Oct. 6--Former drag racing enthusiast Greg Wisler, Goshen, spent the last five years rebuilding a 24-year-old Pontiac that he took to the Bonneyville Salt Flats in Utah this summer and ran more than 220 miles per hour.

Wisler, who retired as a mechanic with Northern Indiana Public Service Co. two years ago, says he "has always been in a garage," following in the footsteps of his late father, Henry Wisler.

Years ago Greg raced drag racing cars and also go-karts, but racing got expensive. He made many good friends in racing, though, and some of those friends came together to help him complete the Pontiac Trans-Am project.

Jim Mikel, owner of Performance Technology, Wakarusa, developed the 371 cubic inch engine that makes nearly 800 horsepower, and Niles businessman Neil Hanneyck provided paint for the car.

New Paris friend Kevin Miller was also part of the "pit crew" and drove with Greg, sharing the driving, to Utah for the high-speed runs.

Greg explained he first visited the Salt Flats when returning from a family visit in Canada with his wife of 25 years, Ann. He has been to Bonneyville four or five times, he said, and learned something on each visit.

"Everyone there will answer questions and tell you what they are doing," he said, rather than keeping their speed tricks a secret.

Several years ago he acquired the very clean 1984 Trans-Am and over the past five years has been building it according to the rules followed in the Bonneyville contests.

"I thought the lines were good. The car is aerodynamic," Wisler said.

The classes are set according to engine size, he explained, and fuel used. The Trans-Am is run in the C Gas Coupe class, burning high-octane gasoline through a four-barrel carburetor.

"They sell you the gas (at Bonneyville). It is $14 a gallon," he explained.

Prior to running the car at Bonneyville, Greg traveled in June to a former airstrip near Maxton, N.C., at an event sanctioned by the East Coast Timing Association. At Maxton, he said, the car ran a best of 154 miles per hour.

"Nothing fell off," he said of the initial runs. But he describes the ride as rough and very noisy.

Wisler explained that at Bonneyville, there are about 500 enthusiasts who run vehicles in August, and the entries are about 200 in September. He and his crew ran the car in the September event.

Wisler explained that after paying the entry fee, he had to earn his "license" by making gradually faster runs across the salt flats. He first ran 125 mph, then 150 and then 175, before he was allowed to run on "the long course."

In a total of six runs on the salt, the car had a best time with 222 miles per hour. And the record in that class is 225.9.

Wisler said that after calculating the engine RPM and gear ratios, he thought the car should have even run faster than it did. He attributed the slower speed to tire slippage on the salt surface. He said the car was spinning its wheels at 220 miles per hour.

"I wish I could have made another run," Wisler said.

He now has a goal of joining the "200 mile per hour club" at Bonneyville. To do so, he must break the record for his class, then back that run up with a second one the following day.

"There have been 6,500 people who climbed Mount McKinley," he said, but fewer than 300 people are in the 200 mph club at Bonneyville.

Wisler said he plans to make another trip to North Carolina yet this fall to run the car there before "tearing it apart" down to the body and roll cage. He said the engine will go back to Mikel, who has some ideas he wants to try. He has his eyes on the record at Maxton this fall.

Wisler explained he gets as much satisfaction in working on the car as in driving it.

"It has been the project of my life," he said, admitting to spending thousands of hours with the car.

But part of the time he said, he was "just sitting and looking at it," or working on it with the help of his young grandchildren. The car is stored at the Jefferson Township home of his daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Roger Bell. He explained he built a 40-by 40-foot building at their C.R. 18 property to house his car project.

The 1962 Goshen High School graduate enjoys traveling, as well as spending time with his grandchildren. But he has a goal of running at Bonneyville "one more time. I'd like to set the record and race one more time," he explained last week.

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