Jim Schleis:
CLASS OF 1980
Lincoln High SchoolClass of 1980
Manitowoc, WI
Wilson Junior High SchoolClass of 1977
Manitowoc, WI
Franklin Elementary SchoolClass of 1970
Manitowoc, WI
Jim's Story
the moday after graduation i started working full time at my fathers auto repair shop.i always had a interest in racing,you can ask some of the guys from the football team about some of the rides home after pratice,one included my first speeding ticket. at age 23 i started my racing career at 141 speedway,not counting the spectator racing the years before.i won rookie of the year in the mini champ division1984. i got married in 1986 to michelle.i ran champ cars till 1990 when i built a street stock for 141. i fihished 4th in the points and also rookie of the year.141 closed up and i returned to race mini champs at wis.international speedway until 1993. feb.22 1993 we had a daughter shelby.my pride and joy. in 1994.i had to scale back on racing and began racing go karts at elkhart lake.1995 michelle left me for someone else.a year later i was informed my daughter shelby was not mine.a year long court battle and i lost my parental rights to her and would not be able to see her again.so i buried my self into my racing.building and racing a ford pinto mini stock racing at manitowoc and chilton and winning another rookie of the year. then in 1996 i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis ,not a good thing for someone that not only races but was also playing hockey and soccer.but i found medications and diet that have kept me racing but the other sports icould no longer play. in 1998 my father sold his business to radandt equipment and repair and new business was started called lakeshore hydraulis and i started working there,mostly in hydraulic hose repair and manufactering. 141 speedway reopened and i raced mini stocks for the first four years.in 2003 i moved up to the super stock divsion and won many heat races and 2 features to finish 4th in the points and another rookie of the year.in 2004 i won the super stock nationals at 141 and had anther good year.in 2005 i moved up to the mid american division,500horsepower and so much fun to drivei won the feature the 2nd night of racing..in 2006 i was married to lisa,the love of my life on the track at 141.my arthritis had gotten worse so i had to quit work at lakes...Expand for more
hore hydraulics and start work at bumper to bumper selling auto parts. in 2007 i finished second in the points.2008 bad luck hit us often and finished 6th in points.2009 was a tough yera off the track.lisa miscarried in april.a big blow to both of us.we both wanted a chid in the worse way.the race season started in may and we won the first feature of the year. about a week later my mom passed out at walmart and fell on the back of her head.she was in the hospital for several weeks and getting worse.sat.morning june 13 they had my whole family come to the hospital to decide if we should take off my moms life support. my dad said they had talked at one time and mom would not want to live like this.so we decided to take it off after the weekend on monday,but first take her off all the drugs they had her on. my favorite place in the world in behind the wheel of a racecar.my sisters and sister in laws said i should'nt race tonight.but thats were i had to,but be mostly for my dad. he needed to get his mind on something other than mom for awhile.so we went to the track and won the feature that night.sunday morning we all went to the hospital in green bay to show mom the trophy. to our surpise mom was awake,somewhat alert and said oh you won another feature. mom's doing well now.damn doctors and their drugs. august 1 we won another feature. it wasnt a bad year at the track. about 3 weeks after the season ended lisa tells me she is not happy and is leaving me.i was heart broken and then find out later she was seeing someone else since late july.i was in pretty bad shape for months and i am just starting to feel like myself again. i'm still racing but not to often,but looking at getting back to it next year.maybe limited late model. the best thing that has happened this year is i have reconneted with shelby,i had not seen her in 13 years and saw here at her grandfathers funeral. we talked and now e-mail each other and she watches me race at kakauna. life is great ,some times it sucks,but there's always something better around the corner.some times you just have to wait for it.
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