Guy Winchell, a Newton resident and longtime racing fan, had wanted to see a NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway since the track opened in 2006. He will no doubt attend the Iowa Corn 500 race this month, but also being left without his personalized bus that made him famous for 20 years.
Winchell, outfitted with an old yellow school bus, gave the vehicle a paint job worthy of a NASCAR driver. The red, white and blue color scheme matched that of Mark Martin’s number 6 Valvoline car. When the race car was branded Pfizer’s Viagra, Winchell did the same and painted the name on the bus.
From 1994 to 2013, the bus accompanied him to every race he could attend. So, in addition to being a cozy bedroom and a fun ride on the tracks, it was also equipped with a platform attached to the roof. This is where Winchell watched the races, with the bus parked in the field or at a campsite next to the track.
As such, the bus attracted a lot of attention from both the press and racing fans. So much so that he was invited to take the bus to a mock party at Iowa Speedway and take it for a spin around the track. He also showed off a golf cart adorned in the color scheme of Martin’s No. 5 Kellogg’s car.
Unfortunately, Winchell will not be able to take the bus to this 2024 cup race this year. In 2014, he sold the vehicle and has since been visiting tracks in a stylish camper with all the comfort he and his wife will need on any race day. Sure, it’s more reliable than the bus, but it doesn’t have the same character.
But that won’t stop Winchell from having fun at the Iowa Corn 500 and cheering on Kyle Larson, the runner he pinned to win it all.
“We’ve had Xfinity and trucks before, but this is the Cup, this is the big one,” Winchell said of the NASCAR Cup race, which is the first at Newton-based Iowa Speedway. It’s something racing fans have been waiting for for a long time and now that it’s finally here they couldn’t be happier.
Will you feel different without your decked out school bus? Definitely. But Winchell is convinced the experience won’t be ruined in any way, because at least he’ll be able to hang out with the rest of his family of racing fans. They may not be blood relatives, but they are as important to him as his own family.
“There are no fights either,” he said. “…The only time I saw a fight in a race was on a Sunday and the Broncos were 4-0 and the Chiefs were 4-0 and they were going to play that day. “Someone had a Broncos flag and damn me, the first fight I saw at a race was over a football game.”
Winchell is very complimentary to racing fans in general. They are a different breed of sports fan. Despite the fast pace of the sport, fans are fairly calm people. Winchell said some people just don’t understand racing fans. They can’t understand why anyone would even watch it.
Yes, the cars go around in a circle for several laps. But it’s more complex than that. Keeping a favorite at top speed is no easy task.
Winchell argued that the experience is much different on the track than watching through a television screen. You can hear the engines. You can smell the rubber. Heck, you can feel the cars passing by. Getting that experience from a camper, in the stands, or on top of the deck of a custom school bus is something different.
“I’m a sucker for racing,” Winchell said with a laugh. “You don’t understand how fast they go until you’re there.”
Having Iowa Speedway host its first NASCAR Cup Series race means the racing atmosphere is sure to be different. There is a lot at stake. For Winchell, being a part of the weekend is even more exciting. He and many, many others have been waiting for this moment.
“I’m excited! I can’t believe it,” Winchel said. “It’s been waiting forever.”
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