[bgardner2]

I am overwhelmed by the out pouring of support. My brother and I grew up in putnamville and went to the races as kids. It was some of my fondness memories of my big brother bill. He loved this sport and he loved being at all the tracks with who he called his big brother Bryan. I appreciate Bryan H for all he has done with my big brother. Again thank you all for your kind words it has helped.

[PJ Wright]

In 2000 I saw my first ever traditional sprint car race during a vacation trip to Indiana and I was hooked. As soon as I got back to SC I began to search for all the info I could find about that kind of racing and I soon found USACfans.com. For the first time ever I signed up to post on a forum or message board of any kind. Of course the original site was replaced by IOW and I continued to enjoy it daily.
I do have other interests and those things do have forums and since that first time years ago, I've posted on other subjects on other sites. But gradually over time I stopped posting anywhere other than here.
So what was the difference between here and every other forum?
Bill was. The way he administered this site. The way he allowed it to flow and for people to present different opinions...but within clearly defined and enforced limits. The way he brought things back into perspective when people would get focused on trivial matters. Bill was the difference and I, along with MANY others, are going to greatly miss that.
Pete Wright
Greenville, SC

[sprintcar64]

I first met Bill in I believe it was 1996 at Putnamville. He and his brother were there watching and came up to our pit, I was working on my brother's car at the time, he introduced himself and our friendship began. It encompassed him coming and hanging around, to helping in the pits, to eventually working with us at Dynamite Racecars when the shop was at Red Hayden's in Coatesville, In. Everytime I was at the same place as Bill I made it a point to seek him out to at least say "hey". I haven't been to too many races the last few years so I had not seen Bill for a while. But I was able to keep track of all things Indiana Open Wheel through this site.

The Williams family offers our deepest condolences to Shondra and the rest of the Gardner family.

[Tumey's 55]

Below is an article Brett Bowman authored about Bill for the Kokomo Tribune.

BOWMAN: Gardner knew how to live life 07/30/2014

What is it about dirt track racing that makes me drop nearly everything and everyone around me to witness a race?

The answer to that question is, well, I don’t really have an answer.

There is the obvious reason — that racing on dirt is without a doubt the best racing found anywhere. But the thing that makes it all the more special is the folks you come in contact with night in and night out at the different tracks.

I’ve been fortunate in my life to know some very good people, but I’d say most of the kindest, nicest folks around are ones I’ve met at the race track.

One such person was a gentleman from the southwestern part of the state named Bill Gardner.

I knew of him through his website, Indiana Open Wheel. A few years back at the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Awards Banquet, I realized that he was fighting cancer.

As fate would have it, Bill and I both received awards at that particular banquet and we got the opportunity to banter back and forth during the picture-taking following the ceremony. In the months that followed, I was asked by a racing magazine to do an article on Bill and his fight.

It was during one of the first conversations with him that I realized that this guy wasn’t going to just lay down and let the dreaded disease take away what life he had remaining. No, he was looking it straight in the eye and fighting like hell to beat it.

Sadly, for those who knew him and in a lot of cases, those who knew of him, the fight came to an end Monday morning when he left this earth.

Although I rarely visit IOW these days, what Bill provided was a forum for fans from across the country to go and voice their opinions on just about anything open-wheel related. He would step in and moderate when a wire was getting personal, always sort of a behind-the-scenes referee.

Although I imagine I spoke to Bill only a handful of times, there would be the friendly nod when you would pass him in the pits or grandstands. The cool thing is that during our too few conversations he taught me lessons about life without realizing that’s what he was doing.

Listening to him talk about his battle and how he lived life to the fullest taught me a lot of things.

But mostly it taught me about one man’s courage and his will to live with death looming larger each and every day.

[Kansasdirtfan]

I didn't meet Bill until last year at LPS, 4th of July weekend. There were quite a few around him, so I just introduced myself and picked up my IOW tshirt that he was holding for me. Before that and since, we exchanged a couple of PMs, and learned that we both have had experience in the graphics industry. That was the extent of my relationship with Bill. So, did I know Bill? No, not really. Not like so many on here who have been close to him for so many years. Then why is it that I feel such a profound sense of loss? I think there are a couple of reasons. One is that he provided me with a link to the pasttime I truly enjoy: open wheel dirt racing. Without that link, we in this flyover state would miss out on much of what happens in midget, sprint car and Silver Crown racing. But the other, more important reason is that through this vehicle that he so masterfully created, nurtured and managed (firmly but fairly, I might add), I've become acquainted with, and even friends with like-minded people with whom I would have otherwise never come into contact. As I read the many posts to this and other threads, that's the one thing that is most apparent to me...the number of friendships that have been built simply through a web site. I wonder if Bill ever anticipated that when he created Indiana Open Wheel. No, I didn't know Bill, but I miss him just the same.

My condolences to Bill's family and his myriad friends.

[Hot Rod K.]

Bravo! Mr. Nikkel!

[Jerry Spencer]

21910 the man touched us all.

Jerry #66j

[2fast4u]

Rip bill! You will be missed by many!!

[Mrs G]

There's so much that I've wanted to say this week but this is what I can muster at this time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, comments and memories!

He never stood before a crowd
Behind a sacred desk,
But when it came to goodness
He rose above the rest.
He was a good man.

A book he never authored,
Nor a sermon did he preach;
Yet one task failed by others
He found that he could reach.
He was a good man.

He never sought attention
And knew no wide acclaim,
And many knew so well his smile
That never knew his name.
He was a good man.

His kind is not seen too much today.
His type becometh rare,
The ones who mingle truth with love
And character with care
He was a good man.

Great crowds will never throng to his grave
Great memories to share;
Yet those who knew him best will say,
'A good man resteth there.'
He was just a good man.

[JDONAMO]

RIP Bill Gardner