The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Bill Rink a very good friend of mine has passed away in his sleep TIE (tear in Eye)

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Terrible to see this, Bill was getting ready for the season. Great Guy with a real personality, as many of you know. This is really an awakening, praying for Bill and his family. Bill was always interesting to talk to at the races and would always give you a hand if you needed some help. Talked to him last at Beech Bend last year, mostly about our Vietnam experiences, we really had a good conversation. R.I.P. old friend!!!

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Between losing Unk, and now, Rink my heart just hurts. I loved conversing with Bill, never a dull moment. RIP, my friend.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Sad news hearing of Bills passing,such a character, great stories and wasnt afraid to say whats on his mind.You will be missed Wild Bill. Condolences to the Rink family. Godspeed my friend

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

RIP

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

A few years ago I had the pleasure of pitting near Bill and it was a weekend I will not forget. He was an amazing American and a Great Racer and gone way too soon. RIP Bill Rink......

Gary Merrick
3522 Stock

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

A real Class Racer! He spent hours and funds to make his car the best in class. But it was when the racing was done for the day that Bill was at his best. Bill was a proud American that made you laugh and think!
GOD Speed

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

RIP Bill. I'm thankful I was one of the countless many you entertained with your wheelstands, eye-popping elapsed times, colorful stories and hilarious commentary.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

RIP

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Another good one gone!!!!!!!

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

RIP my friend!

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You were quite a character Bill. RIP

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A great man, friend and competitor. Prayers for his family...

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This is such sad and unexpected news. Bill was a good friend and one of my best carburetor customers. I will miss his stories of life and racing. He was truly one of a kind. Condolences to his family and R.I.P. my friend.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Last time I saw Bill was at Bowling Green. He was sitting with several racers late one evening. I walked up to them all to say hello. I was wearing a Joe's Crab Shack tee shirt that had a huge round "Peace Sign" on the front of it. He looked at me, thought a second and said " Last time I saw someone wearing one of those was back in the 60's and I kicked the **** out of them" ...LOL.. Whatever that guy thought... he said it, and that's what made him so different. We will miss the heck out of him... RIP Bill, you will be missed..

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Bill was absolutely genuine. Always had great conversations with him about every subject imaginable. I will miss his no BS approach and his friendship. RIP, Bill.

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RIP Mr. Rink.

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What a loss. Met him at Indy a couple of years back when we were pitted in the same row. I'm not sure you will ever meet another racer with his background.....Army Ranger in Vietnam, self made man in the trash hauling business, made that GTO fly in stock, then doing 100 foot plus wheelstands in superstock. Truly enjoyed those talks!

Eric

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

So sorry to hear this. Bill was a great friend and competitor. We spent many enjoyable days and evenings parked next to each other at the races. Bill will be greatly missed.
Garrett Ghezzi

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Barb and I were sorry to hear this news. We always enjoyed visiting with Bill. Condolences.
Sam and Barb Hamod

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

God Speed Bill, I’m honored to have known him and call him a friend. Always loved his stories and visiting with him. A true American, Patriot, and Warrior. The world is a lesser place without him.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Never got a chance to meet Bill. Loved his very fast '74 G.T.O. Always ran his car hard and loved it being a small tire Super Stocker. R.I.P. Bill.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

ouch, that hurts
we tangled in M a few times, but many stories

when the muffler thing was going hot and heavy D5 at Earlville invited about six racers to the tower, D5 director, Bob Frey and a couple of NHRA heavies, they were going on and on about the power increase we could expect, that WJ endorsed them, etc etc....then got into Englishtown noise problems and supposedly some woman "Karen" was causing the Napp's & NHRA grief, we could see Rink starting to boil over, so we kinda edged over to door...well when Bill had enough he jumped up and said NHRA needs better lawyers, and where was the Visitor's Bureau, or send the "hag" to Hawaii for 10 days, or....or....,meeting over.

Soimebody can relate the FireBird lake deal at Phoenix....

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

This is a loss that I have thought about all night since I first heard of it. I am honored to have known Bill for over 20 years and always made it a point to find him or he’d always stop by the truck just to shoot the breeze ( sometimes storm). Really going to miss him. There are a lot of racers I consider friends and he was close to the top of that list.
God Bless.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Godspeed!
My prayers and condolences to the Rink family!
God Bless! :(

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

I am fortunate to have met him and heard many of his great stories. Truly one of a kind. I missed his call last week and hadn't had a chance to call him back yet. For those that talked to him much, a phone call with him could easily go an hour or more. Always ended the call smiling or laughing. Going to miss that. Was looking forward to seeing him and his name at the top of the sheet with his new car he was working on.

