice sessions on track and hours between them. And then there were rainy days when a lot of time would be spent at the track waiting for those windows in the weather.
We had one of those rainy days early in my tenure at Charlotte. I chatted with Ken for hours; he got up to wander around and Humpy took his place.
In one moment, it was a funny story from his dirt track promoting days in Gastonia to his view on NASCAR racing present and future.
I listened as Humpy shared his vision of the sport while sprinkling in those colorful stories.
His mind was amazing.
His passion was contagious.
I have no way of understanding how or why that even happened as it did.
And then, how those days set the table for this 20-plus year dream job with Motor Racing Network that I cherish so much.
Today I still have some disbelief of my good fortune.
Humpy has died; I am sad and pray for his family.
I am forever grateful.
Thank You Humpy
--Postman
Photo: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Submitted By: Steve Post
