Some of my fondest memories of youth revolve around GIRLS
summer weekends at Central Pennsylvania racetracks
watching cars roar around the banked dirt oval.
And I was in crunched car heaven whenever I watched a
demolition derby, sometimes referred to as a destruction derby.
What an awesome spectacle! 50 or more fugitives from
the junkyard with funny slogans painted on them...
crashing into each other until only one vehicle was left running.
Dramatic story lines often unfolded. Some vehicles
gave up the fight for survival after a single tap...
while others miraculously kept going with twisted frames,
pushed-in grilles, smashed rear ends, smoking engines,
crushed fenders and flat tires. At least one car would
end up riding on the wheel rims, throwing off
a continuous shower of sparks.
Of course, there was always one driver who tried to win the contest
by playing it safe and avoiding contact with other vehicles.
The crowd would boo the weasel until he was
finally cornered, rammed, and put out of commission.
By the time a winner was declared, the scene resembled a war zone.
The track was littered with twisted metal...
and burning oil and rubber shrouded the arena in a smoky haze.
Of course, demo derbies were only part of the entertainment.
The main attractions were NASCAR stock car
and sprint car racing.
Suspenseful preliminary races called "heats"
were run early in the program.
Top finishers of each heat advanced to the final race of the evening.
The thrill-packed feature event sealed the deal.
A crowded field of race cars screamed down the track, bumper to bumper
and side by side, with the region's top drivers vying for the big cash prize.
I must have heard Mitch Miller's version of “The Yellow Rose of Texas”
a hundred times. It wasn't because I was glued to his Sing Along TV show.
"Yellow Rose" and other country and western tunes played over
the loudspeakers at York County's Susquehanna Speedway,
ushering spectators to their seats prior to the start of racing
and to the French fry stand and restrooms at intermission.
Mitch Miller And His Orchestra And Chorus
(Aug./Sept. 1955, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
Susquehanna is where you could find me
on warm Saturday evenings
and Sunday afternoons
throughout the 1950s and 60s and into the 70s.
Postwar America was having a love affair with the automobile...
and dirt track auto racing
became a popular spectator sport in Central PA and beyond.
70 years later, NASCAR still boasts countless fans across the U.S.
Whenever my folks and I were "off to the races"
we preferred to visit tracks closer to home...
but hardcore fans would complete the entire circuit...
making the rounds of local and regional tracks...
including ovals in New York state and Maryland...
to get their racing fix every weekend while the season lasted.
Susquehanna Speedway, located in Newberry Township, northern
York County, was an easy half hour drive up Interstate 83.
My folks also took me to see racing at several other area tracks.
Photo provided by Jim Sieling
They included Bowling Green Speedway...
located near the York County boroughs
of Glen Rock, Seven Valleys and Jefferson...
Lincoln Speedway...
located in the Adams County borough of Abbottstown...
Williams Grove Speedway...
located in the Cumberland County borough of Mechanicsburg...
and Selinsgrove Speedway...
located in Snyder County north of Harrisburg.
Selinsgrove Speedway was designed and built in 1945
by stunt man and auto thrill show legend Joie Chitwood.
These Central PA racetracks were the setting
for some of the most exciting moments of my youth.
I vividly recall the giddy anticipation as hundreds of noisy,
enthusiastic spectators surrounded me on the grandstand.
We sat in bleachers, rows of uncomfortable wooden benches.
but I never complained because I was way too excited.
Eager to spot a winner and place an imaginary bet...
I used my dad's binoculars to get close-up views of the cars
as they emerged from the pit area and ran warm-up laps.
Yep, cars sometimes spun-out and crashed as they were warming up...
...before the race even started!
Thrilling as it was when the checkered flag waved
and the winner of the race took his victory lap...
it was the green flag at the start of the race
that really got my blood pumping.
As any racing fan will tell you, there’s nothing
as electrifying as the start of a 50-lap feature.
70 years after my first exposure to auto racing,
I still get a rush remembering what it was like.
Row after row of brightly colored cars sat silent and motionless
on the front straightaway while our national anthem played.
When the music ended, spectators amused themselves by yelling
"Play ball!" Simultaneously, the engine of every car roared to life
and the tightly packed group of racers began to
follow the slow moving "pace car" around the track.
As the field of cars reached turn 3 on the second or third pace lap,
the cars began to speed up and the whine of the engines grew louder.
