Drag Illustrated Issue 148, September 2019 | Page 42

Special Section
A STERN LOOK APPEARS ON BILLY WAGNER’S FACE AS HE CHANGES GEAR RATIOS IN THE GILLIG-WAGNER
MOTORSPORTS ‘96 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS DRIVEN BY HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, TONY GILLIG. BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE,
WAGNER IS ENJOYING EVERY MINUTE OF IT. AFTER NEARLY TWO DECADES WORKING FOR OTHERS IN THE
SPORT, THE NEW YORK NATIVE IS IN HIS ELEMENT AS THE CREW CHIEF ON THE FAMILY’S TOP-FLIGHT SCHWING
AMERICA PRO OUTLAW 632 PRESENTED BY PRECISION CHASSIS AND EAST SIDE AUTO TRANSPORT ENTRY.
“I’m super lucky,” Wagner says. “I
get to do what I like to do. My father-
in-law (Bob Gillig) has allowed us to
build what I consider quite a profes-
sional operation where we have the
best parts available and a really nice
setup. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of
work but a lot of fun.”
Before diving into his status as one
part of the Gillig-Wagner Motors-
ports team, Wagner explains his be-
ginnings in the sport of fast
doorslammer racing. He went to
work for Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro
Stock star John Montecalvo in 1993,
driving the rig to IHRA races, servic-
ing the car between rounds and
taking care of it at the shop between
races. “That’s pretty much how I got
my interest really piqued in
doorslammers and clutch cars and
stuff back before there was auto-
matics and traction control,” Wagner
says. “Mountain Motor became the
only thing I could think about.”
42 PDRA660.com
Top Sportsman and Comp at a
handful of races per year.
Wagner worked with Montecalvo
for several seasons, minus a year off
in 1996, and helped the fellow New
York native get his first IHRA Pro
Stock win in 1999. Wagner then
went to work on Larry Morgan’s
NHRA Pro Stock team for three
seasons before stepping back to a
limited schedule with Bob Benza for
the 2003-2004 seasons. His time
with Benza also included working
for Benza’s bridge building contrac-
tor firm, where he picked up skills
that he still uses today as a construc-
tion manager for a large civil con-
struction company in Chicago.
Since moving to Chicago with his
wife, Chrissy, in 2004, Wagner kept
up with the latest trends in the
sport by consulting for various
friends and customers in Pro Stock,
His latest project, serving as crew
chief on the family Oldsmobile,
began a few years ago when the
elder Gillig decided he wanted to
go racing again. Tony was several
years removed from his last pass
down the track in a Mountain Motor
Pro Stock car, so he was itching to
get back in the seat. Wagner was
equally excited about the opportu-
nity to go racing with family
members who double as racing col-
leagues he deeply respects.
“Legally, Bob is my father-in-law and
Tony is my brother-in-law, but as far
as I’m concerned when I introduce
them, they’re my dad and my
brother,” Wagner says. “When I look
at it like that, I got probably one of
the smartest racers in my father that
I’ve ever seen. He’s been racing for
the better part of 55 or 60 years in