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VINTAGE: Something Wicked This Way Runs
Follow the history, including all of the ups and downs, of legendary and colorful sprint car character Charlie Engles.
Kevin Krefting  |  Posted November 12, 2007   Charlotte, North Carolina
Gordon Reid and the Engle-Stanko Offy, the day before his fatal accident. (Photo courtesy of Tom Konop)

According to Webster's, the term "wicked" describes something evil, fierce or vicious. But in the vernacular of the track, a "wicked" racer is a fast, powerful machine. In the long and sometimes strange career of Charlie Engle's famous sprint cars, both terms have been applied to these formidable beauties.

When racing folk talk about colorful characters, one would be hard pressed to find anyone to surpass legendary sprint car owner Charlie Engle.

"Charlie had two hunting dogs-both named Joe," says Engle's longtime friend and racing historian Tom Konop. "When I ask why he named both of them the same, he said, 'So I only have to call 'em once.'"

He was seldom seen without a hat, and removing it from his head could earn a strong rebuke.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, where he operated a pair of taverns, Charlie's involvement in racing first came as a driver in the early 1930s. Now Charlie wasn't a world beater, but he won his share of events. And one often found his name in the finishing order right behind Bob Carey, Mauri Rose or even tramping West Coast star Al Gordon. Charlie could go.

But early in his career, fellow racers discovered Engle's real talent was in his mechanical abilities. Long before fuel injection, Charlie had taken a page from the book of such notable engine men as Art Sparks and Floyd "Pop" Dreyer. Engle produced his own homemade intake manifold, which sported four Amal motorcycle carbs running on alcohol. It was a potent setup and gave the engine quite a boost in performance.

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