Coming out of turn 4, the pace car swerved toward the infield.
The flagman frantically waved the green...
...and tons of steel rocketed full throttle past the grandstand.
The din was earsplitting. (Me likey!)
Spectators were on their feet, the moment too intense to remain seated.
The hot wind generated
by the angry horde of race cars
threatened to knock me off my feet.
"Bring it on, gentlemen," I said to myself... smiling all the while.
Only a few second into the race, I was already sweating and shaking
...and the big fun had just begun!
Over time, I became familiar with the cars and
memorized the names of several popular drivers:
BOBBY HERSH
CALVIN CULP
LEROY FELTY
BUD FOLKENROTH
DICK "TOBY" TOBIAS
ED SHOWALTER
GENE GOODLING
BOBBY ABEL
LYNN PAXTON
KENNY SLAYBAUGH
ROYCE "DIZZY DEAN" RENFRO
PEE WEE POBLETTES
SLIM DEVILBLISS
RAY TILLEY
KENNY WELD
SMOKEY SNELLBAKER
AND DRIVING CAR #65...
JOHNNY MACKISON!
The one car that commanded my attention like no other
was #65, driven by Johnny Mackison of Delta, PA.
Mackison burned up the track, negotiating curves with maximum
efficiency and accelerating down the straights at incredible speeds.
In addition to piloting car number 65...
Johnny Mackison could be seen behind the wheel of car #1
as well as car #1080 and others.
I remember those rides...
but #65 is the one I most associate with Johnny Mack.
(above) Johnny Mackison and his mechanic Davey Brown
at Williams Grove Speedway in 1956. Photo: Ken Johnson.
A crowd favorite, Johnny Mackison stands out in my memory as
one of the winningest drivers on the Central PA racing circuit
in the 1950s and 60s. His son, Johnny Mackison Jr.,
also had a great racing career driving sprint cars.
Now you know why the number 65 had
special significance in my young life.
Please stick around.
Coming up next time
in the Pt. 2 conclusion of my "Need For Speed" series...
find out why the numbers 7000 and 30
triggered excitement in my young noggin.
Can you guess the reasons?
Demolition derbies used to be all the rage. Do they still hold them now?
ReplyDeleteThat third picture would make a good puzzle.
Hi, Alex!
DeleteCongratulations, good buddy! The checkered flag is waving in your honor. You finished first in the Shady's Place race and can proudly claim this month's Early Bird title. Thanks a lot for coming.
It's been at least 55 years since I went to a racetrack, and therefore I don't know if those old fashioned demo derbies are still being staged as part of the racing program. Maybe another reader can answer that question. You're right. That third pic, the racing art illustration, would make a great jigsaw puzzle.
Thanks again for joining the fun and I hope to see you again next month, good buddy Alex!
When I was in college, I had a short-lived, long-distance relationship with a guy who I'd known since we were children. Anyway, one weekend he drove however many hours to pick me up and take me back to where he lived for a few days together. We went to a dirt race track where the main attraction was a classic Corvette race. It was so much fun, and the only time anyone has taken me to a race for a date.
ReplyDeleteWe have an annual demolition derby in my town. It's part of the National Peanut Festival that's held in November and is so popular they have two different rounds to make sure everyone who wants to attend is able to do so. It's been awhile since I've been, but I remember it being entertaining. They also do lawn mower racing, which is highly amusing.
Hi, Ashton!
DeleteIt's great to see you again this month, dear friend! You raced across the finish line in second place to take the silver. Thanks so much for dropping by!
Gosh, I have known you practically since your college years, Ashton, and that's a terrific story about a guy taking you to a dirt racetrack for a date. In the late 1960s, I took my girlfriend (the future Mrs., Shady #1) to Susquehanna Speedway, the track I mentioned in the text, the one my folks and I visited most often. I recall how things had changed since I first started going to races at the venue as a boy in the 1950s. It had been more of a family atmosphere back then but, by the late 60s and 70s, there weren't as many children in the stands and the events were marred by loud troublemakers who threw empty beer cans, etc.
Thanks for answering Alex's question as to whether demolition derbies are still being held in the 2020s. I'm not surprised. Like NASCAR racing, the spectacle of cars deliberately plowing into each other in a fight to the finish remains a popular form of entertainment. As I mentioned in the post, the events were also called "destruction derbies" when I was a kid. I am also aware that other forms of racing have cropped up over the years. I remember watching old school busses racing on one of the tracks years ago. It was a hoot.
Thanks again for being here and contributing your racing anecdotes to the discussion. Please stick around, because Part 2 of my "Need For Speed" summer series is coming up next month with many more nostalgic action photos for your enjoyment. Take care of yourself and little Alexis and I hope to see you then, dear friend Ashton!
I don't know where you found all the old pictures, but they bring back a lot of memories. One note is that Kenny Slaybaugh was not a relative of mine as far as I knew. I did follow his racing and remember most of the stars. I think I was at all of the tracks and the Drive In movies close to some of them. I will take a guess at the numbers. How about Red Line 7000 and US 30 drag strip. I'm sure you remember the Old Reliable Chevy!! Jerre
ReplyDeleteHi, Jerre!
DeleteThanks for reporting for duty, good buddy! You came in third to capture the bronze.
Yes, I was going to ask if you are related to stock car race driver Kenny Slaybaugh. Thanks for letting me know the answer is negatory. FYI - our mutual friend Jim Sieling was the inspiration behind this new two-part summer series. Recently, Jim (a racing enthusiast) sent me several good pictures to use. Back in 2008, just a few weeks into my blogging "career," when you were still the only person reading and commenting on my blog, I ran a post about Central PA auto racing in the1950s, 60s and 70s. Seeing as how 16 years have passed since I covered the topic, I decided to rework that old post and run it here on my "new" blog this summer. As often happens, the single post got so long that I needed to divide it into two parts, this being the first. I surprised myself at being able to remember the names of those popular local drivers 60 to 70 years later. In an amazing twist of fate, my favorite driver, Johnny Mackison, was involved in a head-on collision with a sports car driven by my best friend. The crash took place on Leader Heights Road around Thanksgiving, 1966, as my friend was heading home from the Dell. He (my friend) was seriously injured.
Wow! You correctly guessed the significance of the numbers 7000 and 30. That being the case, be sure to join me next time (around August 11) for the Part 2 conclusion of "Need For Speed."
Thanks again for your visit and great comment, good buddy Jerre!
Do you remember Lucky Teeter ? I believe that was the name, He was not so lucky in a head on crash staged during Dare Devils at the York Fair. Remember seeing how many times a stunt man could roll a wreck?
DeleteHi again, Jerre!
DeleteThanks for jarring my memory, good buddy. I had forgotten that name, but remember it from childhood, even though the crash that took the life of Earl Moseman "Lucky" Teter took place in July of 1942, a little before my time. I read that Teter's widow sold his Hell Drivers show to Joie Chitwood, the stunt driving legend who designed and built Selinsgrove Speedway as noted in the text of this post.
I already have plans to rework and rerun another old post from the early years of my SDMM blog that dealt with stunt driving shows including Jack Kochman's Hell Drivers and Joie Chitwood's Auto Thrill Show plus memories of the sideshows and entertainment on the grandstand at the York Interstate Fair. That post (or series of posts) won't run this year, but will run during what used to be "fair week" the period immediately following Labor Day. It is my understanding that the York Fair is now held several weeks earlier in the middle of summer. Not a great idea, in my opinion, because of the sweltering heat and the fact that the kids don't get a day off from school to attend the exposition like they always did in the past.
Thanks again for contributing to the discussion, good buddy Jerre. I'll be sending you a "Program Note" email on the eve of Part 2.
Hey Shady
ReplyDeleteThose old cars are very cool. It took me three attempts to make this comment because my phone has limited internet and won't connect easily. I'm still without internet or my landline phone with no real explanation why. So I'm going to keep this short and hope its fixed by the next time you are back.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteThanks for dropping by, dear friend, and for bringing my buddy Falcor along with you. No better way to beat the heat than to cool off in Shady's clubhouse. It's currently 94 degrees in my neck of the woods (a brutal cold snap by Vegas standards) and today's high is forecast to reach 97.
I'm sorry you are still struggling with connectivity. I'm getting ready to send the team from Obliterated out there to investigate. :) Thank you very much for persisting until your comment went through. (Now let's hope the blog gremlins don't steal it.)
I'm glad you liked this assortment of vintage racing photos from various dirt tracks along with the colorful art illustrations I found. There will be a lot more when I return with Part 2 a few weeks from now. I hope your internet difficulties and the awful heat wave are history by then.
Thanks again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Mary!
My internet finally got fixed! Yay me. Let's hope it stays that way. lol
DeleteI was going to tell you that when I was younger my dad worked at a transmission shop and rebuilt transmissions for the drag racing cars (Funny Cars). I went to a few of the show because he always got free tickets. Those were the only drag races I ever saw.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteYay you, dear friend! There's great news all around. You got your internet fixed and were able to add a more detailed comment, the blog gremlins left us alone and didn't steal what you wrote and, to top if off, it is currently a very pleasant 68 degrees there in Vegas.
Well... as Meat Loaf sang... two out of three ain't bad. :) But hey, don't laugh. Mrs. Shady is currently in San Diego where the temperature has been ranging from the upper 60s to mid 70s. She told me she actually gets chilly at night. Can you believe it? Meanwhile, the mercury here in the northeast reached 98 yesterday!
That's a very cool story about your dad rebuilding transmissions for funny car dragsters. I'm also happy to know that you got to see a few of those racing events. That being the case, you won't want to miss my next post - Part 2 of "Need For Speed" - because I will share with you my memories of attending drag races in my neck of the woods.
Please take good care of yourself and my buddy Falcor, dear friend Mary, and I'll reconnect with you again a few weeks from now!
Wow! What a tribute to racing! I have to be honest and admit I've never been a fan of car racing... whether demolition derbies, stock car/NASCAR, Formula 1, or whatever they call it when the trucks with the HUGE tires drive over stuff. You certainly made it sound exciting, though, with the description of waiting for the races to begin and the engines revving up!
ReplyDeleteI haven't thought about Mitch Miller (or the Yellow Rose of Texas) in eons!
Pat hopes you and Mrs. Shady are staying cool up there in the northeast!
Hi, Kelly & Pat!
DeleteWelcome to this month's "really big shoe" here at Shady's Place, dear friend! I am always curious to know if my friends across the country like or have memories (as do I) of attending auto races, demo derbies and related events. I'm glad you thought to mention those crazy exhibitions featuring monster trucks that crush vehicles. When I worked for that MTV station in the 1980s, one of the first commercials I shot had a monster truck in it. It raced toward a group of teenagers having a picnic in a park. The kids scattered just in time before the truck ran over their table and crushed it along with their food.
Yessum, as a boy, I remembered experiencing labored breathing when the race drivers fired up their engines simultaneously and began slowly circling the track in formation awaiting the green flag. Mitch Miller and his gang had a chart-topping hit with "The Yellow Rose Of Texas" in the summer of 1955, right around the time my folks started taking me to the track practically every weekend. The ditty became an earworm. :)
Mrs. Shady is currently on the west coast where the temp is in the mid 70s. I am stuck here in the northeast where the current temp is 96. I've been thinking about Fred, Grady and your other outdoor pooches and hope they are getting by AOK in this awful heat.
Even though auto racing isn't your thing, I do hope you will join me again next time for the Part 2 conclusion of "Need For Speed" coming up around August 11. You are bound to find the pics, posters and art illustrations interesting if nothing more.
Thanks for making time for a visit and stay well until we meet again, dear friend Kelly!
Tom – Boy, did I love your “Need for Speed” blog. My family was never interested in auto racing so I never knew much about it; although, I certainly knew (as I suspect most people in the York area did) of Johnny Mackison and his son. I did have a ‘brush’ with the demolition derby. I got started in racing by running auto-crosses where sports cars had timed runs around a twisty course laid out using rubber cones. In the 1966/67 time frame we often ran on the dirt at Lincoln Speedway on Sunday’s. One Sunday track the promoter, Hilly Rife, came over to offer some of us a chance to participate in a demolition derby that would be held as the last event the following Saturday night. For just $25 I could enter and he would supply the car. I think there was a decent prize for the last car running. It appeared to be a great opportunity to have a good time and maybe win some money. I had never seen a demolition derby but for some reason I passed on the opportunity. The next Sunday, when I was back at Lincoln for an autocross, we couldn’t get started due to the cars from the Saturday night derby that were still strewn out on the track. They were a mess – some burned out, some upside down, some on top of another and all a terrible mangled mess. No roll bars/cages, no safety equipment, and I don’t even think there were seat belts! So glad I never gave it a try ‘just for fun’!
