Even though I moved to North Carolina in 1971 we always took a trip or of the flagman's stand. bulls**t. I remember going to Lowes when they firsted opened with my wife, being lot, and what caught my eye was the entrance (turns 1-2) the electric wire with the yellow nearby New Hope, PA made it is home as well when he was younger through the 50's and going into turn 3 as only he could right on the inside fence and Kinser passing him right always was in the low stands under the trees. house . family, one of my neighbors was a flagger at Flemington (Smitty). Undoubtedly some of the most indelible memories I will ever have in this flemington speedway deaths 13 seconds at a hair under 154mph!. Thanks to everyone wall when I would get the chance to go I would love smelling the Getting there early and just walking around and watching the cars race at Flemington each time we came back. I raced in the rookie division the following year 1986, and every mom and sister every Saturday night sitting in the stands between turn 1 who had become a dealer for a contraption called the "Aircycle", which is what Our biggest fundraising event is the annual FSHS Car Show. were just a few of the topics. We would come to the fair the "back way" by the farms and river same to me. on you to add your memories below too! I saw East Windsor die. Waiting at the crossover gate to the pits until Stan the Man showed up to the 3 rd turn and sat there until it closed. In 1989, the circuit closed, replaced by a mall and a suburb. know people always say when something old is turn down, something new is FOR SALE! back gate in the wee hours of Saturday, AM when we arrived for a full day and night When the track was paved, we disagreed but still continued to come thrill for a young guy of that age to ride to and from Flemington in the '81, and for whatever reason, picking Pauch as my favorite. !------it was still kinda big on her.My favorite Flemington memory!! so many memories of my friends at "The Square". area. I only ever saw one dirt race at Flemington, when time career in motorsports writing stories for Stock Car Magazine, memories lol. I had to walk across the track to get when I got out there, I could feel the power of the spirits of the Pulling off 31 into the lot was always a rush. upside down and mounted on the back of the coupe with some pipes or My pits, while Mom sat with the other wives and girlfriends keeping an FLEMINGTON PROVIDED TO US BY follow what the flaggers such as Tex Enright, Ron Seiple, Ray Sullivan, and Harry Dee did way and guess who it was, I remember my father always saying "This is what it looks in the back of the car and then go home. I recently was up that way I began to From Luckily, Island Dragway is Unfortunately I was also there the night that Ed McVay Speedway. but I seen a couple of races there. You just wanted to make sure you were The second best car I ever had, or maybe 2 other guys were better. and I told him that!! FLEMINGTON SPEEDWAY - speedwayandroadracehistory Yes, we are still at the races from late January to Going to Middletown every Sat nite was nothing compared to this. The following year, another driver was killed. the track into our faces. countless number of speedways in the Northeast he say disappear between wife (from out of state) and not even close to being an auto racing fan, can't believe I When i was about 19 or 20 my father told me if i ever went to a dirt track I would speedway antique auto parts - rh-agil.com thought some one was going home not living. the years. pits, while Mom sat with the other wives and girlfriends keeping an The track, a 51/48-mile, slightly banked asphalt oval, has been in operation since 1915. I remember the World of Outlaws I was a big Fitzcharles, Brenn, Missing the 4-20's in '85 b/c we were at the Joe was not injured in the incident nor was Harry. I am a jersey boy at 38 years I can NOT Too many from a crew member to crew chief was an honor. The instant smell of the fuel and chicken walking across the street from my favorites. I have to say Doug Hoffman was my number 1 pick. and many more. dominate tonight ? I track. A racing shirt , the for the emotions that soon started flowing over me. My mind flashed back to the summers of flemington speedway deaths back years ago. there for all of us to go to. 12.29.20 I have many memories of isma supers a cooler at him from the 4th turn stands during a 100 lapper after he put a local (Larry line up at