395 replies to this topic

[Tom Eatherly]

I believe Anna was Ron's Mom;s name. Nephew would have been Don Brown? Dwayne "Butch" Bishop really helped Ron get "Speed and Sport" going early on. Matt Azarra raced and worked there, heck of a good guy. Bill Marquette. WOW! That guy was so cool to be around. Never, ever a dull moment with Bill in the house. You and me enjoyed some pretty good times there racing around. Trying to remember; walking in, that big track on the left was maybe a Engleman? Huge thing. Tore out the figure 8 and started the Riverside on the north side. Where did the King come from? Don's Raceway? Also remember when S&S was getting noticed by some touring fast guys, Pete Zimmerman showed up to test some motors and cars. He hooked up next to me and we started running around the track and I kept pulling him in the straights. He stopped his car in front of us and really wanted to look at my car. When saw a Thorp arm was getting the best of him, he about freaked out. He muttered something about hotter winds and just stood there. At the time, I had no idea who he was untill we started talking. Won't forget that moment. More to come.

[Roy Lievanos]

Been meaning to post this for a while.
My local track as a kid was Santa Ana Raceways. John Hale and Dee. I went to Jr. High (across the street) with their two sons Chris and Steve.
At 12 my mother arranged a small tab so I could race and buy stuff.
I remember racing an Indy race with a loaned chassis I beleive by Larry? and my new just released motor that they had to call my mother because it was over my tab max.
It was an adult race but I was allowed to race. With the help turn of a turn marshals placing my car up the track when I came off I won the race. A few were unhappy but remember someone saying "he's just a kid". As a result the chassis was given to me. I beleive I still have the trophy.
At 13 John asked my Mother if he could take me to a big race at a track in Buena Park.
When I met at the track to leave Dee handed me a shirt with Santa Ana raceways on the back. My first team at 13 yrs.
Unfortunately during practice the car got ruined in the bank. And we left early.
I still live a mile from where the track was located.
I can go on with all the local tracks during that era.
Within a mile from the house was the track, Cox manufacturing and Dan Gurneys All American Racers.

[elvis44102]

The Slot Shop on Winkles St in Elyria, Ohio around 1967... Donna Hubble is mentioned frequently as an example of a great track owner, however Paul did his part as well by running several weekly races and taking a whole truckload of us to the regional Cleveland races as they started that series

 

i raced with Jan Limpach, Buddy Bartos, Jim Bandes, who are all known to this forum but there were other fast racers (Gary Brewer, Lanny Pyle).

 

 

Gary "High Noon" Cooper was out of Parma but Gary would come to The Slot Shop and practice with different cars trying to "take" our bumps full speed. The track was a six-lane built by Paul with 3-4 4-5 inch high bumps, esses, and a negative camber turn... very difficult and Paul removed the bumps finally because only us locals could drive them  .

 

This was all before The Slot Shop moved to the ClevelandSst location a whole two blocks away from the current site of Haven Raceway.

[blue&orange]

First track was one of those mega shops that opened in Willow Grove, PA.  My friend and I (in jr. high) would ride our bikes holding our shoe boxes for about 1/2 an hour.  One day I got on the school bus and he said, "Did you hear about the fire last night."  Nobody ever proved arson that I know of, but ....

 

In sr. high years it was Fun Time Hobbies in Glenside, PA.  Anybody else ever race there? I can find no info or pics. I remember one night when my cars were slow and a guy offered to sell me 3 armatures, so we went across the street and I exchanged cash for three little tubes out of his trunk.  Lucky no cops were around!

[Ron Guthrie]

First track was in Temple City California mid 60's. Then early 90's Fast Trap Raceway Barrie Ontario Canada. When the track closed due to poor management it went into storage for over 20 years. Last October my son found it. We are now restoring it. A 155' Olgilvie hill climb and the 55' drag strip. Also working on plans for 1or 2 other tracks. Hoping for an opening this summer in Barrie Ontario.

[Dennis David]

Hope springs eternal ...

[Jesse Gonzales]

I raced in the phoenix area from roughly 1964 to 1972-73, the valley was a huge place for a kid that lived in a Barrio and had only a bike to get around in. I will create a sub column to give track names and little stories of racers, tracks etc. including the "Peaceful Civil Rights Era" that made getting around difficult.

 

Jesse Gonzales

[Markomatic]

I raced first at Leitner's Toy Store in Morristown NJ. This would have been 1965 or 1966. The guy who put the track in the toy store finally opened his own hobby store across the street. It was Johnny's Family Hobbies. There were two tracks in the basement with the first floor being your usual local hobby shop. I wish I could remember what kinds of tracks they were. I was only 13 at the time. Johnny's was my home track but they only lasted a year or so closing in August 1967. I also raced at Rich's Hobbytown in Parsippany and O'Dowds Dairy from time to time. After that all the tracks were closed and there was nothing that I knew about until 1986 when I moved to Easton PA and found Trains and Lanes. I raced the weekly Womp races in the 220' Altec that they still have. I branched out to racing a few regional USRA races. Then a few years later in the NY/NJ area there was a slot car boom. Tracks and racing so that you could race somewhere about every week night and weekends. Lots of traveling for the Keystone USRA and the other area USRA races. I raced out of a track in Rockaway NJ and Zepplin. I then moved to the Midwest in 1996 and there was not much happening plus I was a single dad making half what I was making in NJ. I have been back at it over the last year running the weekly races at Alpha with an occasional trip to Swiss's. I'm a wing car guy. I could race more if I was interested in Retro or Hardbody but I like what I like.

