Racing in OSCAAR depends very much on the support and contributions from individual team sponsors. These sponsors aren’t the big corporate ones found in NASCAR. Often they are small companies or family businesses that form the backbone of local communities. A prime example of a family business that supports racing is Spicers of Woodstock.
Drew Spicer in the 89 Outlaw car has raced with OSCAAR since 2002 and all through that time Spicers of Woodstock has supported his racing. ” I couldn’t have done it without them – not even a chance” said Drew, “Mom & Dad flip the bill for everything on the car.”
Bill and Marg Spicer have been the anchors in a family business dating back from its inception in 1979. Spicers of Woodstock has built a solid reputation in the towing and service business, specializing in heavy duty towing and emergency road-side repairs for the trucking industry. Along with their son Drew, they have several employees that help as drivers and service mechanics.
Inside the office there are wall mounted photos that speak to both the business and racing. There are several photos that document some of the more dramatic towing jobs such as retrieving the truck and trailer almost completely submerged in water and ice alongside the road. It is a 24-7 job with Bill and Drew taking many of the night-time and weekend calls. Among racing photos in the office are victory lane shots and a large poster-size print of Drew in the race car.
The fleet of green and purple tow trucks is simply amazing! They sport paint schemes, accessories and quality that attracted Earl Johnson, author of the recently published book “The World’s Greatest Tow Trucks – Vol.7″. This is definitely a great honour for the Spicers and speaks volumes about the care and pride that go into their fleet of tow trucks.
Through the ebb and flow of towing calls, Drew uses down time to work on his race car which is housed in one of the bays in the shop. He does almost all of the work on his own and applies the same meticulous pride in body work for the car that he does with the appearance of the company tow trucks. 
Sadly at the time of this interview, the 89 Outlaw was stripped down to the bare chassis. This was a result of hard contact with the wall at Mosport Speedway on August 14th that still leaves Drew shaking his head in disbelief and concern. “The Board needs to introduce a new rule that will strongly discourage wrecking on the front and back stretch of the tracks,” said Drew, “the cars are so light and fast it doesn’t take much to turn a car into the wall.”
Meanwhile Drew has repaired the rear clip and will set the car up on the jig to check for any further damage. Then if the chassis checks out OK, the car will be reassembled along with all new body parts. He has already put 40-50 hours on the car and will need about the same amount of time to put it back together. Many race fans do not fully understand the time and effort it takes to bring a car back to the track after a wreck, so we thank Drew for allowing us a peak at the work behind the scenes and wish him well as he attempts to get the 89 Outlaw ready for September 25/26 at Sunset Speedway.
Thankfully for the Spicers not all the recent news has been as bleak as the status of their race car. Drew spends a lot of time with his family and in particular helping daughters Jessica (11) and Taylor (14) getting out to play baseball. Innerkip is home to excellent baseball facilities and puts out some great teams. Recently Jessica was on the Lassie Girls team playing in the ORSA Fastball Tournament. Her team came out on top of 10 teams in the tournament and took home the 2010 Championship. Congratulations to Jessica and all her family as they celebrate their success this season!
OSCAAR would like to thank the Spicers for letting us visit ‘Spicers of Woodstock’ and to thank them for their long-standing support of racing. We wish them well with their business and hope to see them back at the track soon.
Spicers of Woodstock Web Album
Report by Don McLeod