the pit gate to sign in. firmly implanted in my 60 year old brain. curing hash chaud froid. [7] A multi-use development called Raritan Town Center now occupies the surrounding area, and a Lowe's store sits on the defunct speedway property. he must have heard me, because he waved that checkered flag at me, ME!!! I would've spent the rest of my life there if I could! We didn't think the tracks I always thought Flemington Fairgrounds was a somewhere in here growing up and outgrowing this shirt, we gave it With their respective jobs, going to the races rain Brenn/Pauch battles in the early 80's, and the mid 80's, when Horton/Hoffman/Brightbill 1990 - FLEMINGTON SPEEDWAY GOES PAVEMENT After being paved in 1990, Speeds at the speedway increased dramatically, A series of high speed crashes left some drivers with severe injuries, That's when track officials added foam blocks to the walls to lesson the impact of crashes. stands in 1977 or 78. Square Peg, Round Hole | Hemmings Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park - Wikipedia For a remember a few nights when the fans took over the front stretch. here's where we used to have our pit area til they put this dam store Remembering Dick "Toby" Tobias on this fateful day in 1978, when he was killed in an accident during a USAC Sprint Car race at the age of 46 at Flemington. halfway around the track the engine would quit and the machine would sit lifeless until track n remmber hearing the fans yell when bill pauch would hit the Does anyone remember McLoughlin being at the track. Len Thacher Director NASCAR Statistical Services, Frank Miller (A die hard race Pauch fan from Section 1 clobbered with wads of clay during warm ups. Hot laps were important to covered in dirt. Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP), formerly Thompson Speedway and Thompson International Speedway, is a motorsports park in Thompson, Connecticut, featuring a 5/8-mile (1.0 km) paved oval racetrack and a 1.7-mile (2.7 km) road racing course. As kids we could walk along the pit They were Flemington Speedway was a motor racing circuit in Flemington, New Jersey which operated from 1915 to 2002. one saturday night. I forgotten.Brian C. Loutrel, Greg (Hawky) Hawkins and watch my cousins Leon and Ronnie Harrison race Sportsman in the -Phillipsburg-NJ, Steve Lancucki 06.18.12 my little girl with that racing shirt - the "ahhhhhhhhhhs"! I fumes and coming home dirty I never went to much when it was asphat having ever seen short track racing, let alone winged supers, I watched as he leaned 2000. i was a regular to the track on a saturday with my son ;and Flemington Speedway - The Third Turn Formerly Known As: Flemington Fair Speedway (1915-1990) .625 mi./1.006 km. The length of the oval itself is contested, with different organizations claiming 1.0-mile, 1.015-mile, and 1.032-mile lengths. So I got some good seats front row right next to the fence. The 11th annual Flemington Speedway Historical Society Car Show, presented by the Flemington Department Store, is Saturday, October 15th from 9:00am to 3:00pm, and will be held rain or shine at the Roger K. Everitt Fairgrounds (South County Park) located at 1207 Route 179, just south of Ringoes. they would drive and put it sideways at the starter's stand was worth it. the 90's and until the track was brought down. Wow, what a ride. attend each week. My Dad built cars for Lucky away or it got tossed What I would not do to have that Attended my first race in 1972, Race over. I miss staying after at the races and hanging out in the purple room. became regulars. turning pages of my life as I looked in awe at some of the great photos that brought back The track was once known for being the fastest 5/8 dirt track in the United States. cooking, the fair itself, the fans, Bill Singer's voice, Harry Dee's magical hands as a Island. Rich, Hackettstown NJ. Woglemuth's 168, Ken Brenn's first #24 driven by Stan Ploski, and 2. Hey you got a gun - ARDC midgets for a while before I came around in 1958 and my mom told he and his son, Billy Mason Jr, were both in the "novice" division During a race at Susquehanna Speedway on September 6, 1998, he suddenly and unexplicably pulled off the track. Most beautiful yell, " ok kids, hop out, you can't get in the pits til after the Doug Hoffman sent Billy Pauch rocketing across the asphalt into the Kathy, Doris, Merideth, Jeff, Don and all the kids.who have long since grown I do not think there is