John Auxter

1929 - 2022

News story
By Mark Zaborney
Blade Staff Writer

LINDSEY, Ohio - John Auxter, a fifth-generation farmer, who raced sprint cars for decades and received honors for his performance and longevity, died Tuesday at home in Sandusky County's Washington Township. He was 93.

He'd been in declining health, but the cause was not known, his nephew Chris Michael said.

He tilled his fields this spring. And he was present Oct. 30 as the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame honored him 50 years after he was super sprint/super modified champion at the speedway and honored the 2022 champion in that class, Craig Mintz.

He was aware that the 50th anniversary would be commemorated and told his niece, Beth Schlea, in June, "'I know I'm going downhill. I just want to make it to October.'

"He made it. That's what kept him going until October," she said. "The racing community was his family."

On social media, the hall of fame noted that Mr. Auxter was one of the first drivers to compete at Fremont Speedway in 1951.

"Besides his nine career feature wins at Fremont Speedway, he was the 1972 track champion. He has competed at over 200 different racetracks during his career, including the sands of Daytona Beach," the hall of fame post continued. After his death, the hall of fame posted, "We remember John Auxter as a Fremont Speedway legend and were honored to celebrate his championship recently."

He was a 2009 Fremont hall of fame inductee.

Jim Linder got to know Mr. Auxter as a childhood race fan and became a friend and competitor on the track.

"We started going to the races when we were kids, in 1957, and Johnny Auxter was one of the racers there," said Mr. Linder, who owns Linder's Speed Equipment, which sells race car parts. "We would go to the pit area after the race. He was one of the guys who would talk to the kids. That was a big deal back then. Going to the pit area was as much fun as watching the races.

"He was as honest as the day is long. When he was out on the track, you never heard of him bumping into anybody. He may have been a little too careful in that respect," he said. "I got to race against John Auxter. What an honor. I stepped on a lot of toes, but not Johnny. When that guy walked into the room, everybody stood at attention."

Mr. Auxter earned wide respect as he continued racing into his 60s. He also was an inductee of the Little 500 Hall of Fame at Anderson Speedway in Indiana.

"What made him so successful was he was so dedicated," said Mr. Michael, who for 18 years raced one of his uncle's cars. "He said you got to eat, breathe, and live racing. He did everything himself. He built the motors. It was the adrenaline rush and the friendship."

Mr. Auxter was born March 29, 1929, to Geneva and Emerson Auxter. He was a 1948 graduate of Fremont Ross High School, where he played football and basketball and ran track.

Even as a child, he helped out at Auxter Farms. He took over the operation after his father's death in 1974.

"When he came out on the track, they would say, 'Here's the pickle farmer from Lindsey, Ohio, Johnny Auxter,'" Mr. Michael said.

Mr. Auxter had been married briefly and had no children. There are no immediate survivors. He remained close to the children of his late sister, Suzanne Michael - Kurt Michael, Chris Michael, and Beth Schlea, and their children and grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 1-8 p.m. Sunday at the Herman-Karlovetz Funeral Home, Fremont. A hearse from the funeral home will take the body for a last lap at Fremont Speedway starting at 9 a.m. Monday. The family requests friends to join them in the grandstands. Funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. Monday at Ole Zim's Wagon Shed restaurant and banquet hall on State Rt. 590, between Gibsonburg, Ohio, and Fremont. Visitation there will begin at 10 a.m.

The family suggests tributes to the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame.