Humpy Wheeler said that when his father had played football at the University of Illinois, he was caught once smoking Camel cigarettes, earning the name "Humpy" for the camel's hump.
14 Facts About Humpy Wheeler
2.
Humpy Wheeler began his promotional career at age nine, selling tickets for a bicycle race.
3.
Humpy Wheeler was a defensive lineman for the South Carolina Gamecocks in the late 1950s.
4.
Humpy Wheeler's teammates included future NASCAR communications director Jim Hunter, and Jim Duncan.
5.
Humpy Wheeler was an amateur race car driver during his early years.
6.
In 2007, Humpy Wheeler announced that the Bank of America 500 would feature an "all-you-can-eat grandstand," where fans would pay a set ticket price, and would then get to eat as much as they wanted of the grandstand's food before, during, and after the race.
7.
Recently, in an off-track but still automotive related pursuit, Humpy Wheeler provided the voice for "Tex," a 1975 Cadillac Coupe de Ville cartoon character, in the 2006 Pixar hit film Cars and its 2017 sequel Cars 3.
8.
Humpy Wheeler serves as chairman, with his son Howard III serving as president.
9.
Humpy Wheeler was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on April 27,2006 and to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 12,2009.
10.
In October 2011, Humpy Wheeler was announced as one of the principals behind the Grand Prix of America, a Formula One race to be run in New Jersey starting with the 2014 Formula One season.
11.
Humpy Wheeler has had a longtime interest in bicycle sports beginning with organizing bicycle races in his early teens.
12.
Humpy Wheeler continues to be an avid cyclist and can be seen at numerous cycling trails and tracks around his hometown.
13.
Humpy Wheeler has been inducted into the Carolinas Boxing Hall of Fame.
14.
Humpy Wheeler has maintained his boxing regimen and continues to stay in shape doing so.