Many noticed the Hookers (who call themselves more often “The Hook” publicly) at the Duel in the Desert at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Racers know them by names such as Cowboy (pictured), Hooker Bob, Hooker Brian, Hooker Wendy, and Hooker David. The race car drivers readily use their services when they’re down and out. The Hook, of Tucson, Arizona, rise to the occasion, putting on a show while taking care of those in a time of need.
In 2005, Bob Shove started The Hook after he pitched in to help with his employer’s repo truck during a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series show at Tucson, Arizona’s USA Raceway.
“My brother Pete and I were in the grandstand, and we saw the tow trucks struggling,” Shove said. “We had a repo truck, with pins and straps sitting in the parking lot.”
Shove soon realized that using his employer’s truck at the racetrack might not sit well with his boss. However, he loved towing cars at the racetrack. A fabricator by trade, he built a special tow truck to serve the racers based on a 1986 Chevrolet one-ton dually.
“I fabricated a tow truck boom that could extend eight feet beyond the bed of the truck,” said Shove. “The boom can be turned over to lift up a sprint car with ease.”
In 2007, Shove built a second boom for friend Brian Schneider, who works as an auto mechanic. That boom now sits on back of Brian’s 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD.
Shove and Schneider — who both owned race cars prior to becoming tow truck drivers — traveled across Arizona to various speedways with their services. They built a reputation for fast and careful removal of disabled race cars.
“As race car owners, Brian and I knew what it is like when a wrecker added damage to a race car,” Shove said. “Our goal is to get [racers] to the pits quickly and safely so they can make their repairs and continue to race.”
In 2010, Shove then recruited Wendy Dickson, a trophy girl at several Arizona tracks.
“I thought I would make it a little easier for a racer who just wrecked his car by having a pretty young woman working on the tow truck,” said Shove.
Just married at the time, Dickson brought her husband, David Harrington, into the fold. He sits with his wife in seats mounted to Shove’s truck bed. Away from the track Dickson runs a hardware store and Harrington works as an internal auditor.
“We take our vacation time when we need to hook at the races,” Dickson said. “Vegas was a week’s vacation, but it [consisted of] long, hard days of work. We needed a vacation after that vacation, but we loved every minute of it.”
“Cowboy” Josh Loreto, a construction superintendent, started working with The Hook in 2008. As a hook man, Loreto scans the track for trouble to assist Schneider.
“It’s a volunteer position, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” said Loreto. “It is a demanding job. You do it for the love of racing. The reward is that you build friendships over the years. You watch young drivers start in the four-cylinder division and grow into modified or super late model drivers. You become part of the family for many race teams.”
At the end of the night, the group often puts on Hooker parties.
“We’ve used the parties to calm tempers and show drivers that we’re all in this racing thing together,” Shove said. “We had two sprint car drivers ready to trade blows after a wreck. We separated them and invited each one to our party. That night, they left as friends.”
The Hook plans to cross the Mississippi River for the first time next year. The promoters of the Bristol Dirt Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway requested the services of The Hook for their show on March 15–20.
“Driving an old one-ton truck across the country is not fun,” said Shove. “It was real rough driving from Arizona to Vegas. I guess we’re going have to get a hauler for four one-ton trucks.”
Photo Credit: Melissa Coker
The Outside Groove Director of Photography has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
