MANSFIELD, Ohio — Anything that has a motor, Mansfield man Rick Ream can probably drive it. That’s partly how he got his nickname, “The Shoe.”
The other reason he’s known as The Shoe is because of his 1950 Bullet Nose Studebaker Wheel-Standing Firetruck. A few years ago, he was selected to drive this truck for a full summer, and he more recently purchased it from the previous owner.
“‘The Shoe’ actually came with the truck because it means the person who’s privileged to drive the truck,” Ream explained.
Ream does consider it a privilege to drive this wheel-stander, having been interested in wheel-standers since he was a kid. He remembers seeing wheel-standers at his grandfather’s gas station, Robinson’s Pure Oil.
“That was kind of a hot-spot for wheel-standers and racecars,” Ream reflected.
In the 1960s, he traveled and helped crew The Hemi Under Glass wheel-stander that was driven by Wild Bill Shrewsberry.
He took a break from racing when he joined the service in the 70s, but was able to return to the sport (via racing motorcyles, DIRTcars, Straightline cars and others) shortly after.
“I’ve always had some involvement with racing,” he said, reasoning, “I like the noise and I like the thrill of going fast.”
About four years ago, he went back to racing wheel-standers and has been ever since. He even built one of his own, a 1962 Ford Econoline pickup truck.
Wheel-standers, in drag racing, are cars designed to complete a pass in a wheel-stand (wheels near vertical). For a typical run, the front wheels are about 10 feet off the ground as the car travels a quarter mile at roughly 110 miles per hour.
While describing what it’s like behind the wheel, Ream said, “It’s kind of hard to explain because you’re so busy with what you’re doing…I mean, yeah, you see the crowd, but you don’t hear them. When you’re working the rig, you’re focused on what you’re doing. I really don’t know what the reaction is of the crowd until we come back up the return road and everybody’s standing, screaming, hollering, waving.”
He said he’s considered putting a camera atop his helmet so people can understand what it’s like from his perspective, “But I don’t know if I really want to know how much I really do in there,” he said with a laugh.
He has about 15 controls to be mindful of in addition to other elements like wind that could dictate which direction he needs to steer.
“When you’re on the back wheels, you can’t see very well, he said.
“When the original wheel-standers started, they looked out the side windows of the car…now we look through the floor of the car, but you can only kind of see the lines, and at night you can’t really see them, so you pick a spot out at the end of the track and just try to aim for it.
“It gets hairy sometimes.”
But it’s totally worth it, he affirmed.
“The crowd just goes nuts,” he said.
He travels across the country for various shows. He’s done about 60 total and has eight lined up for this year.
His wife, Piper, accompanies him and helps with the execution of each show. She’ll communicate with him via radio to remind him to hit certain controls if he were to forget. “There’s so much stuff going on that I have a tendency to forget something, like taking off and forgetting to hit the gerbs (a type of firework which produces a jet of sparks),” he said.
After his run, Piper follows him down the track in her Cushman pickup pit machine, which is also used to tow the truck back to the staging area.
Ream juggles racing with his job at P&R Snow Plowing and Lawn Care, where he’s been the owner for the last 35 years.
Reviewing a list of his previous jobs, he said, “I was a state trooper, I was in the Air Force, I was a firefighter, I was an EMT, so I mean anything that would give me a rush I’ve always done.
“My bucket list is complete pretty much.”
“I like the noise and I like the thrill of going fast,” said Rick Ream.
I’m owner of the Studebaker Brewing Co in New Carlisle IN. We’re interested in showcasing his Firetruck on one of our beer cans. Can you please put me in contact with Mr. Ream?