Rex the Racer: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Fast”

 

Motorcycles and Midget Racers: My Uncle the Racer

Dwight “Rex” Macbeth:  1934-2006  (Maternal Uncle)
 

My uncle Rex loved the roar of engines and the feeling of speed. He rode motorcycles, but not just as a means of transportation. He raced them, both on the flat track and risking his neck on “motorcycle hill climbs”. Hill climbs featured cyclists gunning their machines up rocky outcrops, either racing to the top or crashing part way up. The crowds loved the wrecks more than the successes, of course.

May 29 Cedar Rapids Gazette, Rex competes in motorcycle flat course

Rex also raced cars—“midget” racers, stock cars, anything that would send him hurtling around a track to the roar of the crowd. Even when he reached late middle age and was no longer racing, he still worked as a racetrack announcer. His first-hand experience and enthusiasm for the sport helped him bring the races to life for the audience.

St. Cloud Times June 20 1962

Despite racing being such an important part of his life, I only remember seeing him race once—a motorcycle hill climb near Mankato. I was really young—I don’t remember much except that it was cloudy and the hill the motorcyclists were trying to crest was covered with dead weeds and a lot of rocks. And I remember the noise of the engines, the low grumble making my chest vibrate.

My mother didn’t think much of Rex’s racing exploits, which is probably why we didn’t go to see him race more often. I don’t know if it was just sibling rivalry, or if she had some sort of issue with racing in general. My grandparents seem to have supported him—they attended races and helped him move race cars from Mankato to distant tracks. I don’t know if they provided financial support as well, or if his work running a gas station and repair shop paid the expenses.

He apparently was still racing in the late 1970s and early 1980s after his second marriage, as he introduced his stepson to the sport and they competed against one another according to info from a bio on his stepson’s website. Rex also sponsored other drivers—I saw a photo of another driver with the R&R Tire logo on the car’s door—Rex and his wife owned a tire store in Mankato, Minnesota called R&R Tires.

1984 Photo of Rex in his race car--Fairmont Speedway

I tried to find news articles about his racing career. I only found a few mentions in the press, along with some information from old race venues. I know our family has more photos than the ones I have used in this post, including some from hill climb events as well as photos of Rex and his various race cars. I need to find them and digitize them.

Belleville Kansas 15 August 1963

I wish my uncle was still around so I could talk to him about his racing career. He was a fascinating man and a fantastic raconteur, so I’m sure I would have heard some amazing stories.