I would just like to share with my friends the euology that I read at my great friend Brian Healey's funeral after his passing 1 year ago to this day.....

Sometimes in this life we are fortunate to meet people with such interesting histories, personalities and idiosyncrasies that any writer creating such characters would be told they were too improbable to ever be believed. Brain Healey was one of them!

When I received that ill fated phone call to tell me that our good mate Brian had passed away, a shocked empty feeling come over me. Like everyone else in this room today, I couldn’t believe our good mate was gone, never to be able to give us that good natured “ribbing or balling out”, as only Brian could.

As the phone calls of disbelief came pouring in from all over the world the memories of a man that had influenced so many came flooding back.

Whether good or bad, harsh or sincere, the underlying factor was that Brian had an extraordinary influence on many people.

Brian Healey was born in Sydney, Australia on the 13th September, 1944.

The son of Les and Katherine Healey. Brian went to school in Leichardt and left at the age of 16 to commence his apprenticeship in panel beating. From there he went on to be a tow-truck driver in the “rough and tumble” years of the tow-truck business.

Back in them days to win a job you had to be the first driver to a scene, or fight your way to winning the job, and Brian was good at both.

I’ve been told many a story of Brian getting to a job second but by the time the fighting was over Brian had won the job and the fight of course!

That’s how he met Pat Cole. “Coley” as Brian affectionately called him, had beaten Brian to a job and declared it “as his”. Coley yelled from inside the tow-truck that this particular job was his. Brian disagreed. Brian calmly walked over to Coley’s truck, leant in the window and popped him right in the nose. With blood streaming from his nose, Coley let Brian have the job. Coley has always been a pretty smart man and he didn’t want to deal with this type of situation again – so he gave Brian a phone call. “We need to talk”, he told Brian, …”let’s be mates!”

Suffice to say they have been mates ever since and have enjoyed countless great moments together.

Unfortunately Pat could not be here today, but he wanted to let everyone know how much he wanted to be here and to pass on his best wishes to Brian and his family.

Brian’s passion outside of business was Speedway.

He started off racing Street Rods, in the 60’s at Westmead. Then Stock Cars at the Sydney showground and Liverpool tracks, and in Brian’s words, “had some fun!”

Brian once told me, “We didn’t always win the races but we didn’t lose a fight”.

The ‘we’ was he and his brother Lyle. I’ve been told if Brian wasn’t fighting other competitors he was fighting his brother Lyle. The common theme was the Healey boys loved to fight.

Brian was a good racer in his own right. In 1973, Brian finished 3rd in the Australian Sedan Title.

Brian first went to visit America in 1973, to watch speedway racing. He fell in love with the place and moved here in 1974. He has been here ever since!

In 1978 he met a driver called Steve Kinser and a guy named Ted Johnson who went on to create the World of Outlaws.

As we all know Brian developed a strong friendship with the Kinser family – a friendship that has stood the test of time.

Steve Kinser was Brian’s speedway hero and more importantly his Mate. Brian proudly told me that he helped organize every tour Steve was involved in down in Australia, something he was very proud of.

Brian developed good friendships with many of the Outlaw organizations people, and one year drove the pace car from track to track, a year Brian tells me was one of the best of his life.

He fondly told me of the times he spent with his mate Karl Kinser, or 'Bluey' as he called him and of the wild times they had travelling from city to city on the outlaw tour.

In the 1970’s Brian started a tow-truck business in California with Barry and Vivienne Lewis. Brian and Barry affectionately referred to each other as ‘Brother’ and their friendship remained solid forever. Barry injured himself at Calistoga and eventually moved back to Australia with his family.

Brian stayed on and built his tow-truck business into one of California’s biggest. Brian attributes much of his success at Carriage to his good friend and buddy Bob Spence. Brian often commented on how much he had learnt from working with Bob.

He met his girlfriend Sherrie, some twenty years ago and as the story goes they have lived happily ever after to this day. Through his relationship with Sherrie, Brian became a proud, but strict father to Courtney, Brandon and April.

I met Brian in August 2001. He had just purchased Sydney’s Parramatta City Raceway with his partner Bob Spence. He invited me up to the track to see what he was doing and sell him a website.

As we drove from the airport to the track I could tell Brian was feeling me out, asking questions, seeing what I knew about Sprintcar racing and working out if I was as passionate about Sprintcars as he was.

