Racing People

[Kenny Alderman]

I just thought about a new subject. How did everyone get into racing,whether it be drivers, car owners, track employees or just fans.

[Jimmy McKinley]

Dad was a race fan from livin' in Ohio. He even drag-raced a lil' around the Cleveland area. Used to frequent Heidelberg, Painesville, and Cloverleaf. Mom and Dad moved me down here when I was about 6 weeks old (or so I'm told...LOL). Grandma on Dad's side lived in Pompano. We drove down the Turnpike on our way down - on a Friday afternoon. From what I was told by Dad (or so I rememebr ), we stopped at Palm Beach Fairgrounds Speedway. I knew all the drivers' names and car numbers before I could recite my ABC's

I remember years ago, an old reel-to-reel tape of me when I was about three years old, "announcing" the lineup from a Late Model feature at Palm Beach

Dad got hooked up with Bob Kirk racing at Palm Beach around 1974 or so. Danny Myers was the first driver I remember, running a Late Model (was a yellow and black '69 Camaro). Then we had Don Denny, Paul Connors, and Charlie Reagan when we ran down in south Florida (Palm Beach and Hialeah). Then we discovered Golden Gate and Sunshine, where we spent most of our racing career (from about 1976-7 through about 1994-5). We had a lot of great drivers in our cars - Dave Scarborough, Dave Pletcher, Billy Gill, Wayne Reutimann, Jimmy Cope, Jim Childers, Bryan Wescott, Randy Warren, Junior Purcell, Tony Watson, and several others in the cars over the years. Nowadays, Dad's runnin' a SLM at Orlando, with my brother Scott driving. Dad also spent some time running with the Stricklands (Donnie, Lonnie, and Ronnie) when they were running the old All-Pro Super Series. We also ran with Daniel Keene in '88 in All-Pro, even won a 200-lapper at Hialeah that year.

We've been to just about every paved track in the state of Florida (even a lot that aren't around any more). About the only ones that *I* haven't been to (but Dad has) are Five Flags, St. Augustine, Bronson, and Charlotte County (Punta Gorda). I *have* been to Vero, Eau Gallie, and Ft. Pierce (the one off of Angle Road) when they were around.

So I pretty much grew up with the race car in the garage.

[racnphotos68]

I started...

I started by watching my first race in person. It was the Winston Cup Gatorade Dual 125's at Daytona in the early 80's. I fell in love with the sport when I heard the engines start. I very quickly discovered Orlando Speedworld as a fan. I eventually moved on to other things but still loved the sport and even talked wife #1 into a honeymoon stop at New Smyrna Speedway.

I began helping Ray Smith who ran with the Sportsman and Figure 8 classes and in 1992 wife #1 was gone but not my love of the sport so I bought my first car from Carl Green and started racing 4 cyl enduros. I moved on to Mini Stocks realizing the need to showcase my talents on a weekly basis. Despite the tireless efforts of my only sponsor, Tim's Automotive, I realized that the only time I would take the checkered flag first would be if the first four cars crashed on the backstretch on the last lap and I was so far behind that I drove around them. I sold everything I had and broke even.

I then started working with AncrDave and Rick Bristol at Sunshine Speedway doing a tv show (obviously I was not the "on air" talent. I also worked for Time Out for Motorsports, a radio show here in Orlando with Tom Gray, Dave Lecklightner and Sonny Hartley.

When that ended I landed a job at Auburndale doing security. I actually tried my hand at announcing with one night at Auburndale and a few of the races the last night that the Lakeland 1/4 mile ran.

The best thing that has happened to me was when I was lucky enough to work for David Rogers in the late 90's until early 2000's where I learned so much and met so many people which is how I got to my current gig.
I now get my racing fix by being a free lance photographer for the Late Model Digest newspaper and the Late Model Racer magazine. I was also the KARNAC best of the best photographer a few years back.
I have shot at Orlando, New Smyrna, Lakeland, Five Flags, Hickory, Nashville, and both the Bullring at Las Vegas as well as the superspeedway, along with the dragstrip where I took a photo that won an award and is still hung in the main offices of the speedway in Las Vegas.

