Robert Daniel Wilson  |  1939 - 2017

Before I left Milwaukee, Bob gave me a copy of Midwest Racing News from June 18, 1970.  On the back page is a photo of Bob in action at Illiana Speedway  I will always cherish this memento.

Very, very sad news.

I met Him only few times here in chat or teamspeak, it is few week or days ago when we talk about our ages

He was very positive and friendly to anybody, He was part of the spirit of HSO

Rest in peace Bob.

Crazy setup Bob's midget ! Looks like a mini-Cooper F1 ! The Corvair was not the most common engine either in that category, most guys used Offys or the small block Chevy. Did Bob build it himself ? Is the car still around nowadays ?

Jason White wrote:

Sad to here this news.  
Thank You Jason for finding so much nice words.

Unluckily I've never raced with Bob, but i've always been impressed to see what he accomplished with his age in our community. Now nice to here that he did so many different things in his real life.

Amazing to see his picture of that "rear engine midget" !

R.I.P. Bob, i hope you have fun watching our race from wherever you are now!

Terrible news, thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family.

From the little interaction I had with him, he seemed like a kind and very well-natured man.

Rest in peace.

Oh no...this is real bad news...
well I had only one race around HSO...but there I had the honor to compete against Bob....

As I heard the ag of Bob, I was very impressed, spechless....

I am honored to compete at least one race with this legend, the oldes simracer I ever heard of....

Rest in Peace Bob, I will never forget this race and you, a man at whom we can all look at, all Respekt!

Very sad news to hear!

Only about 4 weeks ago I really got involved with Bob. He was happy to help me and others with setups. His great experience really lay with ovals. The days after that I learned about his age and realized that we had an unique man amongst our midst. I remember he was very kind, polite and warm in his words towards other members. In the Checker200 race broadcast I complemented him for his good manners on track and helping other people out with setups.

A great man HSO has lost here. Thank you Jason for bringing us the news in such a loving way. Regards to his family.

RIP Bob

hope you find peace up there and watch us all from above driving around in circles

FD

I want you all to know that Bob's widow Berry Lynn is very touched by the kind words that have been shared here.  From her and myself, thank you so much 

Sincere condolences to his family.

I met Bob once on the practice server for the Gold Medal event at Milwaukee, driving the 60's Indy Cars. He shared his setup with me, making me solidily faster straight out of the box.

Timo

Really sad to know about him passing away

At such an age, you wouldn't think of someone spending time on simracing, let alone being as fast as him. But he was, and he was a great competitor. I sadly didn't get to know him really.

My condolences to the family, I hope he watches us from above.

RIP Bob

a true gentleman on track

Quote :

Crazy setup Bob's midget ! Looks like a mini-Cooper F1 ! The Corvair was not the most common engine either in that category, most guys used Offys or the small block Chevy. Did Bob build it himself ? Is the car still around nowadays ?

Being myself interested in the engineering aspect and with such unusual car, I asked Bob questions about its handling and the dangerous exposed driving position. I quote here his answer:

Quote :

I never thought much about having courage back then...I knew I was involved in a dangerous sport, but the motivation to be a race car driver and to go to Indianapolis was very strong.  Several of the guys I raced with made it to Indianapolis, Tommy Bigelow, Mel Kenyon, Bill Engelhart, Les Scott.  Mel Cornett never made it to Indy, but did drive the Mongoose at Milwaukee in 1974 & 75.  Roll cages did not become
mandatory until 1972.  My car owner ran out of money and sold the car, so I lost my drive.  I got involved in running the Association as an official timer & scorer for 2 years, then served as President of the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association for 4 years.

That rear engine Covair ran very well on pavement, but it was "Twitchy" at times on short tracks.  Half mile tracks it was competitive and handled well.  You are right about being exposed without a cage.  I
never thought about it at the time, but I am very fortunate I was never involved in a accident.  Some of my fellow drivers were not so lucky. 

So sad to read his words now as if he was still here with us

Yes indeed ... Bob's humble side showing even in these few lines, "but I am very fortunate I was never involved in a accident." - surely luck had its part, but steady driving was probably the decisive factor here !

I have not been able to do this until now, and I apologize.

I got to know Bob last year during the USAC73 season, through snippets of chat in the various servers, but more by admiring the impeccable smoothness of his driving. Without knowing his history, one could just tell the man had been around the track several times.

