Mickey Schultz, who distinguished himself as an auto racing PR rep for a host of major sponsors, sanctioning bodies and some of drag racing’s most successful drivers and teams, died March 3 in hospice care, ending a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.  He was 81.

Bob Glidden, John Force, Greg Anderson, Jason Line, Gary Ormsby, Tony Bartone, John Myers, Bob Vandergriff Jr., Angelle Sampey, Larry Morgan, Billy Meyer, K.C. Spurlock, Larry Nance, Brad Jeter and Steve Johnson were but a few of the drivers with whom Schultz worked in a drag racing career spanning 25 years.

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., he attended the University of Florida where an injury prematurely ended his dreams of a football career.  After transferring to the University of Alabama, he earned a degree in math although it was in the realm of publicity and public relations that he found his true calling. 

In the early 1980s, he was retained by The Southland Corporation, parent to Chief Auto Parts and 7-11, to rep team drivers Meyer and Glidden on the NHRA pro tour.  When Castrol created its drag racing super team in 1987 with drivers Force, Ormsby, Morgan, Pat Austin, Bill Barney and David Nickens, Schultz was its initial on-site PR representative.

After a three-year affiliation with the IHRA, Schultz was retained by Fruit of the Loom sportswear to represent Spurlock, who went on to win the very first pro race in which he participated, the 1994 NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., and by Star Racing to represent eventual Hall-of-Famers John Myers and Angelle Sampey.  

He worked with drag racing legend “Big Jim” Dunn and driver Bartone during their sponsorship by Penthouse Magazine, with Jeter during the brief lifespan of the NHRA’s Pro Stock Truck class, and with retired NBA star Larry Nance during his foray into Pro Stock with sponsorship from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2005.

After a year with Ken Black Racing, where he repped world champions Anderson and Line, he retired to Wisconsin to spend time with his wife, Bridget Rohrer, and his beloved basset hound, Cleo.  When he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2019, he and Bridget moved back to California to access the more comprehensive treatment options available at UCLA Medical Center.

In addition to his wife, who was his principal caregiver during his most difficult time, he is survived by his daughters, Dina and Jana, and by his granddaughter Meghan.