ReplyDeleteYears later, much later, maybe around 2010 I had a friend who drove a late model stock car at Susquehanna Speedway. Nancy and I loved to go and would take a couple of grandchildren along. The kids absolutely loved it. I think they felt all the emotions you felt when you were young. For me it was great having someone to cheer for and maybe to cheer against the guy that took him out last week. It was particularly neat to be able to go down in the pits while everyone was getting ready for their next heat. The last memory I have is when the racing was over walking back in getting in a car that was absolutely covered with red dirt!
Thanks for helping me relive those memories of great times.
Really looking forward to the 2nd installment,
Jim
Hi, Jim!
DeleteI'm delighted that you not only enjoyed the content of the post, but that you offered so much additional information and personal recollections. Thanks a lot, my friend!
In his second comment, friend Jerre (above) brought up the name Lucky Teter, a figure I had forgotten about but now remember from my early youth. Now you come along and mention another name from the past, someone I haven't heard anything about since the 60s when I was regularly going to area racetracks. Most of his life, one time race driver Hillen ‘Hilly’ Rife lived on his 9 generation family farm in New Oxford, PA. In 1991, Hilly and his wife moved down to Ormond Beach, Florida, just north of Daytona. Hilly died in 2010 just after celebrating his 83rd birthday. In his obituary, Hilly was described as a very colorful individual who lived more than nine lives. He reportedly survived three airplane accidents, three serious racing crashes, a mugging at gunpoint and other close brushes with death. Directly quoting the obit: << Hilly built Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown and strongly promoted the “Outlaw” Sprint Car Racing in its infancy. He also promoted racetracks in Bedford, Dorsey and Susquehanna Speedway. He was a racetrack owner, driver, promoter, but most of all a fan of the sport of racing, and did all he could to promote the sport his entire life. >>
I trust you read my reply to Jerre recalling the dreadful night that my best friend was nearly killed on his way home from the Dell in a head-on collision with stock car champ Johnny Mackison. Johnny Mack was driving a heavy passenger sedan of some sort and my buddy was behind the wheel of his tiny Austin Healy Sprite. It was "no contest," and my buddy wound up in the hospital fighting for his life. Such a strange twist of fate.
(reply continued in next box)
Thanks for the story about your participating in autocross racing and the time you almost took part in a demolition derby at Lincoln after being invited to do so by the one and only Hilly Rife. As you reported, there was not nearly as much emphasis on safety in demo derbies as there was for stock and sprint racing. And yes, the track was indeed a mess afterward, with twisted wreckage, bumpers and other auto parts strewn over a wide area, plus smelly and potentially dangerous oil and gas slicks on the track. It's good to know that Susquehanna Speedway was once again a family-oriented race venue by the 2010s. Like it was at the Shady Dell, the crowd at Susquehanna got a little rough and rowdy for a period of time when I was in my late teens and taking my girlfriend there on dates. Yes, I remember the rivalries between certain drivers. I think I read somewhere that if you were a Bobby Hersh fan, you could not be a fan of Bobby Abel or Johnny Mackison. I remember the crowd booing drivers who changed lanes and cut-off their favorites, and I even witnessed a few fistfights between competing drivers. One of my most vivid memories was the time at Susquehanna in the late 50s that a tire came off one of the race cars as it was speeding around the track. Traveling at high speed, the tire continued two-thirds of the way around the track before heading toward the infield. The crowd watched in horror as the tire made a beeline for a man standing with his back to the grandstand (and the approaching tire). It was like a scene from a Hitchcock movie. Everyone was shouting at the man trying to warn him, trying to get him to turn around and look out, but to no avail. The cars were making too much noise and the poor guy couldn't hear our screams. The tire scored a direct hit on the man's legs, butt and lower back and he violently flipped over backward and lie motionless in the dirt - a sickening sight. I never did find out what became of him, but I will always be able to replay that dreadful scene in my mind.
DeleteYep, I have memories of leaving the racetrack with a coating of red dirt on my clothes, skin and car. Worst of all, the stand that sold hot dogs and French fries was located just outside turn 1 and clods of earth regularly flew over that way. Maybe that's why I always loved the dogs and fries at Susquehanna. They had a secret ingredient - a coating of track dust. :)
Thanks again for joining the Part 1 fun, Jim, and for contributing so much valuable info. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming up around the 11th of next month. As always, I'll send you an email on the eve of publishing. Take care, my friend!
