Wayne Guy                                                              Photo courtesy of Wayne Guy

Wayne Guy Wins!                                                     Photo courtesy of Wayne Guy

Wayne Guy

Wayne was born on June 29, 1927, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Wayne and his older brother, Elmo,  grew up on motorcycles and speed, so the transition to stock car racing was almost natural.  At the beginning of Beech Bend Park’s inaugural season of stock car racing in 1951, Wayne was described as being 6 feet tall, weighed 155 lbs., with blue eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. 

Wayne always drove No. 25, which was owned by Ray Mercer, the shop foreman for the Bowling Green Ford dealership, Wallace Motor Company, where Wayne was a parts salesman.  His car was a 1934 Ford with a 1946 Ford flathead 239 cubic inch V-8 with a 4 inch stroke, 3 7/16^th bore, with a full racing cam.  Wayne raced the car at Richpond, Cave City, and Bowling Green, Kentucky with an occasional race at Nashville, Tennessee.

Yvonne, Wayne’s wife, was not a racecar fan in the beginning.  She first went with him to a race in Richpond, Kentucky where she understood that he was going to be a member of the pit crew; that is, until the announcer stated that “…driving No. 25 today will be Wayne Guy.”  Obviously, Yvonne became a devoted fan.

Wayne’s deal with Ray Mercer, the car owner, was that Ray would build the car.  All winnings would go into a bank account, out of which all expenses were paid, and any surplus was split 50/50 at the end of the season. 

Wayne was never scared of racing, although the butterflies would be jumping until the green flag dropped.  He raced for about 5 years.  His greatest memories are of beating his older brother, Elmo, to the checkered flag, because there was no more fierce competitor than Elmo. He stopped racing because a friend bought a speedboat, and he took up skiing on weekends.  He remains an active motorcycle rider to this day (2004).