In Memoriam - Bryan Wescott

[Jim Fenton]

We’re coming up on the anniversary of the death of my friend, Bryan Wescott, who passed away eight years ago this coming Sunday, August 30th. at the very young age of 40.

Since I’ll be running around out of town on Sunday for the Blast from the Past Reunion I wanted to post something in his memory ahead of time.

Bryan’s dad, R.M. “Whitey” Wescott and I go back many, many years so Bryan has been a part of my and my family’s life since he was born.

Bryan began helping me years ago on my racers before he was even a teenager. He started helping me back in the tornado years in the early 70’s when he was 10 – 11 years old then continued helping us as part of the crew on the FOUR Late Model up into the mid-70’s until he went off to college.

Bryan began building Late Models and driving himself in late 1979 and continued racing until he sustained a closed-head injury in a hard impact with the outside wall in Turn 1 at Sunshine Speedway August 16th, 1986. Bryan died of complications from a heat stroke at his job on August 30th. 2001.

Bryan left behind his wonderful wife Jackie and two young children Bryan Jr. & Brianna Wescott.

Bryan was dedicated to the Lord throughout his entire life. He was a terrific father and a good man.

Here are a few pics of Bryan from the Wescott Collection with some of his racers. Following these are a few shots from my collection in his earlier years helping me on my racers.

Bryan with dad Whitey and his Aunt Pat at Sunshine Speedway




Bryan again at Sunshine




Bryan with Bryan Jr. at Sunshine




Bryan and Jackie at NSS




I imagine there have been other racers that have proposed to their GF’s
with a graphic painted on their racer but this was the first one I had ever seen.
Bryan & Jackie after the race and proposal at NSS.

[Jim Fenton]

These are a few shots of Bryan in his earlier years helping me on my racers.


Here is the whole gang in 1972 with the #24 Tornado car after a Feature win at Sunshine Speedway.
Bryan is kneeling front right. He is 11 years old here.




Here is Bryan in 1974 going along on one of my trips to Dixie Speedway (Woodstock) Georgia.
He is 13 years old here (bottom photo).




Here he is on the left in 1975 after a feature win at Sunshine Speedway
with the FOUR. He is 14 years old here.




Here he shown just to the right of the driver’s door of the FOUR in the pits at
Sunshine Speedway in 1976 getting ready for the Gulf Coast 100.
He is 15 years old here.



RIP Bryan. We all miss you dearly.

[Jimmy McKinley]

Bryan drove our car for a few years in the mid-'80s. We had the #XII at St. Pete, and the #III at Inverness in 1984-5. In 1986, we went back to just plain ol' #12, and Bryan won a buncha races against the best of the era: Pletcher and Moyer, Jimmy and Mike Cope, Butch Smith and Butch Yoakam, Carl Butts, Frank Barfus, Dave Dunkin, Dave Scarborough, Buzzie, Mike Bresnahan, Dave Yow, and a TON of other great drivers from the Gulf Coast. He got hurt in our car at St. Pete. I wasn't there that night, but I remember Sunday morning when Dad brought the car home on the trailer. It certainly wasn't pretty, and the top of the roll cage had been cut off.

After that, we were out of racing for over a year.

I never heard what happened to Bryan after that, until fairly recently.

I have a great story from before the accident, though. In the summer of '86, I was kinda seeing/dating a girl from Clearwater. We had gotten our parents to agree to letting each other stay over at each other's house for a week during the summer vacation. Well, while I was over at her house in Clearwater (I was living in Vero Beach at the time on the east coast), this girl decided she wanted to break up - in the middle of the week - with me 160 miles from home. So I kinda had to find my own way from that Wednesday to Saturday, when I was going to go to Sunshine to get my ride home with Dad. I told the guys about my, uhh, breakup, including Bryan. And then he told me I shoulda called him, I coulda stayed with him and Jackie for the rest of the week...LOL...Bryan Jr. was just a tike then, and I didn't want to impose on the family. But that's the kind of guy Bryan was. All around great guy, great race car driver - and...well...probably one of the best friends on and off the track. I don't think I had another one of our drivers over the years ever talk to me about that kind of stuff.