Todd had it spot on here: "God Speed Bill, I’m honored to have known him and call him a friend. Always loved his stories and visiting with him. A true American, Patriot, and Warrior. The world is a lesser place without him."

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

They broke the mold when Bill Rink was born. He was definitely one of a kind. I counted Bill a good friend for probably 25 years. If he was your friend he would do anything he could for you and was very loyal. I remember one time when I was looking for some spindles for Andrew’s car to send to Lamb and found some in Chicago. The place that had them was in a not very nice part of town and I could tell Bill was not crazy about going to get them but he did. A 30 mile trip each way and then took them to UPS and had them packed and shipped. That’s the kind of guy he was.

I will always remember our dinners at Al’s steakhouse in Joliet over the years and a lot of lively discussions . Bill was more of a WW2 guy than a Baby Boomer. He was a John Wayne, Randolph Scott kind of guy. Definitely less good stories in our racing community now than before. RIP old friend.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

I first met Bill in Topeka a few years back, when we both realized we were Truck Camper enthusiasts. Loved his stories...especially the one about the pit neighbor he had once that let their dog crap in his pit area and didn't pick it up! That was the weekend I started calling him, "Bad Grampa."
Rest in Peace, BG!

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

If there is a Heaven then I am quite certain Bill is there figuring out his parking spot. If somehow the Devil tried to get between him and the pearly gates then I am absolutely certain that Bill will tell the Devil he didn't bring enough help.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

This is really a sad time for me to have lost my friend Bill Rink. He and I were more than friends, he was like a big brother to me. If you ever had the privilege of going out to dinner or hanging out with Bill you were in for a treat. He could make people laugh and just enjoy the time. That big white smile of his and that sinister laugh was unique to Bill and his personality. As has been mentioned on here many times was that he was a True Patriot. He was as well read as anyone I ever knew. He must have read 3 newspapers each day to know so much about anything that was going on. His car, trailer, tow rig and all of his equipment was always top notch, clean to a point of being immaculate. It was always great to have him as a house guest and to hang out with him while on the road. You will truly be missed Bill, Godspeed and R.I.P

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Glenn Person told me several Bill Rink stories, including how someone started depositing a fake pile of dog poop close to his trailer after that incident just to get him going. Bill certainly set the bar in SS/MA, seems like he won class at Indy over a dozen times with that GTO, the dedication to pull that off speaks volumes. RIP Bill.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

William Virgil Rink …..what a guy ….Couldn’t really believe the sad news this morning. All the comments are spot on, Bill was ONE of a kind. I pitted next to Bill last August at the Bowling Green pts. meet. When I left to go home I had no earthling idea that I wouldn’t see him again. His mom passed away in 2017, and Bill is survived by a brother and sister. He never really mentioned his siblings, I think the majority of his family was at the racetrack …..Godspeed my friend …….

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

RIP Bill

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So sad to hear this, I and some friends met Bill in Scribner Neb one night in 2003/04 while checking out the qualifying sheet. We mostly just listened and laughed for the next couple hours, getting educated about anything we ever wanted to know about. RIP sir! And BTW don't EVER call it (that beautiful GTO) a Nova!

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

This is sad news. Bill was a good friend. We had great visit. Very entertaining. I loved his stories. Condolences to the family.

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Very sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. Good guy. We have known him for over 30 years. RIP. Bobby and Nancy Rashid.

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RIP Bill 🙏🏾🙏🏾

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

I met him at Thunder Valley, Marion, SD 20 some years ago at a IHRA division race. Vietnam stories, LRP team. He "visited' countries we weren't in.....supposedly.

Patriot. Self made man, doing what he loved. Rest in peace, Bill.

#5458

Curt Rees

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

Sorry to hear this. Bill was always kind and supportive and colorful. He will be missed.

Re: The passing away of Bill Rink
 

I am so glad to see the outpouring of love from so many of us for Bill. He had the ability to make a lasting impression on everyone he met. What an amazing guy he was. I could tell stories until I couldn't type anymore. But I am going to miss talking to him on the phone, hearing that laugh, and listening to his oratory in a way I can't describe.