Wheels Galleries

A small racing sign signals this is where the Back Stretch Racing gang hangs out.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

A bird's-eye view of the main shop reveals a half-dozen notable round track cars from different eras. These cars have not only been restored and preserved, they are all campaigned regularly at Kansas Antique Racers Association events.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Members of the loose-knit group known as Back Stretch Racing pose with a pair of vintage circle track cars owned by Bill Johnson (not pictured). Counterclockwise, from the right, they are Bryson Mills, Bill Mills, Ernie Hudson, Ken Murray and Joe Smiley.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The No. 2 short-wheelbase sprint car is powered by a one-of-a-kind Pinto 4-cylinder engine, equipped with a unique double-overhead-cam head designed and built by Jerry Wilson.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Gold anodized knock-off spinners and kidney-bean lightweight racing wheels give the Ansen-powered racer a period perfect look, and help it go faster, too.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

This neon clock hung for years over Earl Mills' auto salvage yard. Today it is an honored fixture in the Back Stretch Racing shop, still keeping time and still illuminated by the original neon from the 1940s.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Ernie Hudson races this restored machine, powered by a 265-cubic-inch Chevy V-8. It's known as "Miss Mary Ann" -- most of the race cars at Back Stretch Racing carry nicknames that have special significance to the owners and drivers.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The cockpit of a vintage racer doesn't offer a lot of creature comforts: an oversized steering wheel, a shift lever and a racing seat to counter the heavy G-loads of hard left-hand turns.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The former Walt McWhorter car is powered by a rare 4-cylinder Chevy II engine using an Ansen racing head. The engine build-up was begun by Chet Wilson, but lanquished for 40 years in a basement before Bryson Mills was able to buy it. Jerry Wilson, Chet's son, finished the engine work.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Also owned and driven by Ernie Hudson, the red No. 9 Champ Car rolls on a 100-inch wheelbase and is powered by a carbureted Chevy 327 fed racing gasoline.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

This antique aerial photo shows the Jayhawk Speedway, opened in June of 1948 in the southern part of Newton by Earl Mills.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Joe Smiley said Walt McWhorter won six champions ships with this bright blue car in the 1960s and '70s. Power is supplied by a 350 Chevy V-8 mated to a single-speed "in-and-out" gearbox.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

A 1952 racing trophy among the memorabilia at Back Stretch Racing. The electric clock operates flip-over digital numbers and continues to keep time almost 60 years after it was awarded.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Of the approximately 300 sprint cars built by Roger Beck, this beautiful 1968 model owned by Bill Johnson is one of about 50 believed to still exist.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Each member of the Back Stretch Racing crew has his own hand-lettered coffee mug hanging at the ready.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Bill Johnson campaigns this 1980s-era sprint car at vintage races in Kansas and Colorado. Ron Coleman did the restoration work.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The window opening of the fiberglass-bodied '32 Ford Victoria proved a bit too narrow for some of the drivers to negotiate, so the top and bottom sections were cut out and hinged open to allow wider bodies to enter.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

This slick black midget racer is owned by Bryson and Kathy Mills and, like all the cars at Back Stretch Racing, is kept competition-ready.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The yellow modified racer is powered by a fuel-injected 350 cubic inch smallblock Chevy V-8 running on alcohol. Note the round air cleaners mounted atop the injector stacks, to keep dirt and other debris out of the engine.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Huge power requires huge tires, and these rear racing tires provide plenty of traction when the gas pedal is shoved against the firewall of the No. 98 sprint car.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Troy Pulver of Wichita provides most of the lettering and graphics on the vintage cars campaigned by the Back Stretch Racing crew, including this beautiful gold-foiled number on the Roger Beck sprint car.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The Junkyard Dog tucked in one corner of the main garage is one of the best known of the cars built and maintained at Back Stretch Racing. The original workbench from the Mills Auto Salvage yard sees regular use, and the walls are covered with vintage black-and-white racing photos.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Bryson Mills says this replica of Walt McWhorter's famous No 98 Ford Victoria modified racer was built as a tribute to the late race driver. It is finished in Chicken Fat Yellow, one of McWhorter's favored colors.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Ken Murray reattaches a rear brake caliper to his midget racer in one of the work bays at Back Stretch Racing.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Walt McWhorter's key competition often came from driver Harold Leep, thus the Tweetie Bird logo posing the question, "Harold Who?"

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle