Do you remember your first race?

[Rick Coffin]

To young to remember the race, it was 1973 at the gate to watch my father race been going ever since.

[ronabneysr]

now let me tell you about first time i drove race car

don't remember the track but my same uncle jimmy that took me and my brother don to races had decided we needed a race car we had been going for few years by now and we were about 14 -15 but looked older

and my uncle had bought this ole chev coupe from a driver and he was going drive it at last minute he chicken out i remember th track had telephone poles laying long ways all the way around the track about three high that was wall except in front of grandstands and i don't know what that was but it was hard well

about fastest thing i had ever rode up to then was my dads ole flat head ford and some of his horses but i was not scared so i was voted to drive i do remember i started about middle ways on out side of this car i will never forget the # as long as i live f 97 and right behind me was another young man i learned later was one of allison o there was some real race car drivers in that race all except me

now the guy we bought the car from had gave me some driving advice i asked him how would i know when i got to turn when i was suppose to slow down and turn left ell he told me don't slown down till i here the car on inside of me slow down then get on brakes turn left get it straight and sick the gas to floor and take off again

well car had good fast motor in it but brakes did not work too good cause i never heard the guy beside me lift or slow down and the guy behind me must have thought i wanted to go faster because be was pushing me and guy beside me gave me this ugly i don't like you face and made a u turn

and got me in rear fender i do remember the car got real high in air and back then the seats was not very much and neither were seat belts i did not see much more i know car never turned over i do remember i was no longer holding the stering wheel i was holding on to something in floor when car finally got stopped it had went thru some of them rotten telephone poles and i was out in sandy field and motor was gone out of car

i also remember the guy my uncle bought the car from on credit telling me with little more pratice he thought i could do better and he had a nother car for sale .

well i did not have lot to say that night but i had decided i had started in wrong class and after about 6 months me and my brother got a car with out our uncle .

i have never regreted for one minute going to my first stock car race . i have enjoyed ever second and have met some of the greatest people in the world have made many friends and have made some enemys

my only regret is and i ask god all the time why god he was not tru racing yet he was not ready any we were not ready to let him go he still had races to win and people to please one other thing i would like to say i see young men racing today that there fathers raced when they were just young children .

a lot of them i raced with and a lot i know
if some of your fathers - brother - mothers - uncles were alive today they would be so proud of you

RON ABNEY SR

[tccaz]

Back in the late 50s my dad and his brothers built a car to race in Connecticut I don't know where I was probably 4 and can't remember ever going. We moved to Ft. Pierce in 61 and I saw my first race there I was 6 or 7 when that track closed for a while we traveled to Eau Gallie as a family night out every Saturday. Been hooked ever since I even got into drag racing bracket cars for awhile. but the wife won;t let me even think of circle track racin. I still love to this day can't wait for Feb. Great post thanks for starting it. Tom


















f

[dnsno]

Never forget....

Went to Hialeah In 1964, was about nine years old then.
I remember a driver doing donuts like a wild man in front of the flagstand. My brother told he was braking in his new tires. Guess the burning rubber got me hooked. Now it's racing fuel exhaust, burning rubber and a wiff of sweet perfume. All three are expensive but they are a nice addiction to pay for.........