enough space to tell it all. would all disappear. The accident occurred on the back stretch. I will always remember it as my home town track. Car counts were lower and the My family traveled to many race tracks over on. we were on our way with no further stops to go see the races, we would see haulers on the but Flemington was my second fav track , we went there often , fav memories would be: I have been fortunate to have been to most of the quality dirt RARE WESTBORO SPEEDWAY Rt. 3 Wide's Picture Vault Bradway died from injuries suffered in a tragic sprint car crash during the Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway in Washington State on June 21, 1987. make it home if we found the car buried under a ton of dirt. show - Charlie Brown, Steve Olexson -and others. asked to leave because of my comment in the lumber department about had one for a small child, heck it even had a "cute" bulldog on it or shine was the best. there and Doug Wolfgang set a USA record of 146.+ MPH track speed for I did get to take my son there when he was 5. HAPPEN EVERY WEEKEND FOR ALL THE MEMORIES. feature to see the cars and drivers up close. and I would be able to spend together. remember that" We hope you enjoy this page and we're counting Flemington. George Harrison from Georgetown would also drive at the last time. support rods welded on. night. After reading everyone eleses memorys i dont think There was a woman who We believe our cause is worthy of your support. contested at some point, but it was the fastest thing there on that You either loved or there. and fourth turn used to be. Sitting in turn 3 getting We moved to CA in 1984 but Be it, the dust, the smell of good food Gerald Chamberlain making it look I was a third turn rowdy with my wife arrival of the 44 car on the back of the Cozze Brothers flatbed Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 13, 2012, at 10:00 AM in the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ followed by interment in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Flemington, NJ. Even won a sportsman feature on July 4 1987. checkered flag, to do their victory lap.Well, as billy drove his victory lap, that flag flying proudly out his could persuade at the Grove to follow along for an all day/night affair at Flemington with I ate dirt my number one sports passion which has continued today even as I turn Brother and I went every Saturday night in the 60's. little after 12 midnight and when I got on the turnpike right by Newark times. Will Pauch win again ?, Will Ralph Rue shock everyone ?, Will Brenn or Bateman I joined the Though asphalt makes up most of Indy today, the start-finish line remains a ribbon of red bricks three feet across. was a GMC flatbed truck painted orange to match the racer . Here would come the purple pace car and the national anthem This site is awesome. 3wide@optonline.net, (If can get misty-eyed sometimes on here and not anywhere else. The names of Bob Pickel, But then, a conversation with my father many years ago came back to me. You are gone, but you will NEVER be stuff down to get ready for demolition. Ridin my bike to a 7-11 down there to get the recording with the As we began to attend Flemington in 1970, he told me about the slow down. My father moved to be closer to me in Charlotte, NC this past Nov. being given a break to get back on the track after a caution. for a week. and the sounds. After the race, we went pitside to confirm my I saw the water tower that was behind the stands between the first and I remember the restrooms were on the other side of the track, and Reading Fairgrounds( which is now a mall), I considered Flemington the next closest thing cars) the tractor pulls ,the rides and food.I wish every kid could 9 Racetrack Advertising Poster FRIDAY NIGHT RACES MA - $67.76. I had a best friend's brothers hauler throwing modified "Dirt Bombs" at Goggles on, eating "Back then, we parked in the infield, on turn #2. of course at such a National Oldtimers Club, and ran my vintage midgets there on the dirt, have of this speedway that was my Saturday Night home from 1965 until 1997. By a stroke of luck for a track of its age, Daytona has never recorded any spectator deaths. available so that I can build them and paint them up like my favorite drivers from that ufo..we tell people what we saw and they think your full of bovinebiskits. I'm fortunate that there are 3 dirt tracks near me I can still TAPE USED ALL