'Wakeman Teamsters' help NASCAR on historic trip

CORNELIUS, N.C. — The call again went out to the Wakeman Teamsters. When logistics become impossible for former Wakeman resident Kevin Mahl, now the owner of the North Carolina-based Champion Tire & Wheel, he seeks emergency help. That often comes in the form of his longtime friends or former employees of his firm who live in the Wakeman or Norwalk area. "A three-week stretch coming up overpowered our usual fleet of drivers, so I had to seek the aid of some drivers I call the 'Wakeman Teamsters' for assistance," Mahl said. That list of names included a couple of steel haulers, Mahl's brother-in-law Shawn Burke and his brother Terry Burke, and two other Wakeman residents, Tom Hipp and Dan Eaton. Wooster native Dick Conrad is also driving a truck, as are Norwalk residents Rick Reeder, Duane and Scott Fell, and Chris Pease. Duane Fell and Pease are former Champ Tire employees, which is located in Cornelius, N.C. Mahl has managed to blend these drivers with his regulars to get everyone in place for a two-week, three-race schedule. It started in Michigan on June 8, went south to Mexico City for a June 15 race, and is now back north to Pocono Speedway this weekend in the Pennsylvania mountains in Long Pond. Also pressed into service is Mahl's wife, Shelly, the CFO of Champion Tire & Wheel. She drove to Ohio from North Carolina prior to the June 8 race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., to shuttle two of the Norwalk drivers to the Pocono race site for this weekend's race. Shelly Mahl and the Burke's are also Western Reserve graduates. After the Michigan race, most of the trailers made the trip to Mexico City, with the exception being two that were loaded to go straight to the Poconos. The rest of the fleet then made the 4,750-mile trip from Mexico City to Pennsylvania. "There were 28 Champ Tire tractors and trailers who made the pull from Brooklyn to Mexico City," Kevin said. "NASCAR arranged for border agents to seal those trailers in order to make crossing the border easier." When all were in line, including the NASCAR contingent, there were 168 trucks that crossed the border to Mexico, including tractors owned by Sunoco and Goodyear, the Champ Tire fleet, and the individual race teams. All of them were there to service an Xfinity race on June 14 and the Cup race the following day. Another important individual based in Cornelius is Ohio University Engineering Professor, Dr. Felipe Aros-Vera. He is an expert in logistics and transportation who joined Champion Tire last year and was even more valuable for the three-week operation. "We call him 'the professor,'" Mahl said. "He has been at our side assessing what needs to be done prior to entering Mexico. And the reason for that is because the trucks will be crossing the border at different points." Most of the trucks took a route from Brooklyn, Mich. directly to Laredo, Texas, a 1,550-mile pull that took about 24 hours. Other trucks left from Charlotte, N.C., and headed south, a drive of 1,360 miles. Just one trailer veered off to make a stop at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Ala. to pick up a piece of equipment for NASCAR. That truck had one of the Wakeman Teamsters, Dick Conrad, behind the wheel. "Once the trucks passed through customs and immigration, it will be another 700 miles to Mexico City," Mahl said. "The bottom line is, all 168 trucks associated with NASCAR will have an individual escort for every four vehicles, and every 12 trucks will have an armed National Guard escort. "After the trucks reach Mexico City, they will get a police escort to the race facility, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, which is the same track the F1 cars will use in the fall." When the race ended last Sunday night, the drivers made the trip back to Pocono. Once there, they will have driven an additional 2,250 miles. One of the members of the Norwalk contingent is Reeder, a member of the Ohio State Highway Patrol who is also the current Assistant District Commander of the Cleveland district. "Kevin gave me a call a couple of weeks ago, explaining that he definitely will need help on this three-race thrash," Reeder said. "He told me that Duane Fell, Duane's brother, Scott, and Chris Pease and myself will be shuttled to Michigan. "When that race is over, we will take trailers loaded for Pocono, drop them off there, and then jump in a rental car and come back to Norwalk. And that is nowhere close to what the Burke-contingent will be doing." Reeder could not have been more correct. Although Shawn Burke, the man Mahl calls the 'President of the Wakeman Union,' is used to being pressed into service by his brother-in-law. "I spend quite a bit of time in Cornelius," said Shawn, a retired steel truck driver. "I have a standing job with Champ Tire. I haul NASCAR's track sweeper to 12 of the races. That's what I will be doing in Mexico City. "Shelly will pick us up and shuttle us to Michigan for that race," he added. "After that race, our trucks will be loaded for Mexico City. After that, we will head for Pocono." From there, the group will head back to North Carolina to drop the tractors and trailers back off, and then back to Cornelius to drop the tractors and trailers off. "By that time, they will definitely be in need of service," Shawn said. Asked if his brother-in-law pays him for the two-week, three-track assignment, Shawn assured that he does. "He pays everyone involved and pays them well," he said. "After all, it is imperative that he get quality, dependable drivers for these missions."