David E. Davis, Jr. on the Passing of William Neely

William Neely died on March twenty-fifth, following heart surgery in Wilmington, North Carolina. Bill was co-author, with the late Bob Ottum, of Stand On It: A Novel By Stroker Ace. Ironically, the film version of Stroker Ace was on cable TV the week that he died. He wrote around twenty books on subjects ranging from New Orleans jazz to great American aviators, wrote for Playboy, wrote for me at Car and Driver, Automobile, and WINDING ROAD magazines, and he was the go-to guy for early stock car racing lore. He raced sports cars, ran for Congress, ran the West Virginia State Chili Championships, acted in a number of TV dramas, and was an indefatigable storyteller. I met Bill Neely in 1963 when I first took over Car and Driver magazine. He was one of my best friends from that time onward, and I never saw him without a smile on his face.

Early in my years with Car and Driver, I had a secretary who generally appeared to have been “rode hard and put up wet.” She came to me and said that Bill Neely had invited her to spend the weekend at the Darlington 500. I gave my permission, with the caveat that she had to be back in the office by Monday noon. Monday came and went. No secretary. Tuesday morning passed into history. Then at about 2:30 Tuesday afternoon, she appeared in my doorway. “Where the hell have you been,” I snapped. She favored me with an insouciant smile and said, “When I write my book about stock car racing, it will be called Thunder at the Holiday Inn.”