Wheeler held the positions of publicity directors for numerous companies and later became the president and general manager of the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
After bouncing around real estate and public service jobs when Firestone shut down its racing program in 1970, Wheeler was hired by Charlotte Motor Speedway chairman Bruton Smith as president to replace the outgoing Richard Howard in 1975.
According to Wheeler, after a Sunday service session, he headed down to a local drive-in where a race car with "wild colors" passed by the restaurant.
As a result, Wheeler initially decided to skip college and train in New York-based Stillman's Gym to compete in amateur boxing.
After competing in 42 matches with a 40–2 record, he withdrew from boxing after realizing that in his weight class, he could potentially have to face up against Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
[15] After graduating, Wheeler was hired as the promotion copy editor for Charlotte, North Carolina, television station WBTV in February 1961.
[23] Wheeler then moved towards promoting the North Carolina tourism industry and economy, hoping for Charlotte to be a major East Coast seaport by 2000.
[24] In November, he denied the sale of Darlington Raceway and the transfer of its two races to a new superspeedway between the South Carolinan cities of Myrtle Beach and Conway.
[37] By the start of the 1980s, Wheeler had gained a reputation for pulling off unique promotions that eventually led to the World 600 becoming the second most-attended racing event in the entirety of the United States, behind the Indianapolis 500.
[48] In January 1989, Wheeler announced the creation of the NASCAR Sportsman Division, a series that had the stated goal to give drivers who were accustomed to short track racing some experience on bigger speedways, such as superspeedways.
[52][53] By the time Phillips' accident occurred, the series had been placed under increased scrutiny for safety issues, with drivers suffering injuries in crashes becoming a commonality.
[57] In 1995, Wheeler became the president and chief operating officer of the newly incorporated Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI), started by Smith.
[64] In January 2008, Wheeler stated his desire to host regional open auditions at the speedway for the eighth season of American Idol.
[72] In 2010, Wheeler authored an autobiography along with Peter Golenbock named Growing Up NASCAR: Racing's Most Outrageous Promoter Tells All.
The partnership sought to oversee the growth of "grassroots racing" by bargaining for more advertising profits and to seek an overall lower cost of operation for short tracks.
His first major promotion came when a rivalry between well-known NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough and relative new-comer Darrell Waltrip began in 1977 during an accident in the 1977 Southern 500.
[81] To promote the rivalry at the 1977 NAPA National 500, and in reference to both the rivalry and Yarborough's sponsor at the time, Holly Farms Poultry, Wheeler placed a dead chicken inside a shark's mouth and placed the contraption inside a car, parading the contraption around prior to the race's first round qualifying session.
[82] After the incident, Wheeler made numerous promotions that gained notoriety and coverage in the local Charlotte media and the NASCAR industry.
[83] For the 1984 World 600, Wheeler staged a reenactment of Operation Urgent Fury, a United States invasion of Grenada that had occurred just a few months earlier.
[84] His last major promotion came at the 2007 Bank of America 500, when Wheeler announced the creation of an "all-you-can-eat" grandstand, where fans could pay for a buffet before and after the race.
Wheeler had proposed to bring in marathon swimmer and Gastonia, North Carolina, native Moon Huffstetler to kill a shark.
The right rear wheel and tire assembly from Wattles' car was sent into the grandstands at high speeds, killing three people: Randy Pyatte, Dexter Mobley, and Jeffrey Patton.
The recording of personal details led to an investigation by Motor Racing Outreach on whether if lead ambassador chaplain Steve Green violated ethical standards.
[105] In early 2003, Cindy and Marty Taylor, both injured in the collapse, sued the speedway and the Tindall Corporation for negligence during construction.
Wheeler managed to land the role during the movie's pre-production in 2000, when Cars director John Lasseter visited the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2000 UAW-GM Quality 500.
[67] By July 2008, the stock price of SMI had plummeted by over 50% since November 2007, with a noticeable steep decline during the months after Wheeler's departure.
[122] In 2012, Wheeler stated that he was "at war" with Smith again, arguing over who had created the idea to install lights at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In a video, Wheeler stated that he believed the entire industry of stock car racing had become too expensive, preventing hopeful drivers with lower incomes from ever competing.
In addition, he believed that ever since the mainstream rise of NASCAR that started in the 1990s, corporate sponsors had prevented drivers from having extravagant personalities, such as ones of Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt.
However, he did react positively to changes around the entertainment aspect of the sport, including the new addition of the NASCAR playoffs and the work of then-NASCAR CEO Brian France.