Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Simple question: Who or what introduced you to Sprint Car Racing?  For me, it was my father, who was/is a mechanic.  Took us to our local dirt track, because of his affinity for cars and motorsports, when I was little every single week.  Fell in love with Sprints and particularly WoO from a young age.  Now with a young son of my own I look to continue the tradition.

For me I grew up with modifieds at Nazaeth and Reading in the 60's and loved them. I worked on one fro awhile until I got married. Then life got in the way. I later moved to Central PA. and fell in love with Sprint Cars. I live 30 minutes or less from Williams Grove, Lincoln, Trailway and Susky..who could ask for more. My dad was aphotographer at Nazareth and Dorney Park back in the day.

ABC's WIde World of Sports

My Dad took me to West Capital Raceway in '63 when I was 8 years old and I have been going to dirt car racing since then. Saw about 6 or 7 races at the old CA state fair, all the best Indy car drivers were there. Fun time to be a kid(or a Dad that liked racing).

All three of my kids(ages 33, 25, 24) went to the Sprint car races from their first year of life to today. Now I have to get my grandson to the races.

ROD

My whole old neighorhood was into racing , I lived in the community of Cedarmere in Owings Mills we had two drivers who lived there Ray Kable and Chuck Talbot they both raced the old stock cars at Lincoln , Dorsey , Westport Stadium in Baltimore .  I hung out Chuck's gargage 24/7 helped do somethings on the cars , whatever i could do . Then went to the races all the time every weekend  to all tracks in central Pa . Then later went to Bud Grimm's garage in Pikesville , MD who was the owner of Ray Tilley's 88 car , went there a couple times a week , just could never get enough of going to garages and to the races . And the story contines on and on of my passion  for racing .

Robert, where was Bud Grimms's shop located?  I'm pretty familiar with Pikesville so I'm curious.

My mom and dad. They started taking me with them when I was 4 years old, in 1965. My dad helped a couple of local drivers until his business grew and couldn't get away for entire weekends. We still attended Sportsman Speedway/Saline County Speedway, in Marshall, MO, every Sunday night until it closed in, I think, 1981. My parents attended every Knoxville Nationals from 1961 until 1991 (my dad was fighting cancer and wasn't up to making the trip in '92, and passed away in the spring of '93. Mom quit going to the races when my dad passed away, but I took her to Saturday Night of the 50th running of the Nationals.) In 1969 they started taking us kids, and it became our family vacation every summer (I've been to every Nationals since, 47 in a row and counting.) We also visited many tracks around the Midwest.  We made it to a few tracks in the South and Southeast during winter and early spring months when business was slower and dad could get away for a few days. I've continued the tradition with my kids. I can't wait until my granddaughter and future grandkids are old enough that the tradition can continue with them. 

Only lived 83 miles from Knoxville all my life. Grew up watching jalopy races as a child. Kept hearing about the super modifieds at Knoxville. Finally got Dad to take the family there one Saturday night. Loved it. But Dad would only take us there once a summer. The stock car tracks were only 17 & 40 miles from home. When I got my license and my own car I started going to all the big shows there. WoO, twin features night, etc. Didn't take long for me to not be able to resist going every Saturday night and have been doing so ever since.

There has never been a summer in my life I did not go to auto races of some kind every Saturday night.

Like many,  my Dad took me to Grand Forks Speedway around 1959 to watch supermodifieds on that dirt bullring most Friday nights.  

To broaden my love of racing he also took me to sports car races, drag races and several snowmobile races.  Anytime there was racing on Wild World of Sports we watched together.

I was lucky enough to grow up less than 10 minutes from a track that ran weekly sprint cars. My dad took me many times growing up. I can't even tell you how old I was when I went to my first race. 

If that wasn't cool enough, my parents took me to the Kings Royal 3 times before I turned 18. i remember walking in and seeing all of the cars in the pits. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I got to watch races that started with letters of the alphabet I didn't even know exsisted in sprint car racing. After the races I got to go in the pits. I got autographs from the King, Sammy, Dale Blaney, Kenny Jacobs and the list goes on. How many kids get to go to a sporting event and meet the best athletes in that sport? It is unlike anything out there. It amazed me and has stuck with me even into adulthood. 

