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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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HARLAN
WILLIS, A CHAMP IN BUSINESS AND RACING |
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Harlan
was born fifty years ago in Oxnard, California to parents Ed and LaVerne, who
had come through the Great Depression and learned to spend their income wisely.
Harlan’s parents saved their money until they could afford to pay cash
for whatever they needed. While it
is a difficult thing to do in this day and age, Harlan has retained much of that
influence from his early years and attempts to spend his money with a lot of
forethought. Midget racing was a passion with the Willis family and Harlan grew up attending these races from a young age. Harlan remembers having a blue driving suit as a youngster to wear driving a toy racecar around the yard. A treasured photo is a picture taken at Saugus Speedway, in the driving suit with his all-time hero, Johnnie Parsons, winner of the 1950 Indy 500. To give you an idea of how much Harlan idolized Parsons, the number 45 used on his racecar is the same number as Johnnie’s midget. About 1960, a neighbor won a Quarter Midget at a Little League Raffle and wasn’t sure what to do with it. Well, Harlan’s Dad bought the car and that was the start of a career. Harlan first drove at the old Ventura track and continued to run for five or six years. While he loved racing, Willis was also an avid baseball player and drifted toward that endeavor for a few years during his teens, starring as a pitcher until an arm injury after his junior year in high school ended his baseball dreams. Graduating from Rio Mesa High School in 1970, he soon married and began working at small tasks in a machine shop, while attending classes at Ventura College. Willis had taken several mechanical drafting classes in high school, which helped Harlan to interpret blueprints in the machine shop. He eventually learned to do programming for the tape driven NC machines and soon was given a project to oversee on the night shift. In 1973, Harlan started working at Vetco Offshore Industries, honing his skills as an accomplished machinist. After three years, Willis began to accumulate some equipment of his own, starting with a lathe and later a milling machine. In 1977, Harlan set up his own operation working as an independent contractor. 1984 found the formation of Willis Machine, Inc., purchasing his first CNC machine and bidding jobs for companies in the aerospace, oilfield and automotive aftermarket fields. Some really unique parts have been produced, including racing related products, aftermarket motorcycle parts and items used in the medical field. Willis bought a ski boat in 1973 and used that to feed his competitive needs, but in 1975, after attending a Go-Kart race, he soon sold the boat and purchased a Go-Kart. Winning many races as a rookie, Harlan raced Go-Karts for the next five years, winning six Western States IKF championships, plus IKF National Championships in 1978 and 79. Ventura Raceway started running a regular Three Quarter Midget (TQ) program in 1980 and within two weeks, Harlan was the proud owner of a TQ. As a rookie, Willis won two features, one by beating many times champ, Danny McKnight. Harlan also won two Western States TQ championships in 1983 & 84. In late 1983, Willis teamed with Skip Schuck in purchasing a full midget, which he raced from 1984 through 1986. A couple of Willis’ competitors from TQs had moved into the potent CRA sprint cars in 1987 and when Kim Craft was injured in a crash at Ascot, another friend, Jeff Bagley offered to put Kim’s number on his car and asked Harlan to drive it in a quest to win the Rookie Car Owner title for Craft. The following year found Harlan in the dual role of Owner/Driver of car #45. He contacted the legendary Ralph Tracy about building him an engine, but Ralphie was too busy and referred Harlan to his friend, Richard Catton. Harlan has run RC Performance engines ever since that time A young man, who started with Harlan in 1988 with that first sprint car was Mike Nigh, classified as the Crew Chief, but Willis claims that Mike is the heart and soul of the team. He is the choreographer, who directs the preparation of the racer, organizes and manages the inventory of equipment and parts to keep the operation running smoothly. Over the years, Willis and Nigh have developed a high degree of trust with each other. Joining Mike on the crew are Tom McCune, Ryan Kennedy and Mark Succi. Harlan tells a humorous story about traveling with Mike on the 1991 CRA Midwest tour. Harlan had just captured his highest ever sprint car finish at Huset’s Speedway near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After coming home second to Jack Hewitt, the payoff was in cash, which meant they took away about $1800.00 in twenty dollar bills. Returning to the motel room