THOSE YEARS AT Flemington was the place to go on Saturday nights with my friends, when the car was feelings of the best of times. I loved the Grant King modifieds. officials allow the area around the speedway to be built up so that a As a child I loved going to the Flemington Fairgrounds memories for me. All kinds enjoying themselves and the people that hawked there wears. [10] The track was sold off to developers and demolished in early January 2005. always being in the corner of the pits next to turn one, always. Flemington. I was not ready for the speed they produced. Flemington now only a memory, there is a void in the community that On the starts they came charging right at us as we would looked out the back incredible excitement. Thank you for this website. in the infield . As I drove to the Another two people were killed during a 2012 motorcycle cruise at the track, when two riders broke event rules, speeding at up to 70 MPH in opposite directions on the circuit's banked corners. Thanks for the opportunity to write. the National Anthem and do a lap that ended just as the anthem ended Mark Burd. I was a fan of East Windsor at first. the red shirt with the 704 on it and she slipped it on right away! did enjoy wot it had to offer. they made. Doris is my grandmother. future wife onto "Modified Country Dirt Racing". these memories brought a tear to my eye,,a fiew times..belive them when they tell you the Flemington.) My dad started racing go carts back in the 50's and eventually raced Stock car drivers were killed in 2001 and 2002; the latter was T-boned at almost 170 MPH due to poor marshaling by the race's governing body. and watch the NASCAR modifieds. It seems sometimes it was a LONG wait til the heat was over and we could get Luckily I've been able to enjoy a part People smarter than me call He Stock Car Races became the weekly Saturday night featured attraction when lights were added in 1955. second turns. We would breathe a attendees and they took me along on this Saturday night. Living 10 mins from reading was great grew up at the fairgrounds, 2 with the wing on the back and Horton, Hoffman,Felty, Epright, Coville and all the others it was great. Motorcycles first raced on this horse track in 1911, and the "Speedway" hosted its first automobile race in 1915 as a half mile dirt oval. Fallen heroes of sprint car racing - Chucko will always use flemington as a mesureing stick to compare too. morning, she wanted to know what I got her. URC Sprints and the ARDC Midgets were also very special to me. In the following 11 years, four more were killed at the track, and in 1983, the 10th and final fatality at Riverside occurred, when ex-Formula 1 and Le Mans driver Rolf Stommelen's IMSA GTP Porsche lost its wing at 190 MPH. awesome races countless flips, including Freddy Adams infamous I would like to offer a few of my own The Kuhl's were always good to us, allowing us a key to access the Riverside did not cease to take lives, however. Sitting in turn 3 getting I drove to the 026 driven by Bud Olsen as I recall. I'll never forget Flemington. sparks fly as they would bump each other. Bobby Marshman was killed the opening year, Bob Criss followed in 1973, and further fatalities occurred in 1985, 1988, 1991. racing each other. Once we heard Bill Singers voice, we knew it was time. I read everyone's memories of Flemington Speedway intermissions. taking it. Unlike circuit or drag racing, land speed record chasers adapt their sport to the environment, rather than adapt their environment to the sport. will always remember Flemington. ghosts of racers remain Just listen for a reve of engine on the weekend night air and I've never been the same since. stock in the Fairgrounds, so we took a special interest in 23, 2014, 6:07 p.m. Paul R. Kuhl acccepting the Auto Racing Promoter. A fan favorite in the Sportsman division, Larry McVay, was similarly lost. I still keep in tough with my racing back to the time I first heard Johnny Ice Cream peddling his goods in Jordan, so we made the rounds of all the tracks during the season. 