He liked the fact I knew Peter Murphy, an Aussie in the USA that Brian looked on like a son. Brian had hooked Pete up with his mate Steve and he knew he was headed for bigger things within the sport of Speedway.

When we got to the track he drove me around the facility telling me what grand plans he had for the place. As we got near the pits there were some guys working with jack-hammers breaking up a concrete pad. Brian went on to tell me that they had put the pad six feet to the right of where he wanted it, and he was having it removed and done again. The moral of the story was, if Brian wanted something done – he wanted it done the way he said and if it wasn’t, he would go to whatever lengths necessary to make sure it was.

When I got back to my office I wrote a story about how when Brian wanted something done, you had to get it done exactly how instructed or else suffer the consequences!

Some four weeks later I accepted a job offer from Brian to work at the raceway. Brian and I had similar philosophies but at times our ideas differed. We would argue the point, Brian would listen, but at the end of the conversation he would instruct me how he wanted things done. Sometimes we agreed, sometimes we didn't but the bottom line was – Brian would tell me what he wanted done and I made sure I carried out his instructions. I had learned a valuable lesson the first time I met Brian, I didn’t need jack-hammers breaking down every project we started!

In 2002 Brian grew more and more frustrated with the Sprintcar situation in Australia. He would bring out his great mate “the King” to race in Australia only to be told by the Sprintcar organization that they had to have a different engine and that certain components would need to be changed.

Brian couldn’t see the sense in this and told me were going to do something about it. He talked about bringing 410ci engines into Australia for some time. He pleaded his case to the powers that be, but he felt his ideas were falling on deaf ears.

Then one day just before he was about to board a plane to the USA, he calmly walked into my office and told me he had just called Bob Tunks, the Sprintcar Association President and told him we were going 410’s next year – then he calmly walked out and caught a plane to the USA.

As you can imagine, all hell broke loose in Australia and there were howls of protests from all over. Brian knew what he was doing and he knew this was the only way to do it.

Suffice to say Brian’s decision has been vindicated by the huge growth in Australian Sprintcar numbers ever since. Brian had proved himself a true visionary and a ‘doer’, not just a ‘talker’.

Once 410’s were in, Brian told me the next step was getting a World of Outlaws race Downunder. We began negotiations with Ted Johnson and some 12 months later we announced the Outlaws Downunder event.

This was easily the biggest announcement in the history of Australian Sprintcar racing and a feat many said wouldn’t come to fruition.

It did, Brian was a man that knew how to make things happen!

I remember watching Brian’s face as we unloaded the first container of Outlaw cars in Australia. He was very proud of what he had achieved and what he had brought to the Australian fans.

The racing was sublime and the after-race party was just as good. In fact the party back at the Mercure Hotel and the ‘Sides BBQ’ became folklore around the Speedway circles.

Brian was very savvy when it came to technology and he kept in touch with many of his friends through instant messenger and ‘Healeyman’ as he was known, always had the latest gadgets.

Brian had all the one liners!

“Just doing my exercises matey” he would proclaim while moving two fingers!

“I’ll put that on yer tab!”

“Going off like a fart in a church!”

“If only we sold one more hot dog!”

…and his favourite.

“If its free, it’s for me!”

Since the birth of Brian’s grand-daughter Alyssa, those of us close to him noticed a marked change in his demeanor. Under that hard exterior was a warm hearted doting grand-dad. Brian would proudly tell me of his adventures with the kids and how much he loved Alyssa, Brady and Mark.

During his trips to Australia he would always visit his mother and see his son Byron and his grandson Will. He loved moments with his family.

Brian’s legacy at Carriage Towing continues on today, with Courtney, Brandon, April and the rest of the crew looking after things. I feel confident it will continue on – just how he wants it.

Brian you were a one and only!

Rest assured Healeyman, you may be gone from this earth but you will never be forgotten.

As Brian would say “Glad you got to see me!”

Brian proudly standing in front of the cars he imported into Australia for the 1st Outlaws Downunder

Some of cars and parts for Outlaws Downunder

Brian Healey, Sammy Swindell 'The King' Steve Kinser, Joey Saldana and me.

Aussies enjoying the Outlaws Downunder... Thanks to Brian Healey!

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