Illinois Region sadly loses great competitor

[Tom Shapiro]

It was with great sadness that we found out yesterday that Bill Braun passed away after a long battle with cancer. Bill's indomitable spirit refused to let the disease prevent him from doing the thing he loved so much, race Vipers. Bill drove in every event we had this past year, attended VOI-7, and even drove in the last Viper Club go kart race we had in October. He was a tough competitor. Auto cross, drag strip, road course, didn't make a difference. He was the man to beat. Bill was a quiet guy, never said much until he said "thanks" when you handed him his trophy. We all knew his family because they came to every event with him. They shared and supported his passion. All of us in the Illinois Region VCA extend our deepest sympathies to Bill's wife Denise and daughters Kim and Michelle.

Tom Shapiro
Illinois Region VCA
Performance Driving Director

Funeral Arrangements:
Wake; Thursday and Friday 3-9pm
Salerno's Rosedale Chapel
450 W. Lake St
Roselle. IL, 60172
630-889-1700

Saturday:
St. Luke Lutheran Church
260 N. Northwest Hwy
Park Ridge, IL, 60068
10:00 a.m. Visitation
11:00 a.m. Service
Interment- Ridgewood Cemetery
Luncheon immediately following

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Sympathies from Florida.

 

[Paolo Castellano]

I am very sad to hear this, it seemed he was doing so well. I will miss him a lot. He was a hell of a nice guy and a great driver both on the road course and at the autocross. I remember chasing after him many times to only have him putting more and more distance between us! One of my favorites was when he raced his wife at the drag strip, him in his ACR and his wife in her yellow with black stripes. He smoked her badly! When I mentioned to him that he did not take it easy on her, he grinned and said, "Nope!" He was always such a good competitor and I will always have good memories of Bill. Paolo

 

[Viperrick]

It is with great sadness that I reply to this post, as our entire club lost a great friend. Bill was a competitor but one who exhibited great sportsmanship. His passion was competing in the Triple Crown Challenge where he came so close to winning it a few times. It would have been easy for him to throw in the towel at years end (due in part to his battle with cancer)but, he was always back the following spring with with a renewed determination to win it that year. Bill was probably the second person to send in his deposit for a Competition Coupe. Early last year he attended the Panoz driving school to get his competition license. A week later he went back to Atlanta to compete in a wheel to wheel race. He was so excited when he got a chance to drive the Comp Coupe down in Nashville. Regretfully his condition seemed to have gone down hill from that point. I as well as other club members, will miss him.

 

[cstegall]

God Bless Bill and his family. Our prayers are with them at this time.

CStegall

 

[JWALK35]

Bill was a great guy,easy to talk to and a hell of a competitor. You would have never known he was sick by the way he competed. He will be missed. Our sympathies go out to his family. Jim Barb Walker

 

[SVS Turbo]

Bill was calm and smooth(on and off the racetrack)and always carried a smile. It was a great pleasure to have shared good times with Bill. Ever since I knew him he always had a feeling about him that was inviting, comfortable and peaceful. Our prayers go out to the family. We will all miss ya Bill.

Do not forget......Your a great guy ED!

Ron Misjak Jr.

 

[TOOOFST]

Anyone would consider Bill a friend after meeting him,i'm truly sorry for the loss.

 

[KIKNVPR]

Like many of you, I was saddened to hear the news about Bill and have shed some tears. He was one of the good guys, and will be deeply missed by all. It seemed like almost yesterday that a group of 20 of us went go-carting, and were banging fenders and running each other off the track.

Bill was a friend to many of the IL VCA, and had his priorities straight. First and foremost was his family, who came with him to all of the VCA events. The Braun family always were a delight to hang around with, including his wife Denise, two daughters, and father in law Ed. The family always volunteered to help at events with timing, scoring, set-up, etc. I remember one year at Gingerman Raceway, it must have been 95 degrees in the timing tower, yet they slaved up there all day long till the event was over. As a family, they had been doing this for at least 4 years. They frequently offered to baby sit our daughter so that we could participate in events. The Brauns are a class act.

Bill Braun was a great driver, won many trophies, and kicked major butt in his stock acr. At an autocross several years ago, he beat ALL cars, including modified and hopped up Vipers.
After attending a Panoz school last year, Bill was so excited, he then competed and excelled in two wheel to wheel panoz races. Bill went on to order a competition coupe, and had hoped to race it this coming year. His dream was cut short.

Bill was only 51.

We will alll miss him.

Seth and Michal Palatnik.

 

[Tom Shapiro]

Bumping this back up so members can get the arrangement information. Thanks to all of you who have responded. Denise had this post printed out and displayed on the picture board at the wake. It meant alot to the family.

 

[viperkurt]

When I heard the news about Bill I was in disbelief. I knew he was fighting cancer, but it was hard to tell because he was always so darn fast on the track. I've been racing with the IL VCA for 6 years now and Bill has been there as long as I can remember. Two years ago I finally made enough modifications to my Viper that put me into the "prepared" class where I actually got to compete against Bill directly. I was truly concerned about being competetive against him because he always seemed to either place first or second. He was intimidating because he was always so quiet and confident. He would smile and speak to you, but was always reserved too. I looked up to him and strived to be as good a driver as him.

I remember 3 years ago I wound up running a drag race side-by-side with him at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet. He was in his Viper GTS and I in my RT/10. I knew I had no chance since he had a much better car with more horsepower, better suspension, and lighter. My thoughts were that even though we were not in the same class at the time, I expected to race him full out. I learned a very important racing lesson from him that day that helped me later to win the Triple Crown. That day when the light turned green I nailed it! We both ran side by side for a short while when I notice I started to pull ahead. I thought, "wow, I think I have a chance!" I ran my Viper right up to the 6000 rpm redline and banged the next gear. I slowly kept pulling ahead. I could hear Bill shifting his Viper short, maybe around 4000 rpm or so. I could not figure out why he would do such a thing! He was letting me win. I should have known better.

Well, letting me win was not the case at all. He was running his car for consistency, not speed. Bracket racing is about setting the E.T. you predict and that is hard to do when you spin wildly off the line and spin even more each time you bang another gear. As I recall, he won his class again that day and I did not! Since that day I have used his technique for bracket racing and it has served me well.

My condolences to the Braun family. He will be missed.

Kurt Billhartz

 

[dblankenbaker]

Kurt, that story is too funny! Wasn't that the year that we practiced, practiced, practiced, at Route 66... dialed in our times... and then they sprayed down the VHT right before our main event?? EVERYONE of us "broke out" of our dial-in because of the newly sticky launch pad... everyone except Bill Braun, that is. Your story finally explains why he didn't break out!

My most vivid memory of Bill was at "The Longest Day" a couple years ago. 3 or 4 people were tied going into the last event: the drag race. When it was all over, we had a two way tie between Bill Sampognaro and Bill Braun. We double-checked and triple-checked the scoring... yes, we had a tie. Bill Sampognaro was feeling pretty confident at this point because he knew the first tie-breaker was reaction time, and he had cut a really good light... something like a .510! Well it turns out Bill Braun was 2/1000's quicker off the line!!

I still have this vivid memory of when Bill was announced as the winner of the BIG trophy for The Longest Day Champion... he seemed to be totally surprised. Afterwards, he asked "Are you sure you got the numbers right for the drag race? I don't think I did that well." I assured him that we double-checked and triple-checked the scoring, and ALL the tie-breakers for that matter and he was indeed the winner.

I sure do miss him.

 

[BarbaraAnn]

My deepest sympathies to Bill's wife. I lost my own shining star a little over a year ago. One thing that has brought me a measure of comfort is the knowledge that a man who has interests and enthusiasms enjoys life a lot more than one who doesn't. Maybe it's a little easier to give him up, knowing his glass was full...not half-full...certainly not half-empty. Good memories are a blessing indeed.

 

[GaryA]

My sincere condolences to the family--sounds like a hell of a guy.

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Our sincere Condolences to Bill's family.

 

[Viperrick]

Considering that the forecast was for snow throughout the day (yesterday)I thank all the club members who made it a point to come out with their Viper for the procession at Bills funeral. Kurt Billhartz drove up from St. Louis and I hope he and Peggy made it back safely before the storm hit. Diane and the family deeply appreciated the strong showing by club members as the organization was near and dear to Bills heart. We will miss him.

 

[Forged Horsemen]

As a fellow IL region VCA member I can say that he was a very quite and nice person. Always took the time to talk Vipers with me and share his passion for racing. He was also a great competitor and racer. My condolences go out to his wife and family. He will be missed.

 

[ViperGTS]

Denise:
My sincere condolences to you and your family.
We met in January 2002 in Detroit and during VOI7.
Markus