Tim Proctor’s win Memorial Day weekend was a feel-good story for many within the ATQMRA. Not only was this Tim’s first career Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel feature victory, but it occurred at his home track. Wall Stadium Speedway is located approximately 40 miles northeast of his hometown of Columbus, NJ. However, what is most remarkable about his victory was not the fact that he led wire-to-wire in the 25 lap event, but rather the adversity he faced in order to make it back to the track this past winter.
Ask any driver who competed in the 44thrunning of the Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium this past November, and chances are they will tell you it was one of the toughest races they were ever a part of. As the event was plagued by on-track incidents in the early running, it was Tim Proctor who earned the most gasps during the third caution of the race.
“Turkey Derby was such a hard race to get started,” Proctor explained. ”With so many yellows, and myself constantly restarting on the bottom, it was really hard to get going and get into a rhythm.” Proctor certainly had a hard time finding his rhythm as contact with another car on the speedway’s back-straightway sent his #98 Drinan Chassis tumbling end over end resulting in one of the hardest wrecks of his racing career.
Photo Courtesy of Jim Smith, Area Auto Racing News
Although his spirits were hurt, physically Proctor was fine and walked away from the incident on his own two feet. After taking time to calm down and let cooler heads prevail, Proctor accessed the damage of his car a few days after the on-track incident.
“I called Danny (Drinan) after sending him some pictures of the car. I asked him if he could fix it. He told me it wouldn’t be a problem but I would have to deliver the car to his shop.”
Tim Proctor would sit and ponder trying to put a game plan together on how he will deliver his car to Danny Drinan, in Indianapolis, IN.
Tim struck gold when long-time friend Gary Mondschein gave him a call later that week letting Tim know he was already heading out to Indianapolis to pick up a classic IndyCar. Mondschein, owner of the Classic Racing Times, is a motorsports enthusiast and does great work to help preserve racing history hosting many events across the United States. After two days of thrashing, Proctor was able to take his car apart and drove it over the Mondschein’s shop. Within days, Mondschein hand-delivered Proctor’s car to Drinan’s shop.
Drinan repaired the car in a month. However, adversity struck Proctor again as he had to put an action plan together to get the car back home to New Jersey from Indiana.
Photo Courtesy of Tim Proctor
“My friend Brian and I strapped a cargo carrier to the back of my wife Christine’s Nissan Rogue and we hauled out to Indianapolis.” Proctor would make the overnight trip on a cold February night in just under 12 hours as they drove straight though. “We left right after work on Friday, got to Indy on Saturday, and was back home on Sunday.” A trailer wasn’t needed for this racer, and the Nissan Rogue made it home in one piece with a newly repaired chassis attached.
The car would sit bare in the garage of his new house for an extended period of time, as both Tim and his wife Christine were in the midst of moving between his trips to Indiana.
“Once we got settled in and I had time to work on the car again, my mind was set on returning to my favorite track Bethel (scheduled for May 19th).I worked on the car for weeks only to have Bethel rain out on us.”
The extra week off set the stage for Proctor to make his ATQMRA return at his home track one week later at Wall Stadium. “I went to Wall with the mentality to just shake the car down. After everything we have been through, I just wanted to make sure everything was running as it should and just bring it home in one piece.”
Proctor, without the assistance of a pit crew, went on to finish forth in the second heat race of the evening. From there, he drew the pole position for the feature and went on to lead the whole race to claim his first ATQMRA victory.
“This was for sure the oddest win of my career but also one of the most satisfying. I cannot thank my wife Christine, my friend Brian, Aunt Jackie, Uncle Ray and my co-owner Paul Binz for all of their support to help me get back on the track. Of course I wouldn’t be here without the help of Gary or Danny either.”
Tim Proctor is a true racer. After fighting months of adversity, Proctor proved that with the proper work ethic and determination to succeed, anyone can accomplish their goals. Proctor is just one of many racers who understand that racing is a full-time job outside of just driving the car, and his victory at Wall Stadium earned him the satisfaction he has been seeking for some time. When asked if he would do it all over again in order to earn a victory - “absolutely.”
Photo Courtesy of Sean Case Graphics