Bill Dewald’s career in Colorado Motorsports has been a long and winding road. That road began when he sponsored cars at Lakeside Speedway through his gas station business, furnishing fuel and oil to drivers he thought were underdogs while driving Chevies. His involvement with those drivers led to Bill building race cars, and building race cars led to Bill driving them in order to understand what they needed to be faster. One vivid memory was made when he took one of the cars he sponsored, a 1955 Chevy numbered 114, out for pre-race practice laps to trouble shoot handling problems and promptly spun out in every corner of the track, thus earning his nickname, Wild Willie. After going through the car thoroughly and fixing everything in sight before the races started, Bill went out and won his first race. He says that was the point when he was hooked on racing. He went on to race the #114 for two more seasons before selling the car and stepping away from competition.
His retirement wouldn’t last long, and what followed were a number of seasons where Bill would build a new car to run at Colorado National Speedway or other regional track, have some success with it, then sell it to one of his competitors. Those cars were invariably Chevies, and Bill decided that a new path was needed. He opened a full-fledged automotive repair and machine shop that specialized in building engines for local racers and named the business the Chevy Shed.
For Bill, managing the business came first, and driving race cars was less frequent but not without success. As a sponsor, the Chevy Shed logo appeared on numerous cars on dirt and paved oval tracks, but also on could be found on Dragsters, demo derby cars, and pulling Tractors throughout the region. Many drivers Bill sponsored or supported, like Kelly Boen and Rick Carelli achieved success at the highest levels of the sport, while so many others were the “Weekend Warriors” who were the lifeblood of competition at the local tracks.
Bill Dewald’s contributions to the Colorado racing community has been immeasurable over a career that began in 1975 and lasted until 2018. He is remembered as a driver in his beloved Sportsman division where his best racing accomplishments were realized. He also touched the lives of fellow competitors through his unending generosity with sponsorship, mentorship, and racing expertise. He leaves behind a record of achievement that is worthy of inclusion in the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame, and Bill was inducted with the class of 2024.
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