Wheeler, one of stock car racing's greatest promoters, was recently named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame's Class of 2026

With fire-breathing robots and death-defying school-bus stunts, he brought spectacle to stock-car racing as the sport boomed in the 1970s and beyond.

Humpy Wheeler, a pioneering motorsports promoter and former president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, has died, NASCAR said. He was 86.