Bill Caswell

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Bill Caswell is a self-taught racing driver, mechanic, and fabricator, that rose to internet fame by taking a $500 Craigslist BMW to a World Rally Championship event in Mexico in March of 2010.  His exploits have featured in places like ESPN Magazine, Grassroots Motorsports, NPR Radio, Wired.com and Jalopnik.com.

Caswell graduated with an MBA from University of Chicago in 2004 and spent several years working in finance.  The economic downturn gave him the opportunity to follow his dreams and after constructing a car for pennies in his mom’s garage, he entered the world of rally in 2009.  The next fifteen months saw Caswell embark on his rally adventure culminating at WRC Mexico 2010.  With no team, no budget, and only a co-driver for help, he achieved a podium finish in one of the sport’s most grueling events. Bill typically competes with Rally America and NASA Rallysport in the U.S. and has competed in the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, built his own BAJA 1000 racer in less than 14 days and drove it in the race, and developed an international following.

Caswell currently writes for Jalopnik.com and Wired.com. Paramount Pictures recently announced the development of a major motion picture based on his life’s story starring Academy-Award-nominated actor Jeremy Renner.  ESPN summed it up here.

A lifelong fan of rally and motorsport, Caswell famously believes nothing to be impossible.

 

A few interviews on Bill:

The Story with Dick Gordon which aired on NPR: http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_1021_Bill_Caswell.mp3

Jalopnik.com: How a $500 Craigslist Car Beat $400k Rally Cars

Bangshift.com: What the hell is a Bill Caswell?

Timeline:

2009
May – Rally Tennessee

June – Leave the Bank of Montreal and buy $500 car

August – Ojibwe Forest Rally

September – Rally Colorado

October – Lake Superior Performance Rally

2010
January – Sno*Drift Rally

March – WRC Mexico/ Rally America – This is the Jalopnik.com $500 rally car story

June – STPR

July – Pikes Peak International HillClimb

July – New England Forest Rally

August – Minicup race in Michigan

October – Build Baja BMW on floor of SEMA

November – Baja 1000

2011
March – WRC Mexico

July – Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

November – Baja 1000

2012
February – 100 Acre Wood Rally

March – WRC Mexico

March – Mint 400

August – Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

September – Targa Newfoundland

2013

April – Empire State Performance Rally

September – Modified Magazine Ultimate Street Car Challenge

December – Redline Time Attack

2014

January – Snow Drift Rally

April – Nurburgring 6hr endurance race

May – Foutecross Lopik 500 (Netherlands)