[tonyp]

I’ve been to johnny’s. I think they were RJ ? Tracks.


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[Noose]

Was the track in Rockaway actually in Denville? I live there and there was a track and now it’s a big dessert and coffee place.

Tony reminded me we raced here in the inter store series when we raced for Team Sebring in Irvington.


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[Roy Lievanos]

Can any racers ID this So Cal track? Circa 80's

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[Roy Lievanos]

Ok, If memories serve me, they sold guns here.

Valley raceway in Temple City Ca. This was when paintball was getting popular. You could test them there.

[Jesse Gonzales]

I think you are correct, it's near Rosemead, correct? Wife and I went there for a race in 1986, she was six months along with our second daughter. I think I podiumed in Box 15 but got edged out for a move up in I15 by my old friend Mike Marquez. A good race weekend, in that period there were few "Mr. know it All" types if any in LA, good times.

 

Jesse Gonzales

[Roy Lievanos]

Yes it was. The photo has age spots is what shows in the picture. My son in the picture had good luck with Dan Cooneys Neat Things chassis. This was one of the early box stock 15 class.

[wjtaylor]

Started out at Closter Raceway in New Jersey in late 67

 

Then went to Nutley and Elmsford. It broke my heart when i heard the chopped up the Nuvolari

[elvis44102]

 A few of us from Ohio went out to Elmsford and ran the Nuvolari around 1975...I will never forget that track,,I'm six foot tall and I swear I just could not see a few of the distant corners lol..to top it off they gave me some kinda rookie of the Nuvolari award that I never heard the end of as in hey its the rookie!!

[Steve Ogilvie]

First track was in Temple City California mid 60's. Then early 90's Fast Trap Raceway Barrie Ontario Canada. When the track closed due to poor management it went into storage for over 20 years. Last October my son found it. We are now restoring it. A 155' Olgilvie hill climb and the 55' drag strip. Also working on plans for 1or 2 other tracks. Hoping for an opening this summer in Barrie Ontario.

Sorry I missed this post. If you need any help with restoring the hillclimb, send me a PM or just give me a call I am in the book. I am retired now and would love to see a local track up and running again. The track I raced at when I was a kid was Oconner (sp?)raceway in Toronto, great place to spend a saturday afternoon and a short bus ride from Ellesmere and Pharmacy. Later on Grant Osborne was involved with tracks that I built and his father owned Oconner. 

[leadfoot4]

I began my "commercial" slot car career at 'Model Raceways' located at the corner of Dewey and Ridgeway Avenues, in Rochester, NY. The owners of this store later opened a second location on Monroe Avenue, in the suburban Rochester town known as Brighton, NY. The owners of these stores purchased their tracks from American Model Raceways.

 

The first store had a yellow 80 foot track, as well as a red 100 foot track. When they opened the second store, they took the yellow track from the first store and replaced it with a figure-8 track. I don't remember the length of the figure-8. The yellow track was moved to the Brighton store, where it was teamed with a "purple mile" track.

 

I ended my slot car career at the 'Mt.Hope Speedway', known as the "home of the outlaws unlimited", which was located on Mt. Hope Avenue, on the southwest side of Rochester. 

[Horseshoe]

Center Street Manchester Ct in the Mid to late 60's

[Jimbo1955]

1965 - K/C Raceway in Willow Grove PA
1967-1969 - Billiard Ball in Hatboro PA

[Phil Beukema]

Carl's Figure "8" on PCH and Ave. B in Redondo Beach 1965.

 

Checkered Flag Raceway on Hawthorne and Sepulveda in Torrance 1967

 

3 that I've forgotten the names: 1967-1969

   * Peninsula Center in Palos Verdes

   * Under the Redondo Beach Pier

   * On Crenshaw and PCH in Torrance

[spiette]

What a wonderful set of memories, I wish mine were as clear as the rest in this thread.

 

I grew up in Hinsdale, IL and I don't think the raceway in town was open for very long before I discovered it. I'm guessing about 1966 or so. From then until it closed in the early 70's the raceway and hobby shop in the converted bowling alley underneath the local real estate office was my daily hangout. 

 

Beside the main Blue King that many remember, there were several other AMRC tracks over time including a Yellow and an Orange to go with the Blue. 
 

Once I got old enough to disappear for the whole day I used to take the train into Chicago and catch the EL up to Davis Street in Evanston to race at Tom Thumb which others have mentioned. Thankfully the parents never figured out where I was off to.

[Mark Mattei]

                                             Second floor above Walgreens corner of State and Randolph downtown Chicago. 

[don.siegel]

I went there a few times Mark, but only in the afternoon on a rare trip downtown - did they have organized races? 

 

Where's that photo from, some kind of parade? 

 

Don 

[MSwiss]

Obviously St. Patrick's Day parade, a super-big deal in Chicago.

That picture was taken after the track was long gone, and would of probably been taken on March 11th, 1972, on a Saturday, and I would of been beyond one of those windows, waiting on customers.

Or with the parade in full swing, dusting off and straightening out stock.

PS-a typical March day in Chicago, with it being a little nippy out.