Ray Marler, longtime part-owner of the I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park in Pevely, died at age 87 early Dec. 26 in Florida, friends and business associates reported.
Marler and his wife, Sue, along with race car driver Ken Schrader, operated the raceway for about three decades before selling it earlier this year to Josh Carroll.
Reports of Marler’s death began circulating Dec. 26, and Carroll, who said he and Marler had become friends, verified the information.
“Over the last few years, Ray became a great friend of mine,” Carroll said. “He was great to the community in Pevely and to the racing community. He did a lot for racing over the years. He will be missed by the drivers and the spectators and my family.”
Schrader said Marler was a mentor to him in his early years as a driver, as well as later when they became business partners.
“I started driving a racecar for Ray in ’78 or ’79 and drove for him for a number of years, and then we wound up being partners at the racetrack,” he said. “He was just somebody I always looked up to. He was 17 years older than me, so he was kind of between a brother and a father figure to me.
“He was just such a pleasure to be around, just the way he treated people in his life, thoughts and his business ethics. I just learned a lot from him. He was a great friend.”
Schrader said Marler meant a great deal to auto racing in the area.
“What he did for the raceway was huge,” Schrader said.
Pevely Mayor Steve Markus also spoke about Marler’s contributions to Pevely.
“He’s meant a lot to Pevely,” Markus said. “He sat on our Tourism Board. His racetrack has been a mainstay for the city of Pevely for years.”
Ray and Sue Marler were inducted into the St. Louis Drag Racing Hall of Fame in November. They, along with Schrader, bought the raceway in 2003, but had leased it for a number of years before purchasing it from Carol Smotherman.
The Marlers handled day-to-day operations at the raceway until they and Schrader sold it to Carroll, with the deal going through March 13 of this year.
C.Z. Boyer & Sons Funeral Home, 1116 N. Desloge Drive, in Desloge is handling the arrangements, with public viewing scheduled for 3-8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, and the funeral at the funeral home at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5.
Burial will be at Hillview Memorial Gardens in Farmington.