Hi Jim, I read that you were into auto cross races and I was also. I ran a bugeye Sprite and a Fiat Spyder at several autocross races. They also held these at the York Fair grounds in the parking lots in the 60s. Some were also held in shopping center parking lots. I also enjoyed some of the local hill climbs for timed runs up closed roads, Reading and Gold Mine were nearby hill climbs. We might have even run in some of the same meets. I also enjoyed the sports car rallies that were timed and you and your co pilot were given clues as to what turns to take. We always got lost. Jerre
DeleteHi Tom and Jim, Sorry about your friend Tom. It was funny that he was driving an AH Sprite, One of my favorite cars that I have owned is an 1961 Bugeye Sprite, A really fun car. I also owned a MG Midget and a MG B. I still have a 1979 Fiat Spyder. My friends drove Lotus Elan, Triumph TR3, MGA, Healey 3000, Sunbeam Alpine. So you can see what type of cars we enjoyed. But we still enjoyed going to LIncoln and running the York loop. Jerre
DeleteHi again, Jerre!
DeleteI'm delighted to learn that both you and Jim were into autocross. Thanks for sharing that info and for revealing that you were also involved in local hill climbs and sports car rallies, two more car enthusiast activities I had completely forgotten about. Wouldn't it be neat if you and Jim entered some of the same meets back then? Thanks for letting us know which makes and models of sports cars you and your friends drove. Sports cars were all the rage at the time. I remember the homecoming parades at high school. Every girl in the homecoming court rode around the football field track perched on the back of a convertible sports car operated by a very proud guy. It was a sight to see, a sign of the times. I actually owned a 1972 Fiat Spider 124 and loved driving it.
Thanks again for taking time to comment on Jim's remarks and mine. By getting our anecdotes put down in print for public consumption, we are doing our part to help keep the past alive and let people from other areas of the country and other generations know how great it was to grow up in Central PA in the 1950s and 60s.
Take care, good buddy Jerre!
Tom / Jerre -- I never knew Hilly Rife was such a character and such a big force in the dirt track world. I first met him on a Sunday at an autocross at Lincoln Speedway. The Mason Dixon Sports Car Club rented the track from him for an autocross that I had entered. Out of the blue he came over to me and explained how risky it was to run an open car on a 1/2 mile dirt oval without a rollbar. “Be sure you get one put in.” He was very persuasive and I had one installed. A year later, at another autocross at Lincoln, after a rain shower the decision was made to have the participants take laps at a slow speed to dry off the track so the autocross could be run. As we lapped more and more the speeds kept picking up, passing occurred, driving got more spirited, and while trying get around the outside of a 427 Corvette going into turn 3, I got my Lotus a little high into really wet dirt and hit the wall. A good bit of damage done but the roll bar helped save the car. (Two years later that rollbar probably saved me when I hit a tree at a hill climb.)
DeleteOne last really fond memory of Lincoln: One Saturday night the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show was at Lincoln (I always loved to watch Kochman or Chitwood when they performed at the York Fairgrounds). The following Sunday, Mason Dixon had an autocross at Lincoln and who should enter but Joie Chitwood, Jr. in one of the shows Corvette’s. He drove well but was really outclassed and probably embarrassed by our local ‘sporty car’ drivers!
(comment continued in next box)
I ran a lot of local auto crosses (including The York Hospital Fete at the fairgrounds) in my Lotus Elan and later in my Super 7. I also ran hills with the PA Hillclimb Association. For a very short time I held the ‘C Production’ class record at Hershey. At one time Hershey was touted as being the largest hill climb in the world based on attendance. Who knows? Hershey Foods (who owned the Hotel Hershey property the hill climb was run on) decided the size of the event was getting out of hand (or maybe really due to legal fears) and shut it down. At the end the hill climb was drawing around 10,000 spectators for the fall event. Jerre, this took place in the 1966 to 1970 time frame – at one time or another we had to have been in some events together, but in different classes. I always ran in C or D production depending on the car. Later I stopped local events and got my road racing license (which I always felt was safer than hillclimbing). With getting married, both cars were mothballed; but, after my retirement, I ran the Elan again on track days at northeastern and mid-Atlantic tracks. I still have that ‘65 Elan and drive it on a nice day -- just can’t let it go.
