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Updated 3/8/21

R.I.P. Bruce Bromme Jr


Celebration of life for Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr's first race car


Andy Gump on display


Paul Jones in a Bromme car


Dean Thompson and Clark Templeman


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr by the trailer


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr


Bruce just watching and waiting


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr many times Mechanic of the Year


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr with a Wagsdash hat on


Bruce Jr with # 50 in the trailer


Bruce Jr and Miller


Bruce Jrwith Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr with Steve Ostling


Bruce Jr with Michael Tanaka


Bruce Jr with Bubby Jones


Bruce Jr with Gary Tanaka


Bruce Jr with Glenn Crossno


Bruce Jr with Damion Gardner


Bruce Jr with Gary Tanaka


Bruce Jr with Gary Tanaka


Bruce Jr with 5 time CRA champion driver Mike Spencer


Bruce Jr with Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr with Damion Gardner


Bruce Jr and Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr and Mike Spencer


Bruce Jr with Brent Kaeding


Bruce Jr with Tracy Hines


Bruce Jr contemplating something


Bruce and Wags


Bruce


Bruce Jr with Gary Tanaka


Bruce Jr and Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr and Mike Spencer


Bruce jr and Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr and Harlan Willis


Bruce Jr with Mark Priestley


Bruce Jr with Vinnie Latner


Bruce Jr with Jimmy Oskie


Bruce Jr with Wags at the Wagsdash


Bruce Jr with Karen B


Bruce Jr checking out the track


Bruce Jr and Michael


Bruce Jr with Mike Spencer


Bruce jr in his ride


Bruce Jr and Bubby Jones


Bruce Jr and Michael Tanaka


Bruce Jr and Damion Gardner


Bruce Jr and Doc Griffin


Bruce Jr and Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr with Glen Crossno


Bruce Jr and Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr and Damion Gardner


Bruce Jr and Damion Gardner


Bruce Jr and Chris Holt


Bruce Jr with a smile


Bruce Jr and damion


Bruce Jr and Michael Tanaka


Bruce Jr and Mike Spencer


Bruce Jr and Damion


Bruce Jr with Jimmy Oskie


Bruce Jr giving the little red sucker a shove


Bruce Jr with Jeff Gardner


Bruce Jr and Jimmy Oskie


Bruce Jr and Glen Crossno


Bruce Jr with Steve Ostling at the CRA Banquit


Bruce Jr and Jimmy Oskie


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr


Bruce Jr and Sr


Bruce Jr and S


Bruce Jr and Kieth Kunz


Bruce Jr with Wags and Holt


Bruce Jr with car owner Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jrwith Mrs Wags and Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr with Randy Shiosaki and Wags


Bruce Jr with Bubby Jones and Dean Thompson


Bruce Jr with Chris Holt and Wags


Bruce Jr with Ron Chaffin and Mrs Wags


Bruce Jr with Charles Davis Jr and Mike Spencer Sr


Bruce Jr with Mike Spencer Jr and Sr


Bruce Jr with Damion and Wags


Bruce Jr with two of his champion drivers Mike Spencer and Damion Gardner


Bruce Jr with Deano


Bruce Jr with Deano and Gary Tanaka


Bruce Jr with Damion and Mike Spencer


Bruce Jr with Mike Spencer


Bruce Jr with Michael Tanaka


Bruce Jr with Glenn Crossno and Mike Spencer


Bruce Jr with Mike Jr and Sr


Bruce Jr with Mike and Eric


Bruce Jr out front at Perris with the # 50 car


Bruce Jr in the pits chatting


Bruce Jr with Julie, Lafond, Barbara Thompson and Wags


Bruce Jr's championship drivers Mike Spencer, Damion Gardner, Richard Griffin and Lealand McSpadden plus car owner Ron Chaffin


Bruce Jr with his crew


Bruce Jr and Ron Chaffin with Sonie Duffy and Mrs Wags


Bruce Jr with Michael Tanaka on a tire


Bruce Jr in the Santa Maria pit line


The Chaffin team lined up


Bruce Jr with Spencer and crew


Deano on the podium with Lealand McSpadden and Steve Kinser


Deano and Bubby on the podium


The Bromme crew


Blue and white car


Dean Thompson


Deano


Deano with Bruce Sr


Deano


Billy Boat drove this one


Paul Jones with the Bromme team


Paul Jones and the Bromme team


Bruce at work


Still at work


Working on a black # 50


The crew works too


Bruce back to work


Cars ready, let's chat


Hanging


Weighing the car


Bruce thinking about the set-up


The crew iust like here


Changing the tire


Bruce Jr with the little red sucker


Bruce Jr with # 50


Bruce with the # 50 car


# 1 little red sucker


Deano


The little red sucker now owned by someone else and goes shows up to show off occasionally


Like here driven by Jimmy Oskie


Here he goes


# 1 with Oskie


# 1 with Oskie


# 1 with Oskie


# 1 and # 27


# 1 and # 27


# 1


# 1


# 1


# 1 and # 48


# 1


# 1


# 1 on display


# 1


# 1


Deano94


Deano in the seat


Deano in Little red sucker # 2


Deano


Deano


Deano


Deano


Deano mudded


Deano


Deano


Deano


Deano


# 3 with Deano at Ascot 1977


Deano


Deano


Deano with Spencer, Atherton and Noffsinger


Deano racing


Deano


Look at the injectors on the little red sucker


Deano in the third row at El Centro


Deano on the corner


Deano racing Lealand McSpadden

Bruce Sr


Andy Gump on display


Billy Boats record setting lap at Ascot that was the last one.