The first pic is 1985 at the Coca-Cola 50, which was part of the Triple Crown weekend: a 50-lapper at DeSoto on Friday night (LeRoy won it); the 100-lapper at St. Pete on Saturday night (won by Trickle in a V6 car), and the 200-lapper on Sunday back at DeSoto (won by Butch Miller in another V6). Billy Bigley's All-Pro-legal #28 Airboats of Naples car is to the inside of our car.

The second pic is one of those early-summer 1986 nights at St. Pete, just before he got hurt in this car.

The last pic is late 1984, when Childers had driven for us most of the year, but moved over to the #22 formerly driven by Purcell. Bryan wanted to keep his points, so we duct-taped a #III to the door...LOL...Car owner Bob Kirk is third from right, and my dad is on the far right in the black shirt and red and white hat.

Hey Jim...that pic of Bryan from New Smyrna...I was there that night. It was a Thunder Car feature for the World Series in 1981. Bryan beat out track hot shoe Joe Coupas by like a foot at the line to win the feature his one and only time at New Smyrna for a 100% win record at that track At least, as far as I know, it was Bryan's only time there. I don't think they stayed the whole week.

RIP, Bryan.

[AB195]

Mr. Mckin.---
Saw you had mentioned a Moyer. Larry Moyer?
What did you know about him?
I think we have had this subject before, but that's going back a tad bit.

I remember him from 1979 racing at Fort Wayne's Baer Field Raceway, was the track champ a couple different times, and in a couple of different classes.

What are the Florida "era" memories of him?
Thanks, rog.

[Darren]

Jim

why did Bryan use the III that way, did it have anything to do with the way you used the FOUR? Also how did you hurt your foot and how long did you have to drive with the special shoe on it?

[N.Rowe]

Larry Moyer

AB195..Larry lives in Tampa...and he will be at the Reunion ...believed he arrived there tonight!!! He needs everyones prayers, as he is suffering Brain Cancer!! He assisted David Pletcher in to getting in to the "87" Daytona 500..they remain good friends to this day!!

[Jimmy McKinley]

Darren, I believe Bryan used that because it was a unique and different "number". The first time I can recall seeing Bryan run, his Thunder Car number was "Three", spelled out. I'm not sure why he picked "three" instead of something else...LOL...

AB: PM me off the boards and I'll tell you what I know about Moyer, which really isn't much. Let's try and keep this thread on Bryan.

[iramattice]

I never met Bryan Sr. but i do know his wife Jackie, Bryan Jr. and Brianna and they are great people.

[NeroGatto]

Video From Sunshine Speedway Crash

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoid=58544817

[NeroGatto]

Thank you Jim for starting this thread...

Family Pictures

[NeroGatto]

More...

Racing and Family Pictures

[NeroGatto]

Family Pictures

Now don't forget the two youngest... Blake and Brittney

[carolwicks]

Wow!

Thank you so much for sharing this. I did not know your friend but i thrive on heartfelt stories such as this one. we learn new things everyday. This man was surely blessed to have a friend like you to memorialize his short but wonderful life....
GREAT post!
carolwicks

[Jim Fenton]

why did Bryan use the III that way, did it have anything to do with the way you used the FOUR?

Yes, he wanted to model his number after the FOUR but yet have something unique to him if possible. We tried different graphic layouts trying to make it work and look good however using a number with 5-letters was just too ‘busy’ if spelled-out on the side of the car.

Consequently his earlier cars still had the numerical #3 on the side but then he migrated to the Roman Numeral III.

I drove the 3-car from time-to-time early on helping him with his set-up but Bryan was very intelligent and a quick learner so it didn’t take long for him to catch on.




Since he was such a religious man, I remember joking with him later after he began to shall we say ‘utilize some tricks of the trade’ without getting caught at post-race inspection by asking him; “I assume you had divine guidance with that one since you didn’t get caught.” He quipped; “Naw, I learned that from his fallen Disciples down at the FOUR shop”

Also how did you hurt your foot and how long did you have to drive with the special shoe on it?

To prevent detracting from the purpose of this thread, I will respond to this in a new thread down at the bottom of the page in the forum “Where are they Now?”.

Thank you Jim for starting this thread...

No problem. Your dad was a good man and I feel blessed that he was part of my life.

Thanks for completing this message so appropriately.

[Kenny Alderman]

I remember Bryan as a very good young racer. I know God was a big part of his life. He was very lucky to have Jim Fenton has a mentor in his racing.