April 1st 2025

Championship engine builder Mark Ray. passes away

The Badger Midget Auto Racing Association community mourns the passing of Mark Ray. Ray was a championship engine builder for the BMARA, but that only scratches the surface of his motorsports experience inside and outside of Badger. He was the father of Robbie Ray; uncle of Davey Ray and brother to Dave Ray, all Badger Midget Series standout drivers.

According to BMARA President Quinn McCabe, “Mark was an important adviser on Badger’s current engine package. His guidance was a great asset to the club.” Ray had several of his engines competing on any given race day within Badger.

Someone who may have traveled to Davenport, Iowa and Ray’s shop, would have greeted by a mountain of a man with a wide smile and a gift for gab. What looked like a dilapidated one and a half car garage, with well worn siding, held a shop full of machining apparatus from wall to wall. There was just enough room to move from device to device.

The walls were as worn inside as out, but a couple of old Ray family racing photos were hung on the wall, with Ray perhaps mentioning he had more to put up.

For a first-time visitor, one might have been lucky enough to hear first-hand all of the stories shared in his obituary as noted below. From there, you might have been told a couple of his trade secrets when it came to building a Badger-legal engine.

He may have mentioned how proud he was to have had his engines vindicated in an off-season inspection by Badger officials a couple of years ago. He contended he welcomed the probe as he was not cheating in any way, but may have found some gray areas within the rule book.

As a conversation continued he may have turned to family including his devotion to his mother with whom he lived. Now in her 90’s, Ray might have begged off a potential racing appointment explaining, “No, that won’t work, I have to take my mother to church at that time.” He’d continue proudly that she was of sound mind, but not as mobile as either of them would like.

Indeed, a trip to Mark Ray's engine shop was one of those experiences that makes participating in motorsports so special.

The following was gleaned from his obituary and is an excellent synopsis of his racing career:

“Mark found his passion early in life following his father into the world of motorsports. As a young boy he idolized his father Ralph, enjoying every minute spent at the stock car races watching his father’s famous #33 entry. One of his favorite childhood memories was attending his first Indianapolis 500 in 1965 with his father, mother and older brother. Together, as a family they witnessed Scotsman Jim Clark win in the first victory for a rear engine car. Mark found his way behind the steering wheel racing go-karts at the age of five alongside his beloved older brother Dave.

Too young to drive, Mark began crewing on the family owned Midget Car in the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association in 1973 helping his brother, Dave, earn Rookie of the Year honors and eventually a 1977 BMARA championship with car owner John Heisdorf. When able to drive midgets himself, Mark found his way to victory lane as a driver a handful of times including at his favorite track to drive, Kankakee Speedway, in Illinois. He gave up his career of driving unselfishly to support his family’s aspirations to seek the United States Auto Club National Midget title in 1985 using his car as a part time entry and back up.

Mark helped guide the family owned Ray Racing Enterprises team, and brother Dave, to a 1981 Midwest Auto Racing Association Championship and two top-five USAC National Midget Championship finishes in 1985 & 1986. This while building the team's engines. He earned his sole USAC National Midget win as a car owner in 1987 in Binghamton, NY with Kevin Olson driving. A feat which Kevin himself never forgot and even noted in his book, “Cages are for Monkeys.” During his run with USAC, Mark hosted a slew of high profile drivers including 1983 Indy 500 winner Tom Sneva, 1996 Indy 500 runner-up Davy Jones and open wheel stand outs Jack Hewitt, Jerry Stone and Bentley Warren.

His most cherished accomplishments came later in life with his son, Robbie, winning the 2000 Winged Three Quarter Midget Association Championship, the 2003 USAC Ford Focus Midget Series Championship and the 2017 Badger Midget Auto Racing Association Championship. The 2017 BMARA Championship stood out to Mark for the fact it came exactly 40 years after his brother, Dave, accomplished the same feat.

Mark found his way to the highest level of motorsports when Mike Teegarden tapped him to work under Mike Devin as an engine tech inspector at the Indianapolis 500 from 1986 to 1997, one of his most cherished accomplishments. For 11 years every single engine that qualified for the Indy 500 ran through his hands.

Mark's greatest motorsports achievements came in support of others racing endeavors. He loved to build racing engines and did so successfully for the majority of his life. His profession as a prototype machinist at the Rock Island Arsenal, for 43 years, honed his skills and he became a master at both trades often being relied on for the most difficult tasks. He incessantly read books on engine building theory and sought advice from others often saying “there are better engine builders out there than me,” showing his humble side.

He was sought by famed IndyCar engine builder Herb Porter and even took time away to work at his shop, Speedway Engines, briefly. He declined Porter’s full time offer fearing the negative impact his family would feel from relocating away from home.

He accomplished the most with the least working out of a run down two car garage at his home while others had large well equipped shops to work in. He was proud of his engine building accomplishments and was winning in that regard as late as the 2024 Badger Midget Auto Racing Association Championship.”

Funeral arrangements:

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 11:00 am at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Davenport. Visitation will be held on Friday, April 4, 2025 from 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM at Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home with additional visitation beginning at 10:00 AM Saturday at church. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery. Luncheon will follow at the church. Memorials may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church.

The complete obituary can be found here: https://www.hmdfuneralhome.com/obituaries/mark-ray

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