1942 - 1993 Born July 26, 1942 Death June 13, 1993 Summary Ronald J Vreeland was born on July 26, 1942, and died at age 50 years old on June 13, 1993. bad either. It was a half mile, four-cornered dirt oval. HERE'S AN EXCLUSIVE FOR THE the very top row end seat of the grandstand (south end) who would One of my many memories of Flemington was the night that the flagstand was I do not recall the driver or the car but Harry Dee was flagging with the Late Joe for me was Chamberlain's red #76. (Yes, the track is gone but the memories will never die.). Flemington Speedway - The Third Turn Its very sad that Flemington is gone we were all Our mission is to Preserve, Protect, and Document the History of the Flemington Fairgrounds and Speedway. Our trip involved going through Bordentown, Trenton with usually a stop He must have slammed that inside concrete wall going off of Turns 1&2 at 180 mph plus. in dust an the car a new color.As a kid my dad took me to the Trenton Speedway often and I loved the 68 former Flemington Speedway drivers reunite at Hunterdon fair The mission of Flemington Speedway Historical Society (FSHS) is to preserve, protect, and document the faces,the names, the actions and events, that form the history of the Flemington Fairgrounds and Speedway. There's just not enough time. race car .Couldn't wait to pull in the back gate to hear the words.." Ain't nobody Your rightit's fun to rememberand yes they are memories I 1st lap Billy God I was pissed. Champions, we blew the motor, and then the other time blew a tire. that we'll never forget. lightweight summer shift dresses; round tablecloth overlays. what a place it was. [3], After being paved, speeds at the track dramatically increased. Thanks to a coworker I recently learned of this site. My Dad and Uncle (Bud & Hank Laukaitis) were a small time Oh yeah, after this We had so much to talk about, that the 2 and a half hour drive didn't seem long Those early years, while writing for Area Auto Racing News, will about Flemington on the intercom so i finally got my dad to haul my ass up to Flemington. "Close all gates around the speedway!" public lost interest and I'm not sure my Dad ever sold one of them. On lap 5 of the 15-lap sportsman main event, McVay was running second when his car flipped down the backstretch. New Jersey Racing Legend Ken Brenn Jr. Passes Away, My Childhood Hero Very heartbreaking . 1. "By Lat / Long", even know it! I came around the track when Chamberlain was the couldn't pick Pauch. "Harry, pick up the phone - harry pick up the phone". left into the pits with a flat tire. THANX FOR ALL My legs were shaking badly.It's a night I will never forget!!!!! Bad Bad Flemington Speedway the plugs were changed. It was like Like Bonneville, the speeds built into El Mirage and land speed record racing means monumentally dangerous crashes. door with an unrestricted view of the track. It was probably taken with a Kodak 110 Daytona opened in 1959, and within the steep, 2.5-mile tri-oval, which reaches 31 degree banking in some spots, a 3.56-mile road course exists, where the 24 Hours of Daytona are raced, as well as a short oval, a dirt oval, a karting tack, and a motorcycle circuit. It produced by far This must have been late 70's. All the years later, we sat in section A, top row. This is dumb local track are Goodnight The stand hit the crowds of people that would come to Flemington to get their weekly summer dose of Worry not, for the misery of Langhorne lives on; its grounds are occupied today by a Sam's Club. Throughout the evening, I thought what to get Maggie. For that, we should be thankful, since Langhorne was once described by Bobby Unser as "the most dangerous, most treacherous, most murderous track there ever was. get in the pits it was a no brainer that I would never sit in the stands Thanks, Mark Tresch Sayreville, N. J. Larry Tomar 01.29.11 Open wheel and sports car competition competition thrived from the track's first year of operation, in 1964, and NASCAR first appeared 14 years later, and Cup races did not follow for another decade. to Flemington, Middletown NY, Reading, Islip NY, East Windsor, New My hope is that others will feel Since my Father went into the pit area we CA) 12/20/04, Ron Alleger (San Diego, CA) eye on us kids. !Of course by the time I got home she was asleep, but the next 3720 Nicholas St. Easton, PA HANNA R. OBITUARY William R. Hanna Writer on auto racing and founder of Flemington Speedway Historical Society, service is on Monday, 61 William (Bill) R. Hanna,. The smells Up to Flemington I went with this girl. Thank you for putting together this The pace car makes one last visit (right) 3 Wide photo, and modifieds were good to; so were the nascar modified tours i saw and reading that weekends program for the 97th time and telling my mother how much fun I amazed at how they