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

I was never at Manzy, but heard the same things about the place, but the stories always come off not as the place is a dump and I hate it, they were more like the dive bar that you like to go to because it is that way and you always have fun. Like the owner wanting to redo a ball park and everyone says don't change it because they want that feel and character of non-updates. At least thats how I take the stories of the people who were there.

http://gph.is/XMLGff

I have to agree with Johnny Gibson... Pennsboro, West Virginia is the absolute worst racetrack in the world!!! Here are the reasons for this honor...

In the mid-eighties, Pennsboro put on a very high-dollar sprint car two day show (15,000 to win, which was very high for that timeperiod) that my Dad, Uncles and myself attended. This was my first visit to this track as it usually hosted Late Model races, and I am a sprint car snob. We left from home (Pittsburgh, PA at that time) and headed to the track. The first issue we had with the track was that it is in the middle of NOWHERE! It was 30 miles to the nearest larger city from the track, so nothing around to do before or after the races. We pulled a trailer to a state park a few miles from the track, so we had a place to stay, but no motels anywhere nearby.

When we entered the track, we found out the following... No lights, no fence around the track except for the front straight, and it was just a chain-link fence with no large support poles, the worst PA system I ever heard (or couldn't hear), NO GRANDSTANDS (they only had a dirt hillside above the frontstretch, with terraces cut into it, so you had to bring your own chairs, or sit on the dirt ground.

I don't know if they even had a concession stand because we never attempted to use it. Just porta-potties for their restrooms, and they were absolutely filthy. And, the announcer did know any of the drivers, so he usually associated the wrong driver with the cars.

The track itself was not clay, it was straight sandy dirt without a hint of water in it only a few laps of cars on the track after they attempted to water it (about twice during the entire two days). The track was flat; the frontstretch went uphill into turn one where at the entrance to turn one, there was a huge bump in the track because a concrete pipe ran under the track there. The backstraight went downhill, after going over the same pipe-created bump coming out of turn two. Turns three and four were reverse camber turns which pushed the cars off of the track if you went in with any acceleration what-so-ever.

Now, to the race itself... This race was in September, so no Outlaws were there (all on the West Coast that year) so there was a large contigent of AllStars and Ohio & PA cars. Bobby Allen made the only pass of the race when he went from his 2nd place starting spot, around his teammate Richard Lupo, for the lead, and he won the race. Dave Blaney was there in his family owned #10, and about half way through the race, he pulled out from the botton lane (which was where everybody was running because the rest of the track was unusable as a race track) to try to pass a car in turn three. By the time he got back to the bottom, he had lost 11 positions!

So, that is why I think that Pennsboro, WVA is the worst track in the world!

Careful Johnny, if a dirt late model fan reads this your bathroom will be on fire ! ! ! ! ! !

No question for me. Freeport Raceway Park, Freeport, IL. Not all the owner's faults either. Just had a community that did not support the race track. City would only give them a permit for 12 months at a time. Would you stick any money into your facility? Not giving a free pass, but not an easy situation for a track owner to build on.

Remember the IRA sprints coming in only to discover that the fence was so bad, they would not run the 1/2 mile track. So, they ran the 1/4 mile track. 2nd heat race, car in the fence--tore the damned fence down. Don't know how old it was, but it was old. End of the races for the night. Gave a $10 refund of the $22 admission. Give less than a 50% refund?

Remember sitting there late on many Saturday nights while they Fu#$ed around for an hour or so trying to get the lights to come on at dark. Can't check the lights before the races start? Really?

Now, it's a cornfield. Better off too. The cornfield is making money and I'm not wasting any watching features with 3 cars!

Before Mel Martin sold it out the back door in the dead of night, he's renovated the concession stands, put in new bleachers and catch fence. He also bought the famous wrecking yard outside of turn three and rigs were able to park there for the last Copper on Dirt. He didn't need to do anything at all to the track, it's always been bad ass! The turns at Manzy were faster than the straights that most races are run on today, and it was within feet of being a 5/8 the fast way around, up top.

Some used to sit in the stands and bitch about Keith, but all I cared about was that he kept up the track itself, one of the best Sprint car tracks in the nation; he did!

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

Keep It Real

Oh God! That place makes the old Lovelock look modern. I cringe at the thought of sprints running there but between the size of the joint and how primitive it is the idea of just about anything running there is scary.

The former Kopellah Speedway was a bit "rustic" but the racing was always good there. Today the place is under new ownership and renamed the Saint Croix Valley Raceway. The place has really come around and is running non-wing Sprints weekly, several UMSS winged shows and an IRA show. Proof that with a little elbow grease even the most rustic of tracks can be transformed into an awesome little place.

Stan Meissner

For me the worst track would have to be the track where Wolfgang got badly burned and ended a great career,i think it was an asphalt track.

To be fair, if we're talkin about Hilltop between Marietta and Belpre OH the joint just reopened in 2012 after 20+ yrs in mothballs. Go by there every day on the job but it's a long way from home. Heard they were running a few taxi classes but maybe I'm mistaken. Looks like a few modest improvements were made from last year to this and if I hear that they're bringin in the sprinters I'll make the drive up there to support them. The facility looks rough but I can attest that the surface is worked thru the week and looks good on fri afternoon before the show that night. No idea how it holds up. Seems to me with all the facilities we've lost over the years if someone tries to bring one back they deserve a chance to make it go. Place might be a dump as far as the facility goes but it's in a good location and could be a nice place if they keep workin on it a little here and there as time and money allows.

REMEMBER OUR TROOPS!!!

hales corners. its no longer. it was a chithole.

The last time I was there I think they forgot what a water truck was, after 3 laps they started lapping and no one could see anything till the race was over

Worst track? any where it is a DUST BOWL ! when you are on front strech and can not see the backstrech or vice versa !!

Long Live  20 Time  World Of Outlaws Champion Steve 
Kinser #11 

We need more sprint car racing at our home track.

The Pennsboro race SammyFanInTX is referring to took place September 17-18 1983. Time trials and heats on the 17th, B and A-mains on the 18th. And it paid $25,000 to win (which was actually the highest paying winner's purse in the world at the time--even more than Knoxville). Bobby Allen won over Kenny Jacobs, Richard Lupo, Rick Ferkel, Don Kreitz, Bobby Davis Jr. and Rocky Hodges. There were only 7 cars running at the end.

Oh by the way--Thanks for the link to the pictures YungWun24. (That 1983 race was the last time I was at Pennsboro. And even though it's been closed for years, it didn't look much different when it was open!)

OWOW can you PLEASE message me back (or email [email protected]) as I am a family member of the Deerings. I included details in a message to you and PRAY you respond !! My stepmother was the oldest child sitting next to yall during the race and watched her fathers crash/die.... please help me gather some closure i look forward to hearing from you.