The passing away of Bill Rink - Page 3

Todd Hoven · 04-27-2022, 11:36 AM

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.

Carguy49 · 04-27-2022, 11:42 AM

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.

Randall Klein · 04-27-2022, 11:57 AM

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....

tiremaster · 04-27-2022, 12:08 PM

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.

SSDiv6 · 04-27-2022, 12:55 PM

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

J DeForrest · 04-27-2022, 01:25 PM

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."

Greg Hill · 04-27-2022, 01:31 PM

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.

Paul Merolla · 04-27-2022, 01:45 PM

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!

KRatcliff · 04-27-2022, 01:45 PM

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.

Jim Cimarolli · 04-27-2022, 02:18 PM

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

04-27-2022, 11:36 AM	#21
Todd Hoven VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,330 Likes: 889 Liked 720 Times in 151 Posts	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. __________________ Todd Hoven 1035 Stock

04-27-2022, 11:42 AM	#22
Carguy49 VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Fife, Washington Posts: 1,861 Likes: 1,861 Liked 2,298 Times in 612 Posts	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. __________________ Ron McDowell - Did Race Every day is a Gift - Enjoy with family and friends.

04-27-2022, 11:57 AM	#23
Randall Klein Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska Posts: 784 Likes: 45 Liked 317 Times in 66 Posts	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....

04-27-2022, 12:08 PM	#24
tiremaster Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 36 Likes: 0 Liked 8 Times in 4 Posts	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.

04-27-2022, 12:55 PM	#25
SSDiv6 VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Glendale, Arizona Posts: 2,996 Likes: 693 Liked 1,464 Times in 546 Posts	Re: The passing away of Bill Rink Godspeed! My prayers and condolences to the Rink family! God Bless!

04-27-2022, 01:25 PM	#26
J DeForrest Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Ramsey, MN Posts: 112 Likes: 87 Liked 74 Times in 18 Posts	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." __________________ superstock5150@gmail.com Last edited by J DeForrest; 04-27-2022 at 02:28 PM.

04-27-2022, 01:31 PM	#27
Greg Hill VIP Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Louisville , KY Posts: 1,994 Likes: 63 Liked 270 Times in 68 Posts	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. __________________ Greg Hill 4171 STK

04-27-2022, 01:45 PM	#28
Paul Merolla Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Papillion, NE Posts: 597 Likes: 206 Liked 232 Times in 57 Posts	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!

04-27-2022, 01:45 PM	#29
KRatcliff Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 753 Likes: 74 Liked 502 Times in 135 Posts	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.

04-27-2022, 02:18 PM	#30
Jim Cimarolli Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Sulphur Springs Texas Posts: 736 Likes: 118 Liked 155 Times in 44 Posts	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