My parents started taking me to Knoxville and Chariton (IA.) in 1954 at the age of 4.  The first race I still have some recollection of, however, is the 1955 Hawkeye Futurity in D.M., IA.

Gary Bonar watching him work on Ned Fry's and Billy Duesenberry's cars

My father. He started taking myself and my buddy to Huset's in 1982, we were 5 years old, we're both 39 years old now and still go to races together when we can.

My dad also took my brother and I to our first Nationals in 1988. We all still go to this day.

Both of my boys went to their first sprint car race at 9 months of age and both attended their first Nationals before they were 10 months of age, this was only possible of course because of my wife who is also a sprint car fan, and daughter of a sprint car fan and sponsor.

From my perspective, sprint car racing just keeps getting better.

It's was on Church  st. off Reistertown rd in Pikesville  ,it was at his house where  he lived . It was a small house with a small garage . years ago he use to  start the car and run it down the street to tune it up . He finally got into Hall of  Fame .His wife Sally still lives in Pa .

Thanks Robert,  I know there's a plumber located in a small house on the right when you turn off Reisterstown Road.  Can you confirm if it was on the left or right side.  There is also a big old church farther down on the left and there is an auto repair shop in the garage of a house on the far left side of Church (Warrens).

My uncle worked with his cousin who was Sonny Beck. He owned the Sonny Beck construction USAC sprint car. My Dad worked for them when I was young and I remember going to Queen City speedway in the mid 1960s which I think was my first race when I was maybe 7/8 years old. A driver named Burton was in the car that night. The story goes they had trouble before the feature and came out late. He was flying down the backstretch to catch the back of the field on the pace lap and the throttle stuck which sent him over the 3rd turn wall down a ravine into a creek.. He was ok but that was what started my passion for sprint car racing and living 35 miles from Eldora all my life has fed my passion as well....

When I was 7 years old my dad took me to the 1997 cheaters day at the Sioux Empire fairgrounds. He taught me that we each picked a car at the start of the race and then watched to see whose pick finished better.  So when the A feature roled around I ended up picking a white, yellow and blue #15. As it turns out that driver would win the A feature and the 98 cheaters day A feature, it also turned out that driver was WoO rookie Donny Schatz and this 7 year olds favorite sprint car driver going forward (love me some tmac as well thus my name). Since then I have been fortunate enough to witness all of his wins at HUSETS, Jackson, Spencer, and the Knoxville Nationals. So I kind of lucked out and got a front row seat on the bandwagon, but it's all thanks to my dad who I have been blessed to enjoy sprint car racing with all these years. 

The evoluation of jalopy's to modifieds to super modifieds to sprint cars. The journey started in 1949

Hi , and thanks for return reply --it was or is on left hand side further down lane , a house and garage not attached next to house down far . I haven't been there for quite some time , I may go there one day to take some photos of it to take out to Hall of Fame induction , if I go out in June . I know one of the guys who was on his crew still lives on Church lane , as I met him at the Ray Tilley classic at Selinsgrove a few years ago ,which was rained out but is a annual race  this year on Sunday April 24 , an All Star Race . Hope this helps , thanks again .

That's awesome! I remember that race too. I actually remember when Schatz used to drive a black #15 car weekly at Husets with green and orange trim. Then he showed up at cheaters day with the blue beacon truck wash car and I had no idea who he was until they announced him.

My dad got me into racing, we went every week to Husets. We actually had season tickets in the turn one suites for a while because if you went to every race it was like a dollar more per show. It was great for when it was dusty and since you're staring down the front stretch it's a unique view. I remember when the track got wide the guys with big balls would run the top and actually tap the wall with their rear bumper. Tmac did that a lot. My dad also used to take me to Knoxville at least once a year and we went to the nationals a couple times. I've gone the last 15 years in a row with my own group of friends.

My uncle was also a huge race fan and supporter. He was really good friends with Rod and Justin Henderson and helped sponsor them throughout the years when he could. I was able to go check out their shop when Justin was just getting started. They even brought the car to my grandmas lake cabin to prepare it when Lake County was still running. Sadly my uncle died of cancer last year, Rod actually helped take care of him when he was at his worst. Justin gave the eulogy at his funeral. They are two of the nicest people in racing and I'm happy for their success. I could keep going but that's just part of what got me into sprint car racing.