Circa 1983 Dave Wunrow gets ready for a race on the Milwaukee Mile. Photo by Bill Blumer Jr.Used with permission from Angell Park Speedway

In the mid-70's and 1980's, Dave Wunrow was a regular at Angell Park Speedway. Often recalled in his maroon number 43, Wunrow was a fixture in the top rungs of Badger’s point standings. 1983 was his best year with Badger as he finished fourth.

Wunrow was interested in racing early on. His school was only four blocks from the Milwaukee Mile when he was a boy. When the kids heard the roar of the engines coming from the track, Wunrow and his friends would ditch class and hike to the oval to see who was testing.

As for his own racing ventures, Wunrow started out as a stock car driver at places like Hales Corners and Slinger. In 1975, thinking midgets would be fun, he helped two different teams get their midgets running. In both cases, as a sign of gratitude, he was allowed to run the car that night. Likewise, both times, "They decided they didn’t need me anymore," after he debuted in their now functional car. Wunrow then took matters into his own hands and bought a heavily damaged midget out of Florida. "I fixed the wreckage and raced eleven times that year," said Wunrow, further noting that he was sharing garage space with Badger standout Tim Pangborn.

Among his racing highlights, he lists winning on the pavement at the Pontiac Silver Dome and pocketing $2,500 that day. He beat Stan Fox at Golden Sands speedway in Plover and in an early version of the Pepsi Nationals, ran second to Bill Englehart in the first of a pair of 50 lappers. He wound up in the top 5 in the second race that day. It may surprise fans to know he only won one feature at APS. That came on opening night in 1983. "It’s the toughest place in the country to race," Wunrow said of APS. He is proud to note he was the NAMARS champion twice.

1986 marked his last season of racing. After winning at the Fair Grounds in Beaver Dam, Wunrow decided to quit while he was on top. Hall of Famer, Harry Turner, the owner of that car was unhappy and in disbelief when he got the call from Wunrow announcing his retirement from racing.

He made his living as an instructor of mechanics at a tech school. Upon his retirement from there, he went on a fishing trip to Colorado and "I’ve been on vacation ever since." When he’s not drowning a worm or on the hunt with a good dog, Wunrow assists the Midget Hall of Fame, where he serves on the Board of Directors. Asked if he’s a regular at the speedway he replies, "There comes a point in your life when you realize you’ve spent half your life at a race track." Offering that as a qualified, "No," he does admit to getting to the track, "Once in a while."

As for the future Dave and his wife Barb, go by the philosophy that they, "want to die broke." But they don’t want to live broke so Dave says they are pacing themselves.