For the first time, Billy Pauch, Billy Pauch Jr., and Billy Pauch III raced at the same track, during the same night, last Wednesday. The three paraded around Action Track USA in their cars (SpeedSTRs for Pauch and Pauch Jr., and a junior slingshot for Pauch III) prior to the night’s festivities beginning.
“After that parade lap with the three of us together, I felt I could put my car back in the trailer,” the eldest Pauch said. “My night was made. That lap was more special than winning for me.”
Billy Pauch, of Frenchtown, New Jersey, knows a thing or two about winning. He has more than 600 career victories.
“Family is more important than anything in our lives,” Pauch said. “I never thought when I started racing that this would happen — not at all. I’m pleased with the way things worked out. My son races, and we never pushed him to do so. Now, my grandson wants to race, and we are not pushing him into it. My son and my grandson are like me — they enjoy racing.”
The night provided a thrill for Pauch Jr., too.
“I knew it was a once of a lifetime thing, for the three generations to be a part of the tradition that my family has had for all these years,” said Pauch Jr. “The track knew it was a big deal, and made it into a huge event.”
Leroy Pauch started the family tradition in racing. As Billy Pauch III starts in racing, another Pauch may be getting closer to riding into the sunset.
“I’m done for the year, and I don’t know if I will race next season,” Pauch said. “I got into driving the SpeedSTR to keep my foot in racing. Now, I’ll keep my SpeedSTR for my grandson, when he is ready to drive it.”
Pauch won last Wednesday. He ceded his car to his son on Sunday as Pauch Jr. encountered mechanical issues. Regardless of how the season ended, this past week will remain engrained in their memories.
“I could have retired after Wednesday — it was a once-in-a-lifetime night,” said Pauch. “The only thing cooler would be if my dad was alive to see it.”
Mike Adaskaveg 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.
