Toledo Speedway

William Gillelan, long-time car owner for the legendary ARCA late model driver Joy Fair, passed away December 8 at the age of 82 after a long illness.

"Gilley", as he was known to his friends and competitors, teamed with Russ Wainscott and their driver, Fair, and amassed an astounding list of victories and track championships throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and much of the Midwest. Included on that list are 10 Flat Rock Speedway championships and 7 Toledo Speedway track titles in the ARCA Late Model division.

From 1969 to 1972, the team swept late model championships at both ARCA-sanctioned tracks, compiling career totals of over 500 feature wins. Their familiar "school bus yellow" car number 1 typically featured a cartoon image of Gilley chiseling out a crankshaft. In 1999, the Fair-Wainscott-Gillelan impact on ARCA Late Model racing was honored by retiring the #1 from competition, and Gillelan was presented an ARCA Life Membership Gold Card.

William Robert Gillelan III was born May 1, 1928 in Carlisle, PA. His father moved their family to the Detroit area where Bob began his long, successful Michigan motorsports career as a driver, engine builder and manufacturer. In the 1950s Gilley spread racing roots hurling his #299 modified around Michigan tracks such as Motor City Speedway competing in Michigan Modified Stock Racing Association events. His success as a driver was admittedly limited because, in his own words, he "crashed too much".

While working at Moldex Tool Company in Dearborn Heights, Gilley emerged as a premier high performance engine builder. He put himself on the racing map with a prototype 500 horsepower 4-cam Chrysler engine that landed on the cover of Motor Trend magazine in August, 1957. Chrysler at the time had just increased their 300C Hemi engine to 392 cubic inches and 375 horsepower. Gillelan's racing involvement made him aware of needed crankshaft technology improvements. As a result the first Moldex billet crankshaft was manufactured in 1962. He became proprietor in 1965 and transformed Moldex, alternatively known as "Dearborn Crankshaft", into a nationally renowned crankshaft producer. Gillelan's engineering brilliance has powered cars from the Daytona 500 to the Indianapolis 500 to scores of victories and championships at the weekly racer level.

Gillelan will forever be remembered for his high performance automotive genius, his passion for racing, his quick dry wit and hard work ethic.

Funeral services were this past weekend at the LJ Griffith Funeral Home in Westland Michigan.