Former New Berlin Sportsman Driver Leaves Friend Race Car

NEW BERLIN, WI—A New Berlin man left his prized race car to a fellow gearhead following his death. Former sportsman driver Jim Genzel died on Dec. 15 and left his 57 Chevy race car to his friend, J.J. Wiechowski.

When Wiechowski first started working for the City of New Berlin Department of Public Works, he heard about a resident with a race car. One day Wiechowski spotted the race car in Genzel's garage and struck up a conversation after work. He learned that Genzel built the car from the ground up.

"I have to say his craftsmanship was outstanding for the time. Especially considering what they had to work with then versus what they have now," Wiechowski told Patch.

The car enthusiast said he loves old cars and the history behind each vehicle. Wiechowski added he gets into the story of what happened after the car was driven off the lot and what point it became "ugly."

"I want to know about the life of a car and what it has seen and how many times was it crashed," he told Patch.

Take Genzel's race car, it sat in his garage since the '70s.

"It never saw the light of day until 40 years later. The fact that it survived is cool," he said.

Before the race car was fixed by Wiechowski, Genzel's youngest son Jeffrey recalled his dad turning on the car in his garage every so often.

"It was super loud," his son said.

Genzel kept his 57 Chevy since retiring from racing and, with the help of Wieckowski, got it back to running condition.

"It didn't take much to get it running again, it was almost like it wanted to run again," Wiechowski said.

He recalled Genzel coming over to his home and driving around in the race car in his backyard.

A month after the car was working again, they took it to car shows. Genzel had a blast and even reconnected with people he knew from his racing days.

"He said on the way back, 'I'm still basking in the glory,' and it brought back a lot of memories," Wiechowski said.

Wiechowski said attending car shows is memorable for anyone who used to race or is into cars. There is the camaraderie of fellow enthusiasts and the wow factor.

"I like someone taking an old car out of the garage and seeing a different car I haven't seen in my lifetime or since the early '70s," he told Patch.

Wiechowski added having a beer or two is also a perk. He added, "Well maybe more than two."

While the weather is cold and Wisconsinites are in a pandemic, there are still Facebook pages dedicated to fellow gearheads. On the "I'm a FAN of Hales Corners Speedway" people expressed sympathy over Jim Genzel's death and shared thoughts of their own fathers' cars. There was even an offer to buy the race car.

Over the past five years, Genzel's prized car has had a ton of attention at shows. Wiechowski said the drawback is after everyone knows about it, the attention wanes.

"I still know the story and it is still cool," he said.

About Jim

Jim Genzel grew up in New Berlin near the New Berlin Hills golf course. Genzel worked there in his youth as a caddy and grounds crew.

He and his wife Elizabeth had two sons, Daniel and Jeffrey. Both kids never had a huge interest in cars.

Genzel was a veteran in the army. After leaving the army, he became a union sheet metal worker and did that until he retired around the year 2000.

He was also a proud grandfather of Allyson Elizabeth, Nathan Daniel and Leo James Genzel.

Genzel's son Jeffrey said his father was always into cars and raced until he and his brother were born.

"He never failed to mention that when he told his racing stories," his youngest son said.

The stories Genzel shared were about the guys who raced with him and tales of working on the cars. His son said his memory is a bit fuzzy on what trophies his dad won but there is a picture of him with a checkered flag.

Genzel's son remembered attending a car show where the race car was shown. A woman came up and asked his dad for his autograph. He admits it was rather amusing to watch the interaction.

"He put so much time into that car and it was a different chapter in his life," his son told Patch.

His son added his father was also into volunteerism and donated to the Wounded Warriors, Purple Heart, and other charities.

A committal service and military honors will take place early summer at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Donations in Genzel's name are requested to be made to Journey House - Milwaukee.