[Jane]

To be honest, I did not start my love for racing with round track, it was drag racing. My high school boyfriend did it and I feel in love with it then. When I moved back to Florida in 89, I went to the drag strip almost every weekend until one day in 91, I went to SpeedWorld. After that first visit, I was hooked on round track racing. Don't get me wrong, I still would go to the drag strip sometimes but I did find my love for round track. No one in my family was ever into racing, it was my boyfriend who got me into it and my ex who took me to my first round track racing. Got rite of the ex but not the racing.

[crobinson76]

just so happens i was at the frist race at sunshine speedway and did not even know it mom was still carrying me dad was the turn 1 flagman been around ever since an still love racing got to watch my dad build many a winner he did so for so many of the local greats kenny faircloth jim fenton dave scarborough an many more he helped in his day it was way cool to go to the shop on sat morning an get to see the local heros before the races an look up to these guys such a shame times have changed so much when it was built on some ole jack stands by a bunch guys with a dream of winning on sat sure do miss the good ole days an the 1 i will always look up to my friend my dad tom [ skinny tom ] robinson p.s build it race they will come watch it

thanks keeny got to see you race many a race over the years

[BJ Cavin]

I went to my first race when I was just a kid. It was in the late 1960's and back then there was a dirt race on Saturday at the old half mile at the Piedmont Interstate Fair in Spartanburg, SC. I went with a friend's family to the fair and they took me to the race. After that I was hooked.

Another friend's father used to race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and I got to go with his family to the races sometimes. Again, I was hooked.

But despite my attraction to racing, I quit going to the local tracks and got more into NASCAR. I got the chance to see races at Charlotte, Bristol, Darlington, and at North Wilkesboro, and later on just settled for watching on TV.

But after moving to Florida my wife talked me into going to a Monster Truck show at Ocala Speedway, and we came back for racing the following week because admission was free with the Monster Truck ticket stub. I was hooked again, and since then got more involved by volunteering my talents to help out when needed. That worked into paying jobs and here we are!

[racin movie man]

Good post.

For me it was my dad. I remember him telling me when i was young that he ran a couple of junker races at Riverside Park in Mass in his younger days. he hung around the Dixons and a few others from that era, from what i can recall. Considering he was from Conneticut, we would visit relatives up there and go to "The Park", "Thompson", "Stafford", "Danbury", "Bridgeport" and a few others from time to time. He took a P/T job on the weekends at Islip Speedway, i am guessing for a few extra bucks to support us, and then the fever kicked in. I spent many of saturdays and sunday afternoons there. Those were my heroes!! My friends didn't understand it or love it as much as me. We did venture out to other tracks throughout the NE, both dirt and asphalt. Along the way, we met quite a few people. My dad worked at a Sears auto center in NY. A truck driver dropping tires at the store got snowed in. My dad, being a good samaritan i guess, invited him to our house to thaw out, have a good meal and rest. When i found out he was a genuine race car driver, i could not keep my mouth shut asking him questions and basically visualizing being in the drivers seat, vicariously, through him. I thought King Richard Petty was holding court. His name was Chuck Ely and he was kin to the legendary Butch Jelly. He drove the #115 dirt mod for years until Kenny Tremont took over the ride and made it a monster hit at dirt tracks in the NE. I will never forget Chuck and i hope i was not a nusiance to him. He returned my dad's gesture by inviting us to Lebanon Valley Speedway, his home track. I will never forget that trip.
Upon moving to Florida to reconnect with my father, we spent most weekends either at Lake City/Columbia dirt track, Jax Raceways, Volusia and then ventured out to GA, SC, AL, NC to check out some races. What can i say, i have had the racing bug since i was knee high to a grasshopper. I grew up watching ABC sports and the taped Nascar (grand national) races back in the 70's, going to my local tracks and dreaming of the day i could do it myself.
To this day i am still dreaming. The closest i have ever gotten to sit in a real racecar was RP school at Disney and a gentleman i met around the corner from my house a few years back put me in his replica XL-1 coupe and took a polaroid. I never got to see the picture before he met an untimely death. I still hope to be able to fufill my dream of driving a real racecar, but unfortunately it is beginning to fade.

I love auto racing and thats the bottom line!!