with this wad of money, Mike just lay back on the bed and threw the money into the air and let it drift to the floor. This was the biggest event in their sprint-racing career at that time and they relished the experience. Willis has lost several friends in racing. There was the loss of Ron Kruseman, which opened the relationship with Cory. A close friend named Colin Goldsberry from New Zealand, perished at Ascot and of course, Jeff Bagley, which got Harlan thinking about slowing down his driving career. At one point, Harlan retired and bought a street rod, a 1937 Ford. After attending a couple of meetings of the Ford Club, Willis realized he needed a racing fix. Harlan has known Cory for all his life, as Willis raced TQs with his Dad, Ron Kruseman. As Cory grew up and got into racing himself, Harlan was there to help him develop his skills. At the end of the 1993 season, Harlan had been ill for the week previous to a race at Bakersfield. Feeling weak enough to pass on the race, he talked with his longtime Crew Chief, Mike Nigh as to whether they should try young Kruseman in the car. For those of us that witnessed this event, we saw the initiation of a star. He qualified well and challenged venerable champion, Ron Shuman, while running smoothly all night. Willis was already considering retiring from racing and now he had found a gem in the rough. In 1994, SCRA was blessed with two of the most dominant rookies in sprint racing history. J. J. Yeley and Cory Kruseman ran neck and neck all year as Cory captured two feature wins in his rookie season, but lacked the consistency overall, with Yeley finishing ahead in the points race and winning the SCRA Rookie Honors and also National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, with Kruseman as a close runner-up in both polls. It was a twist of irony that both became champions in their eighth season. Kruseman rose to the top with the SCRA, wresting away the title from the six-time champion, Chaffin Motor sports team and Yeley, who has relocated to Indiana, brought home the USAC National Championship. By the way, one of Harlan’s SCRA wins as an owner was with Yeley at the controls, while Kruseman accounts for the rest. From 1995 through 2001, the Willis-Kruseman combination has won at least five features each year. His cars have amassed fifty-four victories in SCRA and captured the Owner’s championship for Harlan and the Driver’s championship for Cory Kruseman in 2001, garnering fifteen feature wins during the season. While initially racing Drake chassis, the team has used TCR chassis for the past several years. Today, Harlan spends time with his wife, Diana and stepdaughters Shannon and Renee. He is a grandfather four times now, with daughter Bobbi accounting for three and stepson Gilbert weighing in with one. Family activities are important to Harlan, as he relaxes in a nice home located on 2 ½ acres of land in Oak View. Willis enjoys puttering around the house and although he has a gardener to keep up with the yard work, he could go for a riding mower. The Willis family enjoys traveling and camping. Off weekends will find them at Lake Naciamento with friends. Often they travel to the races, where they setup in the campgrounds for a mix of racing and camping. Harlan says that his wife has been very influential and supportive in his business and racing operations. Earlier this year, Willis purchased a 20,000 square foot building, where he can incorporate all his machine business under one roof with room for efficient flow of material and equipment, allowing forklift access to most areas. There is also a designated area, marked by the “Nigh line” for the preparation and maintenance of the racing operation. Harlan has tutored Cory over the years and now they have the longest running team combination, with this being their ninth year together. Willis has counseled Cory to race smart and save the equipment. Harlan says that he is not a big buck operation, although he has been able to accumulate a lot of stock and inventory over the years and Willis recalls those early lessons in economics learned from his parents as a child. Willis was a founding member of the SCRA and served on the Board of Directors for five years. He often talks with President Ron Shuman, where they bounce ideas off each other. Enjoying success in business using sound fiscal ideals, Harlan has incorporated much of this into the racing program as well. Respected by other competitors, he is often consulted for advice on racing setups or driving techniques. As a person with a busy schedule, Harlan still abides by the commandment to Honor his Father and Mother. Each Tuesday, he stops by his boyhood home and has dinner with his folks. Willis brings quality traits to
racing from his early upbringing and years as a successful businessman, racer
and human being. It has been a long
journey since that blue driving suit at five to the Owner’s Champ jacket he
dons today. |
