William Prietzel (born September 8, 1952) is an American racing driver from
Richfield, Wisconsin.
He has raced in
dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains
* Dust: a gener ...
late model
A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.)
The precise definition ...
s, the
Mid-American Stock Car Series
The Mid-Am Racing Series, formerly Mid American Stock Car Series, is a traveling stock car racing series in the Midwestern United States. The cars are based on a 108" metric stock frame, less costly suspension parts and a maximum of 358 cubic ...
,
SCCA
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional ...
, and had one
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Nationwide Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
start in 2012. He is nicknamed the "Franklin Flyer"
as he lived in
Franklin, Wisconsin during his dirt track racing days.
Racing career
Dirt racing
Prietzel began racing in 1973,
primarily on dirt tracks.
His most well-known dirt track accomplishment was winning the 1977 dirt late model track championship at Hales Corners Speedway.
He built a late model for an open rules show that was nicknamed the Franklin Flyer; the car featured large wings and it set the track record at Hales Corners.
Asphalt stock cars and Mid American series
Prietzel felt that his car was becoming outdated by the early 1990s,
so he began tour racing on the asphalt in
Mid-American Stock Car Series
The Mid-Am Racing Series, formerly Mid American Stock Car Series, is a traveling stock car racing series in the Midwestern United States. The cars are based on a 108" metric stock frame, less costly suspension parts and a maximum of 358 cubic ...
in 1993.
In a 2015 interview in
Hot Rod magazine
''Hot Rod'' is a monthly American car magazine devoted to hot rodding, drag racing, and muscle cars—modifying automobiles for performance and appearance.
History
''Hot Rod'' is the oldest magazine devoted to hot rodding, having been publishe ...
, he quoted as saying "The Mid-Am deal looked like an affordable way to go to a bunch of race tracks and have fun."
Prietel ended up with three Mid American titles (2000, 2003, and 2005).
In the 2008
Road America Mid American race, he spun out entering the first turn on the first lap and nearly fell down an entire lap in a twelve lap race. Prietzel caught up the entire 4 miles of the circuit under caution and passed the entire field to win the race.
He occasionally runs in an Area Sportsman car at
Slinger Super Speedway
The Slinger Speedway (also known as Slinger Super Speedway) is a quarter mile paved oval automobile race track with 33-degree banked corners located in Slinger, Wisconsin. The track is billed as the "World's Fastest Quarter Mile Oval." The curre ...
in the 2010s.
Sports car racing
Prietzel raced in the Trans-Am 2 (TA2) class of the
Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) when it began being awarded points in 2011.
He began the season with a second-place finish at
Sebring International Raceway.
Prietzel finished second in the final
2011 season points. He had two more TA2 starts in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
and another in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. He won an SCCA race in Texas as well as
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...
in 2006.
NASCAR start
Prietzel made his first (and to-date only) NASCAR start in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
on the
Road America road course, which was less than five miles (eight kilometers) from his hometown of
Plymouth, Wisconsin
Plymouth is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, along the Mullet River. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located in the Town of Plymouth, but is politically independent. Plymouth is kno ...
. He completed the entire race in the No. 23 entry for
R3 Motorsports and finished 27th. Prietzel was quoted in a May 2015 edition of ''Full Throttle'' magazine and described being in that race as "Without a doubt the neatest thing I ever did in racing. We wanted to qualify on time, race all day and finish and we did all of that."
[
]
Personal life
Prietzel and his wife Jan run their racing program. He owns Prietzel's Quality Auto in West Allis, Wisconsin
Awards
In 2015, Prietzel was inducted in the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame cited his Hales Corner Speedway championship, participation at several area dirt tracks in Sportsman and Late Model cars, Mid American championships, and racing in NASCAR / SCCA.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Nationwide Series
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prietzel, Bill
1952 births
Living people
NASCAR drivers
People from Plymouth, Wisconsin
Racing drivers from Milwaukee
Racing drivers from Wisconsin
People from Franklin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
People from Richfield, Washington County, Wisconsin