DeleteNancy and I also ran road rallies together in her white ‘67 Elan. Our favorite being the yearly Morloch night rally run around Halloween by the Sports Car Club of York. She also ran a rallye without me using her dog as navigator and took 1st place – very embarrassing. When I was the driver we never, ever took a 1st. Nancy also won 1st in ladies class at an autocross (I believe) at the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg.
I wonder what memories the 2nd racing installment might revive.
Can’t wait,
Jim
Jim/Tom - I see that you were really into the autocross, hill climbs and rallies. I did it more just for fun and was not that good. You might have raced against a friend of mine, Larry Schaffer, who held the Reading Duryea Hill climb record for sometime. He ran a very much modified Bugeye. One other friend had an Elan and I got to drive it a few times. Great car except I did not like the window frames when top was down. I never drove a Super 7, but did get to drive an Europa. Great drive once you got familiar with the slight angle and tight quarters for the driver. I did not purchase the Europa because I was stuck on having a convertible.
DeleteI see you ran in the York Hospital Fete and I ran the Fiat Spider in that event maybe in 1971 plus or minus. My cousin ran an old Porsch in the event. I recall a DNF. Still lots of fun. I also enjoyed the old Hershey hill climb just because of vintage cars that showed up.
One question for Jim. Do you do your own maintenance on the Elan or do you have a mechanic you could recommend. I am looking for a good mechanic for future Fiat maintenance.
Your email brings back many great memories. I am sure the next installment will do the same. I remember the cars stilling having their US30 drag numbers on their windshields while driving the York Market St./Philadelphia St. loop.
Have a good weekend. Jerre
I used to collect those Rat Fink stickers drawn by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, and sometimes read CARtoons, and various drag racing comic books, of which the work of a cartoonist named Pete Millar was frequently highlighted. That's as close as I ever got to that scene, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for coming, good buddy, as I set aside the tuneage for the most part and focus instead on spectator sports that I loved as a boy and as a teenager, various forms of auto racing and demolition derbies. You are extremely knowledgeable about cartoonists, and I thank you for adding your info to the mix. If you can relate to drag racing more so than to oval track racing, then you won't want to miss my next post, the Part 2 conclusion of "Need For Speed" to be published around August 11. Wait till you lay eyes on the Rat Fink artwork in that post. I'm sure you will have something to say about it.
Thanks again for paying me a visit, good buddy Kirk. Stay well and I'll see you again next month!
Did I miss a lit of music?? I loved watching the stock cats go by on a Sunday. My brother was big into the stock cars and I'd sit with him and we would watch them go by. He would mark things down while I would be a lookout and tell him one was coming. Of course they were on a flat bed but many also were just driven. My brother went to Humberstone Speedway. I went once with my dad and him but I didn't like the dust and the noise but, I still fell asleep! I was very young. Later, when I was in my early 20s, I wanted to be in the crash up derby with my big brute of a car. I thought I would avoid but back into some cars with full force. My Ambassador could handle it...hahaaaaa. I never did go but I still dream about it. I should go again just to see but wear ear plugs.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteThanks for taking a chunk out of your evening to visit me, dear friend! It's great to see you again. I look forward to hooking up with you and my buddy Harley at the BBC tamale and on Thursday before I disappear for the rest of the month.
Yessum, there was only one song in this big long post. I guess I could have added a few car songs, but the post is already so long (the longest ever to run at Shady's Place) that I am feverishly finding and adding AI generated images of vintage 1950s/60 women to my sidebar to avoid the comments and replies extending down into blank nothingness. :)
Thanks for letting me know that your brother was a racing fan and that you actually fell asleep at one of the track events. That's amazing! Whenever I went to the races, I was so pumped full of adrenaline that I couldn't get to sleep later that night. I see that the track your brother went to, Humberstone Speedway, is located in Port Colborne, Ontario. So, I take it that up there in Canada, demolition derbies were/are also called crash-up derbies. Neato! My folks always referred to them as "destruction derbies." I can hardly believe that you wanted to participate in a demo derby using your own personal car. Yessum, as I stated in the text, there was always a sly fox or two that tried to outwit, outplay and outlast the rest by carefully avoiding contact with other vehicles. The crowd always booed the guy, and cheered when someone finally caught up to him and knocked him out of the competition. Yessum, as you hinted, the wise strategy in a crash-up derby was to keep your car in reverse, keep backing up and trying to ram the grilles and front fenders of other cars while keeping your heap safe from a fatal blow.
