Wayne Vanouck has been involved in motorsports since the 1960s and at the age of 80, he is still an active participant. He was born in Wetaskiwin and graduated from Wetaskiwin Composite High School in 1963. While still a teenager, he was always tinkering with engines and cars. Wayne is being inducted into the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame for his 65-year involvement and achievement in motor sports, specifically drag racing and tractor pull.
Wayne got into drag racing in the early 1960s and because there were always budget considerations in those days, he procured a 410 cubic inch Edsel engine. He bored the engine to 430 cubic inches, polished and ported the heads, and added an Edelbrock cam. He constructed the intake manifold from scratch; a metal box with two four-barrel carburettors on top and neoprene tubes moving the mixture to the heads. He built an A-altered drag car, dropped in the Edsel engine, and raced it at Alberta drag strips.
Wayne partnered with Martin Sjogren in 1968. Marty took the role of crew chief and Vanouck and Sjogren Racing was formed. Helped by their cutting-edge engineering skills, they progressed up the scale, building ever more powerful and professional cars into the 1980s. They had amazing success with their Top Alcohol Dragster, the “Sorcerer,” over those years. In 1984 they acquired enough points to win first place in the world in Top Alcohol Dragster with the American Drag Racing Association. Through 1985 they were able to put number one on their dragster and no one else could use that number. For a small, low budget crew from Wetaskiwin, Alberta to achieve that level against all the well-financed machines in the U.S. and Canada is exceptionally remarkable. They did score some local and international sponsors such as Goodyear and Quaker State which helped. Over the years they collected dozens of trophies in professional drag racing.
What makes Wayne special is he kept Wetaskiwin front and centre throughout his time drag racing in Canada and the U.S. They raced at most of the big NHRA tracks and Wetaskiwin was always displayed prominently on their cars. The announcers introduced them as “That team from Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada." At one big event the announcer said, “Watch out boys, the team from Wetaskiwin is here.”
In the early 1980s, the team decided to build a modified tractor and give tractor pulling a try with their first puller “Sorcerer 2” which has a V12 Packard engine from a PT boat and is still running today. Forty years later they are the largest Pulling Team in Canada, growing the pulling team from one modified tractor to 10, ranging from 1000 to 6000 horsepower. Presently, the 10 units include: two alcohol injected minis named “Temporary Insanity” and “The Sheriff”; two 2WD trucks, “Bad to the Bone” and “Class of 72”; two 4WD trucks, “Maniac” and “Pandimonium”; two modified tractors, “Sorcerer” and “Thunder Road”; a modified diesel tractor, “Up in Smoke” and a four-engine unlimited tractor, “Prairie Outlaw." They have won multiple championships with all 10 tractor pull units. They also own the first self-propelled sled in Western Canada. The sled is what the tractors pull in the competition. Wayne and Marty’s team compete in every class in the pulling league. Wayne still drives from time to time and at a pull in Vermillion in 2024 he came in first place in one of the super minis and over the speakers the announcer said, “Just to let you young guys know, you just got your a***s handed to you by an 80-year-old”! The team attends about six pulls in the summer with a fleet of semi’s transporting their machines.
In 2019 the Wetaskiwin Ag Society built a pulling track and had their first of many pulling events. Because of Wayne’s dedication, focus, expertise and assistance, they dedicated the track to Wayne, naming it “The Wayne Vanouck Motorsports Track” which speaks highly to the respect they have for Wayne and his team. Tractor pulling is about the entertainment of the fans and the show in Wetaskiwin is one of the best in the league. Besides his recognition from the Ag Society, Slicks Motorsports Bar in Wetaskiwin has a mural of Wayne in his dragster and framed pictures of Wayne hang on the walls.
Wayne’s passions for motorsports has been passed on to his family. His daughter Angela is a driver on the pulling team, a member of the pulling league committee and one of the Wetaskiwin Pull organizers. His granddaughter Sarah is also one of the event organizers and attends many of the pulls with the team.
Wayne, Marty and the rest of the team are superstars in the racing business and bring widespread positive attention to our community in Canada and internationally. Vanouck and Sjogren racing, and therefore Wetaskiwin, are known all over North America. They were and are heroes and inspirations to young, up and coming racers in the Wetaskiwin area and the rest of Alberta. The team, led by Wayne, has also become leaders in the pulling community and are as well known for pulling as they are for drag racing. They are still based in Wetaskiwin and continue to give our community widespread notoriety in Western Canada on the pulling circuit.
Because of his achievements, dedication and 65-year involvement in motor sports, Wayne is more than worthy of being inducted into the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame. The Wetaskiwin community is proud of Wayne’s accomplishments and his continued involvement as an octogenarian is a positive example and an inspiration for everyone.
The 2025 Induction Dinner will take place on Saturday, April 5, at the Best Western Wayside Inn Banquet Room in Wetaskiwin. Invitations are open to everyone and banquet tickets are available for purchase at the Wetaskiwin and District Heritage Museum. The deadline for purchasing tickets will be March 29.