Bruce SR with Wags and Rodney Argo


Bruce Bromme Sr


Bruce Bromme Sr


Bruce Sr with Lealand McSpadden and Wags


one more


Wags in a special bromme car


Bruce Sr


Bromme shop


Bruce Sr and Marge in the shop


Bruce Sr


Bruce Sr


Bruce Sr with Lealand McSpadden and a few others


Bruce Senior in Andy Gump


A masterpiece built by Bruce Sr


# 1 blue and white car


Not sure which car was under construction


Little filler made like a fuel cell


This car started out without a roll cage and later had one mounted on it. The car had a special name (Andy Gump) but I remember Bruce Sr telling me how he built it and what was special about it some 30 years ago in his garage


Andy Gump


Andy Gump


Andy Gump


Andy Gump


Andy Gump


Andy Gump


Andy Gump


This was a baby carriage made by Sr for Jr


Bruce Sr put a motor in it and Jr drove it but soon turned it over to Dean because he would rather work on it than drive it


Bruce Sr in old garage


Wagsdash banner for Grand Marshal Bruce Sr


Wagsdash poster created by Jim Naylor


Mike Spencer and Deano cars


Bruce jr created this dry-sump oil tank


A Bromme shirt

The Bromme Cars


the winning stickers!!


Billy and Bruce Jr


Billy Boat


Billy at Ascot


Bubby Jones


Bubby


Bubby


Bubby's helmet


Stan Atherton


The Gasman


Gasman's car with glasses


Gasman


# 50


# 50


# 50


Bruce Jr with Damion Gardner


The Demon


The Demon


The Demon


The Demon


Mike Spencer up


Mike Spencer


Mike Spencer


Mike Spencer


Mike Spencer


Mike Spencer


On display at Weavers Legends event


On display same place


Allen Heath in the Bromme Special


Donnie Melton in the Bromme car


Paul Jones in # 1Bromme car


Paul Jones


Allen Heath


Donnie Melton


Johnny White


Another Bromme Car


And another Bromme car


Paul Jones running with Billy Wilkerson


The one on the right was Bromme built, the left was ordered and then assembled the Bromme way


This car went on the first CRA tour to the midwest with Dean as the driver. I think he was hurt in a highway accident and Bubby drove it some


# 50 on a wrecker, ooopss...


Crew Chief of the years... Bruce Bromme Jr


A nice little kiddie car

Bruce Bromme Jr was, in a word, a "racer"! You could call him "SUPER CHIEF", he was that good! No he didn't drive the big 410 powered sprint cars, he just made them fast! Bruce learned very early, when his "playmate" Dean Thompson and he drove a little race car in the streets near their home, that he wasn't destined to be a driver. Bruce wanted to work on the cars, so CRA history was made way back then. Dean of course went on to win the most CRA 410 races than anyone in history and made the little red sucker famous. Bruce owns so many "crew Chief of the year awards", no one will ever catch him. He hoisted many championship trophies and they were all important to him! Bruce was all about winning, not just doing well, and a good day for him was when his car won. That's him in a nutshell, but there was so much more to him.

I first met him and his dad Bruce Sr in the pits after a race at Ascot as I was just really getting into this racing stuff. My early days in Wagtimes led me to do some visits and write about them. I loved these side trips, and one of these visits was to the Bromme home of the little red sucker in So Cal where I got to sit down with the legendary pair in their garage. I learned a lot that day with memories that still bang around in my head, but the thing I remember most is that they were detirmined to have the best sprint car on the planet! And they did beyond belief! As the years aged most of us, and with his dad gone now, Bruce Jr was, up until his death, still doing the same things that made him a winner above all his peers.

I have a lot of people in the pits who I have developed great friendships with, but there isn't anyone who demanded my respect more than Bruce Jr. He was a quiet leader, a free thinker and will always be a real winner. What he has accomplished will never be equaled, yet he was still just my friend Bruce when I saw him. He was always sharing his life and asking about mine. I don't know how long we will have Ron Chaffin's little red sucker racing with us, especially now that Bruce is gone, but I can't imagine going CRA racing without seeing the # 50 sprinter and having Bruce Bromme Jr turning the wrenches! Thanks for all the championships and great times your fans and I have enjoyed, unfortunately very sadly there will be no more.

It's not always a sure thing when someone who is at the top of their game gets recognition in the racing world and thanks to the PAS for making him their Grand Marshal this season, he is the most deserving of all of them! Way to go Bruce, we will all be honoring you on that important day in your memory! RIP and thanks for the memories! Note: when Ron Chaffin passed the little red sucker was retired and will be no more, Sad, but that part of history is gone forever.
All photos © 2014 Mr. Wags Photos