Thanks again for your kind visit and wonderful comment, dear friend BB. I'll be over to see you and your smooch pooch Harley tomorrow morning!
Hi Shady! I hope I am in your three day window this time. I keep thinking your posts are closer to the end/beginning of the month so I miss them.
ReplyDeleteMy brother-in-law was really into race cars and he actually took me to the track once when I was about 10 or 12. I can't remember what type of race it was but I remember the excitement of it all. My nephew races now in Colorado sometimes. He does drag racing. Loved looking at all the pictures. Some of those old cars are pretty cool.
I'll try to remember that you are posting more in the middle of the month from now on! Have a great rest of the month. Things here are pretty stable. Today is my mother-in-law's 99th birthday!
Hi, Janet!
DeleteI'm excited to see you, dear friend! Thanks for thinking about me and coming over for a visit again this month.
No, to be clear, dear friend, I do not make a point of introducing new posts at the end or the beginning of the month, nor do I intentionally post in the middle of any given month. Actually, I've been cheating on my own rules. Last fall when I returned to blogging from my long hiatus, I announced that I was going to publish only once a month. Dang-it, I discovered that I have so much material saved in drafts, it would take me approximately 333 years to run it all if I stuck with that pace. :) Therefore, my posts are averaging 3 to 4 weeks apart, allowing me to get 15 or more published in a single year instead of only a dozen. Seems like your publishing pace is even slower than mine lately. Golly, I've been waiting for a new post to appear at Janet's Smiles since last month and haven't seen any. That means I now owe you two visits. I will keep my eyes peeled. If and when you run your next post, please remember to look for my comment in your junk bin.
Thanks for letting me know that auto racing runs in your family, with your BIL and nephew involved in the sport. I'm happy to know you enjoyed gazing at all of these vintage racing photos and colorful art illustrations.
Blessings to Bill's mother! I was just going to ask how she's doing. Happy 99 years to the birthday girl! Please get it through your noggin that all of your sacrifice, all of the patient, kind and generous assistance you have been giving her in recent years has contributed to her longevity. I admire you, Janet.
So, are we having fun yet, working our way through another relaxing, drama-free election year? (BA-DUM-BUMP) I've been thinking about you and knowing that you must be in the same shape I am by now.
I hope you and my buddy Benny have been well since we last connected. Thank you again for dropping in and getting carpal tunnel scrolling down through this long Part 1 post. I hope you can return on August 11, 12 or 13 when I present the Part 2 conclusion of my summer series "Need For Speed" which will shift gears and focus on drag racing. Take care, dear friend Janet!
If anyone needs speed it's me! I'm sorry I missed this post on Tuesday. I'd worked 3 days this week and that's a killer at times! Anyway, race cars are not my thing but my older brothers loved it and my oldest brother, Phil, was really a car guy. My Dad bought a little house for my Grandparents and it was in Trevor, Wi that was near Kenosha and they would go there and watch races all the time. I know we have demolition derbies here in Ashland at the county fair and it's super loud! I enjoyed reading about your memories from youth and seeing how much you enjoyed that time spent with family and all the happenings at the track. Great old photos and of course I remember Mitch Miller but was still a little kiddo when his show was on. Anyway, I hope I'm not too late for you today and I hope you're having a great weekend. We're on the "almost done" side of a bath redo and are slogging through a few more projects that we put off. Getting it all done isn't the most summer fun but it will be
ReplyDeletegood to have them off the project list! Maybe then I will truly retire? Nah. Jack always jokes that my next husband will finish the list! (I think he's joking) Take care Shady! My sister and some of her family are coming for a visit next weekend so maybe I'll have something to blog about!
DH enjoys watching Nascar on Sunday afternoons. He grew up watching the sport with his dad who was a huge fan. No doubt the names of these drivers mostly likely might've registered with him, especially if they drove Nascar and DH may have heard of some of them. I'll have to ask. Anywho fun salute to a fabulous thrilling sport!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's just a me thing or common with women but cars aren't my thing. Lol! I just watched the Panic series and there's one scene where they're doing these bumping cars. I thought that was dangerous but also fun. I've only done the bump cars in a theme park once.
ReplyDeleteWow! Demolition Derby was not for the faint-hearted. I have to wonder how many serious accidents there were and how many people lost their lives doing it.
ReplyDelete