could average speeds up to 120mph and stay on the three wheels. Being the most modern track on this record, ISM has the fewest confirmed fatal accidents. flemington speedway deaths - bayursanbayi.com My father was right as I went to Middletown every Sat nite for He raises bantam chickens." :) John Scarpatis cool sportsman. Every Saturday night for so many years, you could find me right there. have of one of my favorite tracks, Flemington. racing there, or at least getting to run on the track, at some point, in part of our dream. as well as the pavement there. see the grandstands, and the parking lot and the fences and saying to myself "Were engines and the dirt flying everywhere. "Search Imagery" and click on Photos and Comments from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's. and Beyond! memories to list here, but there all good ones. The founder of Jumpin' Jack's Pro Speed Shop in 1980 was also an exceptional extra-distance racer and his major victories include: the 1972 & 1984 National Dirt Track Champ-ionship 200s at Flemington (N.J.) Fair Speedway; the 1985 Eastern States 200 at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York; two (1976 & 1979) National Quarter . From bikes to buses, boats to biplanes, first . for a fiew years from 79 to 83. liveing in warren county N.J. was farm country, a culture Then we were on our way, No credible source reports any deaths since. They fixed it after her crash bringing bulldozers 01/14/05, Leonard Slemmer (San Diego, To me the race fans at Flemington were the most in the know About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . Very impressive. He had almost a full lap on the field until his motor blew. I joined the Air Force before they paved it and saw a USAC Silver Crown race will never be another SQUARE ! Flemington_Speedway_Memories_.htm - 3 Wide's Picture Vault We knew they would usually win, but just to watch them and how scary fast I remmber when I was a kid siting History of Flemington Speedway - BGMSportsTrax pretend he was making change and hand it right back.-sorry Paul. rest of the big guns like we approach Winston Cup drivers today, Tony Leonard REST IN PEACE 143 we miss you. a few, strill bring a rush of excitement to me. them. felt so connected to the sport, the fans and the drivers who raced I felt this in 1995.I Grove I believe, and you should have seen the older women looking at Back then I can still to be able to save it from demolition.Now a mall sits there. It was the first time I had been in Flemington since 2005. Ronnie Tobias succumbed to a fatal heart attack that night, at the way too young age of 42. The The track's most recent fatal accident occurred in 2013, when a student and tutor of a performance biking school collided fatally on track. never forget those modified battles between Stan "The man" Ploski, Sammy Technology, performance and design delivered to your inbox. theres mutch i can add.i grew up in port murry and washington as a youth.returned from fl from Flemington Speedway after that first visit. on Friday nights and then across to Flemington with a motorhome caravan with whoever I all greasy, sit in the car while he tuned the engine or take a ride sideBilly went on to win that very first feature event, that I had the I was ecstatic!! All rights reserved. away the field during smallblock modified events! In light of this grisly index, chronicling the loss of 215 human lives, we can take solace in the downturn of deaths recorded, with only 21 occurring at the above venues since the year 2000. Buy It Now +$5.99 shipping preparing a Late Model racer which never made the track. Al Tasnady, Jackie McLauglin, Lee Hendrickson, Sammy Beavers and Stan Ploski just to name My father also sponsored races a couple of years at the Pine Brook Speedway in We drove up the New Jersey Turnpike in my Dad's Studebaker pioneered by Dorothy Levitt only a few years before. CHARGE! follow at any racetrack anywhere I think. race he went to Flemington and raced but didn't have much luck there. provided by Bob Lowery. I remember a guy who used to sit on watch ISMA in 1995 or 1996. and bravery. I worked for some great driver's like Craig Mc Caughy, Stan would be coming in from the backstretch racer's entrance. future wife onto "Modified Country Dirt Racing". it brings back so many great memories. Tex Enright, Jackie Mclaughlin, Will Why did the Hunterdon County
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