Bassett Racing Wheel is known throughout the racing world as an undisputed leader in steel racing wheels, but it did not happen overnight. Basset Racing Wheels have over 50 years of experience building wheels exclusively for race cars.
RACING WHEEL PIONEERS
In 1965, Stan Baumel founded Wheel Specialties, Inc. in a small shop in Bassett, Wisconsin (left). Back then, stock car racers didn’t have a racing-specific wheel available. They had to use OEM highway wheels, which were not able to handle the incredible forces generated by a 4,000-pound stock car going through a corner. Stan knew he could build a better wheel and began fabricating wheels for his brother, Larry Baumel, who raced in the NASCAR Grand National divison, now Sprint Cup series.
Stan’s wheels were lighter and stronger than the OEM wheels and by the late 1970’s and early 80’s, top midwestern late model drivers like Dick Trickle, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace were winning races on Bassett Wheels. Word continued to spread South, and soon drivers like Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt (below) started using Bassett Wheels on their short track cars. The newfound popularity in the South led to Bassett entering the NASCAR Winston Cup market in 1987. Alan Kulwicki used Bassett Racing Wheels to record his first career Cup victory at Phoenix International Raceway in 1988. Since then, Bassett Racing Wheels have won multiple Winston (now Monster Energy) Cup, Busch (now Xfinity) Series and Craftsman (now Camping World) Truck Series Championships, including Christopher Bell in 2017.
To keep up with demand and to guarantee a higher level of quality than their competitors could deliver, we built a 10,000 square foot facility in 1992. The building, located in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, was equipped with the most advanced production machinery available. Many of the machines are custom-built and designed specifically for steel race wheel production.
While their founders roots were in pavement racing, Bassett Racing Wheel realized there was a need for a high quality dirt track wheel. Soon after moving into the Twin Lakes facility, Bassett introduced a beaded version of their 15×8 D-Hole Lightweight wheel for the IMCA, WISSOTA and UMP dirt modified markets. Weighing only 16-pounds, it was the first dirt track racing wheel to use a light but strong CNC spun form rim shell.
CONTINUED GROWTH
NASCAR success and dirt track sales growth led to a need for more wheel components and control of the supply chain. In 1998, Bassett took its rim shell production inhouse by investing in the latest metal spin forming technology. This investment has led to significant improvements in component consistency and production efficiency.
After one expansion at their Twin Lakes facility doubled the space, continued sales growth fueled a need for an even larger facility in 2001 and built a state-of-the-art plant in Burlington, Wisconsin that measures 50,000 square feet.
The extra space allowed Bassett to add second and third metal spinning lines, two more wheel welding lines, an in-house powder coat paint line, chrome finishing and additonal warehouse inventory. Today, Bassett Racing Wheel stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of technology, quality and customer service.
Bassett proudly manufactures all its products in Burlington, Wisconsin from domestically-sourced raw materials.
WHEEL OPTIONS:
15″ D-HOLE LIGHTWEIGHT BEADLOCK WHEELS:
15 x 9.5 5-SPOKE NASCAR / ARCA SFI 35.2 WHEEL
15 x 8 EXCEL IMCA/WISSOTA WHEEL
For more information, visit www.bassettwheel.com