Lee ‘Fud’ Sieck is a Hall of Fame Legacy inductee. He was the dynamic and driving force behind some of the most enjoyable grassroots events the sport of desert racing has ever known. Fud began to ride the San Diego-based District 38 events in the late 1970s, eventually trading his handlebars for a gavel when elected president of the organization in 1979.
Born Lee Odus Sieck on August 3, 1944 in Bruce Wisconsin, `Fud’ as everyone knew him by, was raised on a 400 acre dairy farm. Fud graduated from Bruce High School in 1962 with high honors. Upon graduation he went to the University of Wichita, where he majored in aerospace design. After graduating from college, he went into the space shuttle program, working for the government.
In 1979, Fud started racing in the desert east of San Diego County in the AMA District 38 desert races. Later that year he was elected president of the San Diego Sports Committee Inc. His reputation for organization grew from that seed, and by 1984 he had been asked by a group of four-wheel off-road racers to put together a race for them. This became the start of Fud’s Superstition Championship Series, which soon added motorcycles and ATVs to the mix by using the same racecourse but staggering the field’s starting times – bikes raced at 7 am and cars at noon. “Fud always had a big smile and was there to help anyone that needed help,” said AMA Hall of Fame member Marty Tripes. “Fud organized and took District 38 to the next level of high standards. He was at home in the desert and promoting District 38.”
Fud found great satisfaction over the next 24 years promoting and organizing car and motorcycle races both in the desert and at places like the Mid-Winter Fairgrounds in Imperial Valley and the Golden Acorn Casino off Hwy. 8. He loved racing so much that he gave up his career in aerospace to devote himself to the sport he cared about so much. His love of Baja and the races he promoted in the Tecate area earned him the ‘Amigos de Baja’ award from the governor of Baja California Norte in 1999.
“Fud’s events allowed hundreds of families to compete in small local events to grow as competitors, including my own sons, Dan and Luke,” said ORMHOF inductee Mark McMillin. “Fud’s legacy continues today with local motorcycle and ATV racing in Plaster City known as District 38, which still grooms young racers and embodies the family-first environment in the desert.”
Fud grew his event schedule to over 20 races by the early 2000s. Tragically, on October 23, 2003, Fud suffered a fatal heart attack right after promoting the Corky McMillin Companies Superstition 250.
Scott McMillin told ORMHOF that in an open letter to the desert community after Fud’s passing, his family wrote, “Some say that racing was a big part of his life, those people would be wrong. Racing was his life. It consumed him. It was his sole passion.”
Many races Fud hosted in the desert over the years will always remember his rather enthusiastic waving of the checkered flag for each and every racer. When asked why he did it, he reflected on his early racing career and explained, “I wasn’t last, but by the time I reached the finish line everyone was off somewhere. I hold each and every racer in high esteem.”
Fud was recognized by the Checkers with the Vic Van Ella Award in 2004, in recognition of his significant contributions to the sport of off-road.
“Fud was a one-man team that will never be replaced; he will be sorely missed by all of us,” said friend and fellow ORMHOF Class of 2023 inductee Russ Wernimont.
