Longtime Illinois team owner dies at 66
Title-winning Dirt Late Model car owner Gary Gerstner of Breese, Ill., who operated one of the longest continually operating auto racing teams in the Midwest, died Sunday at St. Elizabeth Hospital in O'Fallon, Ill. He was 66.
"We have lost our beloved father and leader," family members posted on the team's Facebook page about Gerstner, a towering presence in the pits. "Racing was a constant throughout Dad’s life and been the common denominator that created life full of friendships. We appreciate the outpouring of love and support that we have received from those in the racing community."
Carrying on a team his late father Charlie Gerstner founded in the early 1950s, Gerstner and Sons Motorsports has operated every season for 69 years, primarily in Dirt Late Models with Rick Kloos and his son Michael Kloos taking stints of 15 years apiece behind the wheel. The team, which had plans for Daryn Klein to compete on the Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association in 2021, has also fielded cars for drivers including Mark Gansmann, Billy Faust, Randy Korte and Jim Shereck along with occasional starts for standouts such as Bob Pierce, Ken Schrader, Brian Shirley, Billy Drake, Rodney Melvin, Scott James and Matt Miller.
Among the team's richest victories were Faust's $15,000 UMP Challenge triumph at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo. (2003), $6,000 DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway (2003) along with $3,000 MARS (2012 in Highland, Ill.) and MLRA (2019 in Belleville, Ill.) victories for the younger Kloos, the Trenton, Ill., driver who is a seven-time champ at three St. Louis, Mo.-area tracks.
Gerstner, who owned and operated Gerstner plumbing for 40 years until his 2019 retirement, was preceded in death by his wife Jeanne; among survivors are three sons and four grandchildren. Visitation is 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16, and 8-9:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, at Nordike Funeral Home in Breese. The funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Breese. For a complete obituary, visit nordikefuneralhome.com.
Editor's note: Jimmy Dearing contributed to this report; updates biggest victories.