When the race at Milwaukee in the '60s roadsters came around at the start of this year, I found myself testing with Bob. I asked if he was able to get on TeamSpeak. He said not but I could call whenever I wanted and PM'd me his number.

"I don't want to call too late," I asked. "How late is OK?"

"Any time is OK," he told me. "Just don't call before 11:00 in the morning, because my wife likes to sleep late."

So, the next evening I called. There he was, just like calling your older neighbor, and we spent several hours in the Milwaukee server, testing the roadsters and I asking history questions and listening to some stories -- all by phone. It was just so comfortable. I guess racers are just a kindred spirit.

Bless HSO that he found a way to relive his youth, if but for a short time. And Jason White, you are a true saint for going to visit and proving to the gentleman that our younger generation(s) still appreciate his part in our history!

I received this shortly after the Phoenix race. Bob's last. Upon hearing of his passing, I wanted to keep it for myself. And maybe part of that was denial that he was gone. But it has to be shared as a true example of the graciousness of the man.

Hi Scott,

Super job on the broadcast of the race from Phoenix on Sunday. Thank you for your kind words during the yellow I caused on lap 97 when I was introduced to the wall off turn 4. Embarassed You guys did a super job and it made the race much more exciting. Hope you can get a car as the season progresses. In the meantime, I hope you will continue to do "color commentary". No, I do not have a degree in physics. I have a GED High School Diploma, and several years of hard knocks experience attempting to become a competent race car driver. That never happened, but today at age 78, I have been able to drive the cars I never could in real life, and I am having the time of my life. Thank you Scott!

Bob Wilson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin


That, by far, is my most cherished PM. I am humbled by the privilege of calling that race.

I love you, Berry! And thank you for sharing this most extraordinary and beautiful man with us. We are all better people and the world is a better place for having known him.

That's so sweet. I'm so glad that he found his place here.

Such a great guy, he will be sorely missed in our little Circus. But like Jacob said, I'm so thrilled he found a place that made him so happy.

+1. Thanks for sharing this Scott I just wish Bob's "time of his life" could have lasted many many more races

Frank Verplanken wrote:

Thanks for sharing this Scott

+1

I missed Bob's passing. I found out a few minutes ago during the tribute before Indy 500 qualifying. I think it would be nice to share one private message he sent me in August 2016. It's comforting to know, that he really felt happy at HSO. He will be missed...

Hi Petr,

I wanted to thank you again for the help today while we were on the server together. I also want to congratulate you for your win at Monaco. I'm not that well versed in the new technology of today as far as the new wheels go and I appreciate you helping me. I finally got my time into the 1:50's.

These cars are like driving a tank around Silverstone, and I have a tendency to over drive the car...I'm learning to be patient since my real life experience is on ovals. I am so glad I found this group...everyone has been great to me and made me feel welcome. This has made an old man very happy. Very Happy Thank you Petr.

Bob Wilson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Received this from Berry Lynn Wilson after our 1988 Indy Time Trials:

Quote :

Hi Jason:

The Lap of Honor for Bob was awesome and all of your kind words are very special to me.  I'm sure Bob was watching.  Thank you so much for this.  Thank Richard Coxon for me for driving his car and placing it in the winner's circle at the end.  That was awesome.

Also, tell Jonatan Acerlinth that his comments were greatly appreciated by me also.  I also noted that there were comments in the live chat from many others and tell them thank you also.  The HSO is an awesome group.  So many of you have touched my life also and will not be forgotten.

I did have the time trials on the whole time and was in and out of the computer room checking it out.  It was fun to watch.  You three commentators were entertaining to say the least (David J., Jonatan, and you).  Hope you finally got something to eat!!  Great job in placing 10th on the grid for the race.  Too bad that Jonatan didn't make it.

I plan to pass on the video to others to view the Lap of Honor portion to my family & friends.

Best of Luck to you and others for the race next weekend.  I will be watching it.

Wow. I'm so touched by Lynne's comments.

I was firstly honoured to be asked to drive his car by his friend Jason, it brought a tear to the eye driving the car and it brought another reading Lynne's message.

We miss you Bob.

That's lovely. Glad we could make a difference.

I don't know if you discussed putting Bob's car in the Winners Circle or not but that was a truly magnificent idea, just too bad it's diffcult to get it to be parked there for the whole event.

I can't remember what I said at the time, so it was a spur of the moment comment and it's nice to hear that Berry appreciated what I was able to say.

I hope that we will all race the event with Bob in our mind, and with his help, avoid unnessecary situations and keep it clean and fair with good racing.