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?
