An racing article that rings true..

[NickHolt]

Here's to "Real Racing!"

 

By Patty Kay http://insiderracingnews.com/PK/041404.html

 

April 14, 2004

 

Back in the stone age, when I was a teenager, there was (and still is, though it's paved now) a half-mile dirt track located some 30 miles east of Rochester NY, where I grew up. It's called Spencer Speedway, and some of you might remember folks such as Richie Evans, Geoff Bodine and Jimmy Spencer racing there, but they all came later.

 

At about age 16, I was "dragged" out there by an old boyfriend that was fascinated by drag racing. In those days, the dragsters were burning something that passed for high-powered fuel but smelled for all the world like ether, and it just made me sick.

 

Ah, but one weekend night we stayed on after the stinky cars were through because there was to be a couple of feature races for something called "stockcars", and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Bear in mind that we are talking early to mid-fifties here, but the cars were of a much older vintage, having a born-on date in the area of 1938 to 1941. They strongly resembled the little "Legend" cars that we see today except that they were full-sized.

 

I couldn't tell you the name of a driver that I saw that night, but I knew I'd found something special, something that really piqued my interest and made me ecstatically happy to be a part of. Time and again, I went back to that little dirt track (Without that particular boyfriend) to watch the likes of Dutch Hoag, Elmer Musclow and Lee Bliss turn circles while flinging dust and dirt all over the crowd, and the crowd loved it!

 

It was all about speed, and those men were our heroes, daring to risk their lives to put on the best show on earth for the race fans.

 

In 1955, the Big Guns came to town to race at the Monroe County Fairgrounds out on Henrietta Rd. and my darling Aunt Isabelle, who indulged my every whim, got tickets for herself, my poor unsuspecting grandmother and me to go and see a Grand National race. Life doesn't get any better when you're seventeen!

 

The race was won handily by Tim Flock, who wound up alone on the lead lap, but there were a few interesting names among those that I saw that day; names like Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Fonty Flock and some guy named Junior Johnson, just to name a few.

 

I have to admit that being as young and stupid as most teenagers, I really didn't understand then why some of the local heroes, especially Dutch Hoag, who was the best that Spencer Speedway had to offer, didn't fare well against these interlopers, but I learned over the years what it meant to race the best and beat the best.

 

It was some 30 years or so before I was able to see another live Grand National race, but for all that time, I followed the series closely (buying copies of the Monday edition of the Charlotte Observer from a News Service)and I cheered lustily when ESPN decided to take a chance and begin televising the races.

 

Now, Spencer Speedway, Lancaster, over by Buffalo, Langhorne, down in Pennsylvania and the like are not in a league with Indianapolis, Daytona or that big ugly track in Alabama. (Hold your fire! I used to like Talladega, until the restrictor plates came upon the scene. Now, it just flat scares me!) Still, the small local tracks provide some of the best racing to be had, and they are the types of tracks that give us the stars that we see on the TV screen every Sunday.

 

In the past few weeks, many of you have written to tell me stories of disillusionment and disappointment regarding the current state of NASCAR racing. The reasons for that are many and varied, ranging from the huge traffic jams as an ever-increasing number of cars attempt to filter into facilities that are not geared to accommodate them, to the impact on the wallet of being bled by not only the tracks but by every service industry surrounding them. Then of course, there is the television coverage, or lack of same, that so many of us are subjected to on a weekly basis. Whatever the reason, many fans are canceling long-held reserved seating at almost any track you can think of, and planning vacations in the mountains or at the beach instead of at the track.

 

What will happen in the end to the "big leagues" remains to be seen, but there is something quite simple that we as race fans can do. My advice is to take your kids out to the local short track; whether it's dirt or paved makes no difference. Show them where real racing comes from, lest they be fooled by the bread and circuses that now pass for the upper echelon of racing on television. You won t see Chris Myers or Jeff Hammond in the infield, but you just might see the guy that lives down the road a piece on the track.

 

What you will see for sure are drivers that still race for the win rather than looking at some "big picture." You'll see older drivers still racing, with no one suggesting that they might like to sign into a nursing home and you'll see youngsters that still have to prove their worth before being awarded a top ride. If any of that sounds familiar, it might be because that's what Grand National racing used to be all about, before the big dollars took it over.

 

This summer will find your writer in attendance at a 1/3 mile dirt circle that's located about fifteen miles from my front door. We have a friend that works on a pit crew there, who has been begging us to come out and play. (He's my age and still gets it done) This summer, we'll be doing just that, and I couldn't be more excited. It's been a long time since I've washed track dust out of my hair or brushed it out of my teeth. As I've told so many of you in private, real racing is not dead, it's just moved closer to home.

 

Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!

 

~Patty Kay

 

You can contact Patty Kay at.. nas3car2@alltel.net

[Racer26]

Sums it all up in a NUTSHELL.

[debwill]

I sent my compliments to Patty Kay for sharing her thoughts . . . here's her reply:

 

Dear Debbie,

 

Thanks you so much for taking the time to write. The article on going back to one’s roots was written to express exactly the way that I feel. There is far better racing to be had than what we are being offered either on TV or at the big tracks on Sunday. God bless you for being a part of a track that has not sold its soul to the highest bidder.

 

~PattyKay

 

Thanks, Nick, for posting the article

[corvette john]

Amen.

[servadv]

VERY CORRECT