Do you remember the first race you ever attended?

Posse 19 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:18 pm

First race I remember going to was at the Grove...It was a 410/Sportsman Double header...It was probally 86 or 87...It was very early in the season as it was a daylight show...Really don't remember more than picking the cool looking cars and hoping they won...

My first weekly home was Silver Springs Speedway...The family had reserved seats and we went often...I really enjoyed wathcing the Sportsman and late models weekly as a kid...The late models wrecked all the time and the Sportsman were wheel to wheel exciting...The atmosphere at the Spings was just awesome whatever your direction was...

poconoposse · **Posted:** Thu Jul 19, 2012 5:42 pm

did you have to be born yet cause im pretty sure i was still in the womb when i was at the track, but if that dont count probably 75 or 76 at selinsgrove, im not sure though

hookedondirt7 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:06 pm

JTR13 wrote:

Can't tell you what year it was and I can't tell you how old I was, but I can tell you it was an Outlaw race at the old Flemington Speedway in Jersey... My parents always let us pick something special to do for our birthdays so my older brother said he wanted to go to the race track... I don't remember much, but I remember sitting in the grandstands on the front stretch down by turn 1... When we got there we couldn't believe all the open seats down front along the fence, nor could we understand why those who were sitting there had on goggles and handkerchiefs wrapped around their faces, well needless to say after the cars whipped around turn one the first time and we felt the sting of little balls of clay in the face, we figured out why real quick and moved up the grandstands, lol... Then they had to ruin it by paving it, then eventually shutting it down... I remember the sounds and smells and immediately got hooked on dirt trackin, that was also the only time I ever saw a sprint car till I moved out here to york 8 years ago... I grew up just up the road from East Windsor Speedway where I became a regular until someone decided that what we REALLY needed was another housing development...

If I had a time machine, I'd probably go to that Outlaw race at Flemington where Wolfgang was like a dang bat out of hell.

JLK Kansas · **Posted:** Thu Jul 19, 2012 7:06 pm

The Grove,
It must have been mid to late 60's (66,67,68) my dad knew Mitch Smith. We lived in Mechanicsburg an listen to sounds of the Grove on Fridays, and SS on Saturday. I became a Paxton fan, we didn't go regularly until I was older. Nothing better than having Friday dinner at home and then head to the Grove in time for warm-ups and a late night snack of French Fries (with Vinegar).

I think about it every Friday night haven't been to a race since 1987.

H4TPs · **Joined:** Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:08 pm **Posts:** 69

First race of any kind:

Swandogg · **Posted:** Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:17 pm

August, 1980, Stateline Speedway, Busti, NY, I was 8 years old... my Dad, cousins and I rode up with my Uncle in his big red Torino. :yessss:

I remember cheering on a car with Stroh's for a sponsor :cheers2:

I was a race fan before I was a fan of football, baseball, or any other sport!! :cheerleader:

Wax · **Posted:** Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:30 pm

for me,i was the sat. after the flood of '72 'Agnes' dad took me and my older brothers to the 'Springs,not sure who won the sportsman's,but i think John Ebersole won the early modified feature, i was 8 years old.

1080 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:37 pm

Taken to the races in 1955 at the Grove...don't remember it...

First racing I remember is Williams Grove in 1961...1080..Toby 6...Felty 77.. Sowers 83 are the ones I really remember.

I remember my first race at Port in 1962...Mackison won in the 1. Alwine-Spencer-Tilley crashed...Spunk Wilson hit a pole in turn 4 and some lights went out...Mackison passed Sowers in turn 4 on last lap or close to it. There was no tunnel in turn 1 from what I remember.

1962 at the Springs....Jimmy Sheaffer in a green 57. French fries smelled real good and the Hobby cars crashed and rolled all over the place....loved going to the Springs in 62' and 63'.

Susky...1963...Hersh flipped bad...Mackison quit...Felty won. Overflow crowd on opening day and they sent fans to the infield which also was the pits. We stood along the bachstretch near the McCoy team pit, I remember the road we turned onto off Rt. 382 near I83 was all brick yet!

Lincoln in 1964...Abel won

Selinsgrove in 1964...Toby won...First time I saw the semi-late models...cool!

My memory is still pretty sharp.....Thank God!

................. :bdf:

rudedog · **Joined:** Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:28 pm **Posts:** 55

mine was at the port in the mid to late 70's. used to cheer for the turnbaugh car. still remeber when port would open up their race museum for fair week and it had parts from gary turnbaughs blown motor in it.

GOSHOW · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:19 am

Quote:

My memory is still pretty sharp.....Thank God!

Yes it is... :thumbright:

Poor Scotty Ausherman, I want to talk to him so bad and I do but I just don't get any reply. I still show him pics like at the racing club meeting Wed. of the 39. Just can't really tell if he connects with it or not. He does always give me a smile when he sees me.. :thumbleft:

hotrodney · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:31 am

GOSHOW wrote:

Quote:

My memory is still pretty sharp.....Thank God!

Yes it is... :thumbright:

Poor Scotty Ausherman, I want to talk to him so bad and I do but I just don't get any reply. I still show him pics like at the racing club meeting Wed. of the 39. Just can't really tell if he connects with it or not. He does always give me a smile when he sees me.. :thumbleft:

Really? He's not that old is he? I remember him racing 358's not too many years ago, or maybe my memory is going. :dontknow:

GOSHOW · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:48 am

Nope same Scott Ausherman. Scott is around 56 yrs. old. He developed some sort of brain disease, not sure what it is called. Great guy and his wife also.

STP-719 · **Joined:** Thu Oct 06, 2011 10:53 pm **Posts:** 86

1981 - Port Royal Speedway, Keith Kauffman won the sprint feature by a wide margin in the Weikert #29 and Jeff Robinson won the late model feature in his yellow #3. Kauffman also ran a Crowbar Henry's #21 Ford late model and finished somewhere in the top five (wish I remember exactly but it was anywhere between 3-5). The race must have been around Keith's birthday (June 9) because they had a huge cake for him in the late model pits after the races were over.

Mr. Port · **Joined:** Tue Mar 16, 2010 6:55 pm **Posts:** 1188

Didnt know that about Scotty, thats a shame, always remember those beautiful # 39 s he raced.

PHL80 · **Joined:** Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:42 pm **Posts:** 109

Nope same Scott Ausherman. Scott is around 56 yrs. old. He developed some sort of brain disease, not sure what it is called. Great guy and his wife also.

You got that right GOSHOW!! Scott has done alot for the sport and is one of the true real racers who worked hard and did it for the Love of it. He built me 2 Super Sportsman cars back in 1984 and 1988 after I left Modified racing. He always give ya a smile when you talk to him but he can't respond and any other way. Its tough to see but Its always great to see him and his wife!!

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