[tccaz]

I went to my first race as a little kid in the early 60s at Ft Pierce, the one on angle rd. My mom and dad took the family, been HOOKED ever since.When that track was closed we would travel to Eau Gallie every Sat. night. When Palm Beach was open we would travel to the fairgrounds every chance we could. I did some drag racing for awhile with a 10 second camaro mostly at Moroso in Jupiter and Orlando, we spectated at the Gatornationals for 22 years in a row but now the short track bug bit again and we are hooked on that again. Great thread thanks for starting.
Tom

[RSB]

Great topic

I was 30 and single and was on my third Mustang GT. One night while out drinking with a buddy I decided I wanted to see how fast the thing would go in a 1/4 mile. I had it up to 125 (drunk of course) once but that was on an open highway. I had passed by Speedworld several times and we decided to head that way. Well, we arrive and the track is closed! It was a friday night and they raced on saturday night!! Well, off in the distant I saw the lights of the oval track and decided to check to out. After that night, I wound up going the next 4 or 5 weekends and usually dragging a friend or date with me. The Bomber class was my favorite...all those beat up 70's montes!! At this time Dickie had a red Lumina that he dominated in also.
At the end of the night, over the loudspeaker, they announced a new class called the runabouts that was going to race the following weekend. I couldn't wait!
I ended up spectating a few more weeks and decided I HAD to try this! Ended up with a ex state trooper LTD that was free and had a blast with it for many races. There were 48 cars on the track my first time out! I was hooked after that! Never did end up drag racing...

[Old Sunshine Fan]

Great idea Kenny! (especially now during silly season when we are all suffering from cabin fever).

My beginning in this great adventure was back in late 61 or early 62 (strange that I can't remember back that far - hell, I can't remember what I just had for breakfast).
I heard that a car race track had opened at the other end of Pinellas Park and made the mistake of mentioning it at the house. Me ole Irish Dad almost gagged on a piece of corn beef when he heard me talking about it... his interpertation of "THOSE KIND" of people will not be placed on this screen, however, I knew that would be the last time "I" spoke about that place while in the company of me father.
I would sneak out to the track while leading me parents to think (after I told them) that I was going to a high school football game or other school like function (boring). Anyways, I would sneak out to the track and mingle with "THOSE" people.
Over the years I got to drive some junker classes from time to time (back in the flathead days), and got to "Enjoy' several demo's, the best finish ever was one that about 60 cars showed up, we had to run "Qualifing" laps (I think it really was to thin the herd down to a practical number)...they would put 10-12 cars in each heat...(according to how you signed in)...there were a bunch of BIKERS that were running their mouths about how they were going to take people out on purpose in their heat...(they were going to be right behind me in my heat)... However, I was on the pole (because I got there so damn early, but on the outside pole was LESTER SLOAN, whom I had gotten to know real well. Lester took me aside and told me that as we got the green, for me to hold it high (like we were going to the pit ramp) and at the last second drop it down low and to just give him enough room to come with me..

(Another paragraph for those getting sleepy with that long one).
Back on the track just after getting the green... we are headed fast and ferious toward that pit ramp, with about 10 biker guys on our ass' and I cut down hard and fast (wasn't sure if I left Lester enough room), but the result of this endevor was a bunch of bikers going into the turn one wall with other bikers pushing them even harder. We sure lost a lot of cars in that heat...LOL... and we had a lot of bikers crying that WE RAN THEM HIGH INTO THE WALL ---- (and we were ahead of them... never could figure out what the hell they were saying.)

Anyways, out of the 60 cars that showed up for that demo, about 40 or so actually made it to the BIG SHOW that paid $1,000 to win (nuttin else)...well, guess what, yours truly got the great position of FIRST..... yep, that's right - FIRST (as in FIRST LOSER)... didn't get a dime, got a lot of laughs.... got a lot of sore aches and pains - had to leave the next day for a cross country trip (was a truck driver then) and couldn't climb into the sleeper for several days due to the soreness...

Me Dad never knew about any of my ventures to THAT place. And at one time he even had a guy working for him that raced out there (can't remember his last name (Mark xxxx) but he was known as the "Roll Over King" in figure eights) (a little guy)..Oh, and I got into some Judging Figure Eights at one point . two judges were behind the back stretch wall, and two were in the stands... two judges would have to agree on a car going over the tires for that car to be DQ'd... if one judge didn't see it... it didn't happen..

