[Andrew S. Quinn]

This is where I grew up. Believe it or not I am still a teenager in this photo,but only for a few more months. And all these years later I still have one of my old Purolater jackets from way back then

Bob Bahre put up the cash,and we got to see all the greats in pavement Late Model racing at the Oxford 250 when I was growing up.At the time,billed as the "Richest 1 day short track race in America", Stock Car Racing Magazine covered this race,and made it a race that everyone wanted to see,even if they had to travel way out to the sticks of Southwest Maine to do so.

[sw1911]

They ran on Friday nights and as SW911 posted they pitted the cars on the infield. The Allied Auto Racing Association (AARA) raced Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at three different speedways. Anybody care to guess where the Saturday & Sunday night shows were?

How about I55 and St Charles?

[tntbusco]

Awesome thread. Keep it going love reading about racing passion
One quick story. I grew up on a farm about 5 miles from Avilla. My parents had a beautiful custom built mobile home. My parents loved sprint cars and raised me to love them. One year at the Avilla Nationals which was a two day show I was helping Terry Shepherd so I asked him if he wanted to spend the night at my parents. Anyway one thing led to another and we ended up with five sprint car teams at their house. Ive never seen my parents so happy. Mom making breakfast for everybody and dad making sure everyone had whatever they needed to work on the cars. Priceless. Also the farmers that lived around them trying to figure out what the heck these things were and what they were doing there

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[Mud Packer]

Originally Posted by sw1911 They ran on Friday nights and as SW911 posted they pitted the cars on the infield. The Allied Auto Racing Association (AARA) raced Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at three different speedways. Anybody care to guess where the Saturday & Sunday night shows were? How about I55 and St Charles?

Not sure about Saturday (memory has faded) since I didn't go there back then. Was I-55 called something different then? It would have been in the late 50's-early 60's time frame. St. Charles is correct for the Sunday night show though. A tough grind for these guys racing three days each weekend at three different tracks. They didn't have multiply cars so if you were torn up you had to go home and put it back together again. Great times for sure.

I believe that they competed for an overall championship for the three tracks. Forgot to mention in the original post that the flagman was on the inside of the track as well as the announcer and scoring folks as they are today. Very tight quarters for sure. Also, I love your avatar. Great looking race car from back in the day.

[open_wheel_outlaw]

When I was younger saw my first race at THAT it was WoO sprints with Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader running modifieds on a "NASCAR NIGHT" before they were called nascar nights. Only knew of Smoke from Nascar fame so went to watch and fell in love with the winged sprint cars. Soon after discovered non-wing sprints and would have to say I'm more of a non-wing man than wing man, but still go to both when I can. THAT is only a short drive for me so I hit every race there, but it acted as a gateway drug that now has me attending Haubstadt and Putnamville sprint races with regularity and as well as trying new and different tracks periodically. So in a sense the nascar night worked and brought in a new fan to dirt races, but in turn it made me realize how boring nascar is and how awesome dirt racing is!

[John P Huss]

I grew up at Angell Park. My 1st race was 1969.
Been hooked every since.
Best Regards,
John

[Sausage]

Originally Posted by JstAbvVMC Vallejo Speedway in CA. (Yes Jeff's G's hometown) My Dad ran stock cars there when I was twelve. When I was old enough to drive to the races on my own, Calistoga, Baylands and Altamont and even West Capital Speedway before it was closed....

As an aside, one night at Baylands they interviewed a 13 yr. old Jeff G. They couldn't let him race because of their insurance, but he was already in Indiana at the time racing.

[illiNOISE]

Originally Posted by sw1911 They ran on Friday nights and as SW911 posted they pitted the cars on the infield. The Allied Auto Racing Association (AARA) raced Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at three different speedways. Anybody care to guess where the Saturday & Sunday night shows were? How about I55 and St Charles?

Pevely didn't open until the late 70's, so my guess would be Lake Hill and St. Charles. (Or perhaps Walsh Stadium if we're going far enough back in time.)

[racerjim2]

First race was in late 40's at a track called Evans fairgrounds. This was just outside of Ripley, West Virginia. The old midgets raced there and at the Meigs County fairgrounds in Pomeroy, Ohio, Marietta, Ohio fairgrounds and Torch Speedway at Torch, Ohio and Scotts Field in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

By the early 50's it was turning into stockcar racing at those same tracks and then in 1958 Ohio Valley Speedway outside of Parkersburg, West Virginia opened. Since it was only 20 miles up the road that would be our track for many years and it's still open in 2013. Then Hilltop Speedway outside of Marietta, Ohio and the Skyline Speedway near Athens, Ohio in the early 60's. Then by 1970 when the open wheel supermods disappeared in our home area we were hooked and it was off to Atomic Speedway in Alma, Ohio mostly and then the bigger tracks like Eldora, Dayton and Winchester.

I can't think of a better way to have spent my childhood and my lifetime than chasing racing all over the country. Even though I don't get out as much as I once did it's still in my veins and my #1 sport.

[ronmil]

Originally Posted by 65 Push Truck First race I went to was at the Princeton IN fairgrounds. They raced "late models". 50's and 60's Fords and Chevys. Then a guy named Tommy Helfrich showed up in a Camaro that was bad fast and upped the ante for everyone. I saw my first sprint car race at TSS with Buckwheat Gates and Dick Gaines in the 70's. My dad never went to the races but my older brother would take me. Occasionally we would slip out of Sunday night church early and go to TSS. Ronmil you remember when Dick Snyder hit the light pole in turn 3 at Princeton and the lights went out till like 2am? We stayed until the races were over like 3 or 4am. Think my brother got in big trouble for that one. Ha ha Posted via Mobile Device

Yes, I remember that, and also the terrible night that two of Jim Scales' mechanics were killed when the steering broke on Lucas' (his first name escapes me) believe it may have been Bill, hemi powered Barracuda and he went airborne, completely clearing the stage. The mechanics were in turn one with their backs toward the oncoming airborne car. Lucas was from Washington, IN. That was in 1974. The Princeton track was scary fast, and was spongy in turn one where a spring ran under it. Fast Freddie Gerteirsen and W. T. Harris were always quick at that track. I believe some of the stock cars ran big block Chevies that were as big as 596 cu in. One hundred eighty degree exhaust headers were in vogue then, and the cars didn't sound like V8's with that configuration. Interesting era, but I as I think back, it is a wonder that a lot more serious accidents didn't happen there.