As I disclosed in a recent column , I ’ ve currently visited 155 different dragstrips , which is ironic since I first saw Hutchins do what he ’ s famous for more than three decades ago at North Carolina ’ s Hudson Drag Strip , which comes in at track # 1 on my evergrowing list . Hutchins ’ wheelstanding act represents one of my earliest dragstrip memories and more recently , we ’ ve been bumping into each other a few times a year across the United States . While I don ’ t always conduct an actual interview with him , I do make it a point to spend a minute and catch up whenever we ’ re on the same property .

The photo in this column depicts a then- 81-year-old Hutchins that I snapped at Wisconsin ’ s Great Lakes Dragaway in 2019 , a track that ’ s been booking him twice yearly since the late 1960s ! “ They tell me I ’ m guaranteed for life , but they ’ ve never said whether it was my life or theirs ,” he chuckles .

The legendary Memorial Day weekend event at Great Lakes Dragaway was indeed one of those occasions when I asked Hutchins if he could spare a moment for an early-morning interview . “ Absolutely ,” he starts with a straight face , “ and I ’ d like to begin by saying I don ’ t date fat women !” I was taking a

drink of delicious , black coffee when he delivered this unexpected bulletin and it nearly came gushing out my nose before I could regain my composure .

Another instance when Hutchins had me laughing out loud was the time he was explaining to me why he moved away from St . Petersburg , Florida . “ It ’ s where old people go to die !” he declares . Of course , I asked him to elaborate . “ Every time I left out on the road and came back six months later I ’ d always have new neighbors , so when I realized what was happening I knew I had to leave

St . Petersburg before I got old !” he laughs .

Hutchins has a lively reply for pretty much every question I ’ ve ever lobbed his way . “ Sir , have you ever been married ?” I once inquired during an interview . “ I ’ ve been married twice ... they both died , but I didn ’ t have anything to do with it !” he quickly assured me .

The story of how he became involved in the wheelstanding show business is also an entertaining tale , and the whole thing began as a freak accident , really . Back in the early 1960s he was racing his B / Gas

Studebaker at a track in Deland , Florida , when the car suddenly caught some otherworldly traction and Hutchins rode out this obscene wheelie . The guy in the other lane protested to the track owner , accusing Hutchins of having something other than a regulation motor in his car . The track owner agreed and told Hutchins if he ever did that again he ’ d be banned for life !

Suddenly , the wheels started turning inside Hutchins ’ head and he came up with an ingenious idea . He bought a Dodge A100 truck and

made a wheelstanding exhibition vehicle out of it ! Ironically , the track in Deland ( which threatened to ban him for life for popping a wheelie during a class race ) was the first to book Hutchins after he claimed he could travel the entire length of the track on his rear wheels !

In the early days , Hutchins hauled around his Dodge truck wheelstander on an open trailer towed by a 1949 Cadillac limousine , which turned plenty of heads as he barreled down the interstate . The Dodge A100 bore the name “ Chevy Rebellion ” – a slogan he borrowed

and tweaked from a Chrysler advertising campaign in the 1960s , which encouraged an already restless generation to “ Join the Dodge rebellion .” Since Hutchins decided to put a Chevy motor in his Dodge truck , he figured how much more could a fella rebel ?

The A100 was used for Hutchins ’ touring exhibition all the way up to the early 1980s , after which , he decided to retire the truck and switch to the current Volkswagen truck cab mounted on a homemade chassis , continuing of course , with the Chevy Rebellion moniker . “ I ’ m like a professional wrestler – I ’ m paid to put on a show and if I ’ m doing a match race it all pays the same , so if a track tells me to lose , I lose !” he laughs .

After over a halfcentury of nonstop touring and entertaining fans , Hutchins can hardly call to memory the number of tracks he ’ s visited , and many of them have longsince closed . Oh , he ’ s met some characters along the way , too . Many years ago in the panhandle of Florida , everybody kept talking about this pool hall , so he decided to check the place out and was stunned to learn that the evening ’ s entertainment was this ol ’ boy who pulls a rattlesnake from his pocket and places it on a pool table , while onlookers place bets as to which hole the serpent will slither down ! “ There ’ s been so many unique things I ’ ve come across in my travels ,” he declares .

If it ended tomorrow , it ’ s been a mighty fine gig for the now-83-yearold entertainer , and after 55 years his calendar remains full , as tracks are eager as ever to book the famous Chevy Rebellion Wheelstander for their most celebrated events .

Meanwhile , I ’ m out here just trying to conduct an interview without spewing coffee all over this stately gentleman ... and believe me when I say , he doesn ’ t make it easy ! DI