One of the most beloved characters in the world of Mountain Motor Pro Stock racing, Bob Gillig, passed away March 24, 2025, at age 77. The father of longtime Mountain Motor Pro Stock standout Tony Gillig, Bob also raced around his native Chicagoland area before handing over driving duties to Tony. Known by friends as “Jolly Bob,” he regularly helped a number of other teams, even if they were competitors.
Gillig and his wife, Roseann, were happily married for 55 years. They had two children, Tony, and Chrissy, and he was the proud grandfather of Jessica, Scotty, and Alyssa. He owned and operated the family pizza joint, Wayne’s Pizza, in Arlington Heights, Illinois, for 43 years.
“As most of you know by now, my father Bob suddenly passed away Monday evening from a heart attack,” Tony said in a Facebook post. “My family and I can’t thank you enough for the kind words of love and support that have been pouring in. He touched so many lives over the years, especially at the racetrack; his absolute happy place. There isn’t anyone that knew him that doesn’t have a ‘Bob’ story to tell.”
Indeed, Gillig’s friends and fellow racers took to social media to share their favorite memories in the days following his passing.
Multi-time, multi-series MMPS world champion John Montecalvo raced against the Gillig father-son duo for many years, but he also raced with the elder Gillig as his crew chief at one point in his illustrious career.
“Racing to me has always been about the good people we meet along the way,” Montecalvo said. “Sure, the competition drives us, but the camaraderie during the events, and more so after hours, the traveling adventures, the crazy stories, etc., are the memories that endure. The past few years it’s been so different without Sonny (Leonard), Bert (Jackson), Carl Kirk, Harold (Denton), and now we lose Bob…my former crew chief and more importantly, great friend.”
Next-generation MMPS star Johnny Pluchino, a two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion and reigning NHRA MMPS world champion, also shared his thoughts.
“Bob was Bob; he said exactly what was on his mind and that was my favorite part about him,” Pluchino said. “We wore his heart on his sleeve, especially after racing was done for the day and the vodka was flowing. I’ll miss his friendship, I’ll miss his wise texts, I’ll miss his suspenders and him telling me how fast he’s about to go. I’ll miss his stories, even though I had heard most of them 2-3 times already, I always wanted to hear them once more. We were competitors, we were friends, we stood behind each other through many wins and celebrated together. I am thankful that Bob and his family was and is a part of my life.”
Ram Clutches, led by Pat Norcia, shared just how impactful Gillig was not only on the racing community, but also on Ram’s business over the years.
“During breaks from competition with his own car, Bob worked with several race teams and assisted them with improving their on-track performance, consistency, and race car preparation,” Ram’s Facebook post said. “Bob’s input typically resulted in numerous round wins and event victories. He was also the first person to switch to a front-mounted fuel cell in the late 1990s, which quickly became the norm a few years later across all door car classes.
“Bob worked closely with us on many projects here at Ram as well,” the post continued. “Bob was the driving force behind our C4 Corvette conversion clutch packages that swap out the awkward pull style diaphragm pressure plate for a conventional push type pressure plate with a hydraulic release system.”
Gillig’s racing career spanned decades. In recent years, the family returned to racing first in the PDRA Pro 632 category, where Tony earned multiple wins in the Gillig-Wagner Motorsports ’96 Olds Cutlass. The group then returned to MMPS in PDRA Extreme Pro Stock with Tony driving the Buck brothers’ “Big Daddy Warlock” ’05 Cavalier. A few years later, the Gillig-Wagner team debuted their own Pontiac GXP in PDRA Extreme Pro Stock, promptly winning its first race, PDRA DragWars at GALOT Motorsports Park. The family sold the car in January, but they were back at the track a couple months later as Tony filled in for Alan Drinkwater in the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational held during the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod.
Gillig is survived by his wife, Roseann, his children, Tony (Malinda) Gillig, and Chrissy (Billy) Wagner; his sister Lynn (John) Ritchie, his brother, Mike (Kathy) Gillig; and his three loving grandchildren, Jessica Gillig, Scotty Gillig, and Alyssa Wagner; and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, March 30, 2025, from 12pm-4pm at DeFiore Funeral Home – 10763 Dundee Road, Huntley, Illinois 60142. Memorial donations are suggested to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the American Heart Association.
This story was originally published on March 28, 2025. 
The post Mountain Motor Pro Stock Community Mourns Loss of Bob Gillig first appeared on Drag Illustrated.