William "Bill" Kimmel Sr.

William “Bill” Kimmel Sr., 91, of Jeffersonville, died July 30, 2020.
A car processional visitation was Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at Scott Funeral Home, 2515 Veterans Parkway, Jeffersonville. A graveside service with military honors will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Walnut Ridge Cemetery Mausoleum in Jeffersonville.  
He was born on September 13, 1928 in Louisville, and graduated from Hardinsburg High School, before serving his country in the United States Army. He retired from United Technology in 1988 and joined his sons at Kimmel Auto Parts and Kimmel Racing.
He served as President of Clarksville School Board, a Kentucky Colonel, and a member of the Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was a three-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series in the 1970s, father of series veterans and champions Bill and Frank Kimmel and grandfather of current drivers Will and Frankie Kimmel, He drove his first race in 1949 at Sportsdrome Speedway in Jeffersonville and raced for a living from the 1950s through the 1980s, winning more than 500 feature races and 12 track championships throughout the Midwest. In addition to driving in MARC/ARCA Series races for four decades, he was a consistent winner in the rough and tumble open wheel sprint cars of that time period.
Survivors include his six children, Thom Kimmel and wife Cathy, Highland, Ind., Penny Henderson and husband Don, McDonough, Ga., Bill Kimmel and wife Pam, Sellersburg, Jamie Upchurch and husband Mike, Pensacola, Fla., Kimberly Meadors and husband Larry, Jeffersonville, and Frank Kimmel and wife Donna, Sherrills Ford, NC; 18 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Mabel Kimmel; parents, William Frank and Catherine Kimmel; daughter, Patty Zahnd; grandson, Norman Lantrip; granddaughter, Brook Deatrick; and his five sisters.
Memorial contributions can be made in his memory to Bill Kimmel Sr.’s Young Racer’s Safety Fund.  http://www.youngracerssafetyfund.com. Envelopes will be available at Scott Funeral Home, which handled the arrangements.