ALDERSHOT, NS - He was a Robin Hood of the racetrack, donating all winnings from the Zero racing team to help the less fortunate.
Although he isn’t actively auto racing now due to a back injury, Wyatt Bond, of Aldershot, has been involved in various aspects of the sport for some 45 years. It started with drag racing with his younger brother, Warren, who recently passed away. Warren often built whatever parts were necessary.
“He taught me that if we couldn’t afford it, we’d have to build two because if you didn’t have a spare, you’re still not prepared,” Bond said.
Bond’s racing dream began in the parking lot of the County Fair Mall in New Minas when he was a kid. He was there to see Murray Edwards’s race car. Edwards let Bond sit in the car and strapped him in.
“I said to myself, ‘this is what I’m going to do.’ It steered the direction of my whole life,” Bond said.
Edwards later helped Bond by giving him a fire suit that he had worn at Daytona and other famous racing venues. The two recently re-connected after several years.
Over 15 years ago, Bond and his son Harley decided to use a 2000 Monte Carlo for a good cause — the Zero Campaign. They raced at Scotia Speed World, Exhibition Park and Atlantic Motorsport Park. As part of this, all winnings were donated to the Canadian Cancer Society’s Lodge That Gives. The Halifax facility provides free lodging to cancer patients undergoing treatments.
Bond said his life has been touched by the lodge on more than one occasion with his late grandmother and his father both having stayed there. Knowing that the facility depended on volunteers and needed financial support served as the inspiration for the Zero racing campaign. They also used to put on fundraising events for young people battling cancer.
To sponsor the car meant making donations to the lodge and Bond said some people still donate to this day because of Zero racing. This also led to a career in vehicle decaling, graphics and signage for his son.
Bond said he never viewed his involvement in car racing as a business but as being part of a family. He wanted to bring as many people as he could along for the ride, including the kids from his neighbourhood. Bond still has the Monte Carlo and said if you drop a battery in, it still runs.
He said his greatest trophies are the letters he’s received from cancer survivors who stayed at the facility Zero racing helped support.
A team effort
Bond credits friends for introducing him to those people who would make it possible for him to race and gives credit for a lot of his success to others.
Harvey Gates, Tony VanAmerongen, Mark Gates, Jeffery Campbell, John Flemming, Paul Evans, Brian Jollimore, Joanne Salsman, Tristan Redden, Leo Boutilier, Marie Brown and many others helped with various aspects of Bond’s racing endeavours. He considers all of them family.
“People did things for me that they didn’t do for other people,” Bond said. “They were all important. Without one little piece, the whole direction would have been different. One has to realize, he doesn’t get there alone.”
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Ultimate Hot Wheels collection
When it comes to Mattel’s Hot Wheels, you’d be hard pressed to find a collection more impressive than Wyatt Bond’s.
Just as Bond and his team used racing to help support the Lodge That Gives, he uses his Hot Wheels collection to help others.
Children with ADHD have visited Bond to see his displays. He has also set up display cases featuring his rare Hot Wheels in empty mall storefronts and asked for free-will offerings to local food banks instead of charging admission. The exhibition is called Hot Wheels World Windows.
His collection has featured in excess of 70,000 pieces, ranging from prototypes and other one-of-a-kind examples to limited editions and thousands still mint in the package.
“It’s something to share,” Bond said. “People are amazed by the collection.”
He said Bill Warren, who Bond calls “Dr. Hot Wheels”, has taught him a lot about the collectible cars and helped Bond set up his e-Bay account. Bond said you need an education to collect the toys and not lose money.
“It can get very expensive bidding online,” Bond said. “I’ve paid a foolish amount of money for some of these cars.”
Hot Wheels were first introduced 50 years ago and Bond has examples dating back to the inception. He is mainly interested in limited edition or one-of-a-kind cars and he has some in his collection that were never released to the public or never mass produced. Bond has developed a network of contacts around the world that help him source the cars.
Bond lost his only childhood Hot Wheels car playing outside in the sand when he was a boy but his father recently unearthed it by chance and returned it.
The late Tom McEwen, who drove a race car benefiting cancer patients in the United States, autographed several Hot Wheels, badges and stickers and sent them to Bond.
Bond’s favourite is the iconic ’57 Chevy, of which he has dozens of variations. He has some of the first ones to come out of the mold in his collection, including examples shown at the 1975 World Toy Fair.
