FASTER PASTOR

Meet Don Wickstrum - he's the Pikes Peak chaplain spreading a message of hope... with the help of an old LMP3 car

- GREG POTTS

Don Wickstrum loves cars. Within five minutes of meeting, we’re onto the subject of what he has in the garage. Or rather, garages.

The non-exhaustive list includes a 1934 Ford Model A, a 1957 Mack B61 truck, a 750bhp Audi 90 that runs on ethanol, an E34 BMW M3 drift car, a 1946 Dodge that’s now a ratrod with a 600bhp Cummins 4BT engine in it in tribute to Don’s uncle Joe, a 1972 Ford Bronco and a 2000 Ford F-150 Lightning.

Deep breath, because there’s also a 1968 Ford Mustang with an EcoBoost four-pot, a 1955 Ford F-250, a 1964 Ford F-100 with a modern Mustang GT350 5.2-litre Voodoo V8, another Ford F-100 with an electric powertrain, yet another F-100 (this time a 1972 that wears its patina beautifully), a Roush tuned sixth gen Ford Mustang, a 997.2 Porsche 911 Turbo S bought from Copart, a Mercury Cougar that’s awaiting restoration, a Ford Torino, an ex-military Humvee and an F-150 Raptor daily. There’s also the excellently named ‘Holy Smoke’ for competitive tractor pulling.

Oh, and his son owns a 1957 Ford F-150 and his daughter a 1964 ice cream truck that acts as a summer earner and is fitted with a Cummins 6BT 5.9-litre in-line six. “It’s rapid,” says Don excitedly.

Despite all that we’re not here to talk road-going creations. We’re not even really here to talk about the modified Riley LMP3 racecar that you see on these pages (although more on that later). We’re at Blackhawk Farms Raceway right on the border between Wisconsin and Illinois, and we’re here to talk about Don, otherwise known as the Fastest Pastor.

Rather aptly, the rain is falling biblically onto the tin garage roof. Bad news for Don’s day of testing, but great news for TG as after just a couple of sodden laps he’s forced to give up bedding in a new fuel system and has to spend his morning talking to me. Luckily, Don is a very good talker.