Now I am just a fan from Sunshine (an Old Fan) and thanks again Kenny - great thread!

[ModelCarMan]

My dad took the family to Athens Speedway (GA) in the early 60s and was hooked from then. We moved here in the mid 60s and went to Golden Gate on Fridays.

Dad sponsored Sonny Kocsis in early 70s until he got his own latemodel, but never drove it himself except one time at Plant Field. We had a lot of drivers like Pat Hutchinson, Frank Riddle, Donnie Tanner, Bo Hammond and Richard Pratt to name a few drivers that drove for him on asphalt.

Frank Riddle drove it at Auburndale and won our one and only asphalt feature race.

On dirt we had John Gamble and Jim Childers as drivers. We won a good little bit with John on dirt even one at the Winternationals at East Bay one year.

[ocalasp76]

In 2000 a friend of mine,Wolf Bowers from WTRS in Ocala,was looking for sponsorship at Ocala Speedway. Ron Lentz was building a spair Late Model for Wolf to drive and I bought his fire suit. Also bought a roof top A/C for the enclosed trailer. One night Ron asked if I wanted to do some hot laps and had a spare fire suit. My first time on the track was in a full late model.
Well I was hooked. Bought a used sportsman the next season and started racin' in 2001, at age 52. On my third sportsman now and still have the second car along with the 'toy'; the NAPA 15 Chevy retired NASCAR.

Was a fan and went to a track somewhere every weekend. Coming back from Barberville one night in 1990 we were held up at the St. Johns bridge on hwy 40 about midnight. We got out to watch them filming a movie by the bridge and a 'BIG' Oak tree. A year later we saw that scene in the movie 'Days Of Thunder' with Tom Cruise. The scene when the hot female cop did a pat down on Tom and then ripped her shirt off, a joke from the crew.
I live on a big lake, have no boat,just 3 race cars.......Go figure
-JIM-

[Boneman]

Parents beware. Just because you take your kids to the track when they are young doesn't mean they will get hooked instantly. I was uninterested during my first few trips to the races; too young I guess. BUT then one night when I was 11, I fell in love with the sport at Florida City Speedway. I thought those cars were the biggest, brightest, fastest things I'd ever seen. Mow I know they were just junkers on a small track, but it didn't matter because I've never looked back since.

[Rick Williamson]

My brother David started racing. So one time I went to see him race at the old Lakeland 1/4 mile track. It gave me something to do on Friday night. A few years later his wife Jeni ask if I would like to help in the pits. And as they say the rest is history.

[flvideo]

When I was 10 years old we lived down the street from a stock car driver. All the kids in the neighborhood hung out there and watched and hoped Harold would ask us to get something, Not that any of us would have known what he needed. Well one Saturday afternoon Harold ask several of us if we wanted to go to the race track. Every body headed home to plead with our parents to let us go. 4 of us loaded up in the back of Harolds truck and off we went. The track was the old Saramana track in Bradenton. The year was 1953. We started getting close to the track and we could hear the engines a little closer and we could smell the tires and oil. A little closer and we could smell the hamburgers and french fries. To this day those sounds and smells are like perfume to my soul. I became a regular at Saramana. Every time I could talk anybody into taking me I was there. I was able to race a few years later a little but never had much money. I did a little drag racing, raced motorcycles, swamp buggys bicycles. Harold Hall, who took me to the track the first time is still involved with the sport. His sons Butch and Dan raced for years. His Grandson casey is racing now in the street Stock class at Desoto.
In 1983 I started taping races at Desoto. I began taping one class, Mini Stock. Bruce Carbone and Jimmy Gaskins ask me to tape their racing. They payed my way in and bought my tape. Every Sat night we went to someones house and watched video till the wee hours or the morning. Soon after that others ask me to tape their racing and soon it was the whole program. I opened my business, Florida Video Service in 1984. I have taped raceing all over the south east now. I have had 5 TV shows over the years and I have loved every minute of it. 57 years later I still love the sport as much as I did that first night in 1953. Well I have to run, gotta go see, smell an hear another night of racing. Bob...