64 replies to this topic

[Cheater]

I spoke to Michael del Rosario a week or so ago and he indicated that they couldn't find anyone to run the place, so I dunno...

BTW he did tell me that Lou has moved back to the Philippines permanently.

[jmkunka]

Hi Cheater,

Thanks for adding me here. I live only 15 minutes from Elmsford and I'm sorry I haven't stopped by more frequently in the past couple of years. I think I was there maybe a year ago and unfortunately Lou was out. I guess I felt since he survived so long, Lou, Barbara and Elmsford Raceway would always exist.

I would love to get in touch with Lou, Michael, or Paul if you have any information to reach them.

Thank you!

Joe

[Cheater]

You can reach Michael at ERI Associates.

[jmkunka]

Hi Gregory,

I will reach out to Michael.

Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

Hope it's a great New Year for you!

Joe

[MG Brown]

Sad news and made worse at this time of the year.

[Dennis David]

I was able to visit the place once when I was working on a project in New York. There was snow on the ground and I was a long way from California but I just had to go there, ya know.

[jmkunka]

As a kid in the '6os I went there once with my dad. Didn't even race or rent a car :-( I wanted to, so bad, I was too embarrassed to ask my dad if I could. I was 10 years old. My favorite cars back then, and still are, were the Monogram Chaparral 2 and Cox 2E. Back then, we couldn't afford a $10 slot car. My brothers and I did have a fair collection of HO slot cars and track though.

For 25 years that memory haunted me. I knew the raceway existed, and I finally stopped by Elmsford in 1989. It was like a time machine, and I was 10 years old again! I looked around, paid for a 15 minute rental, and left with a controller and a Parma Flexi NASCAR. I was hooked! I raced in the NASCAR stock car series for a year before I won my first race. At the time, concours was my focus. I usually won concours which gave me lane choice, and some advantage. Until then I was convinced, everyone was cheating!!! So funny. Didn't understand the, how important the car set-up, along with motor break-in was. Live and learn. My winning motor was a stock 16D from a Womp that I raced at home, on an old Strombecker track with my three-year old son Jason. It probably had dozens of hours of break-in time on low voltage, and I realized that was a key factor. That went into my NASCAR, a Richard Petty Pontiac, and I won my first race! I won multiple NASCAR and GTP series titles after that. It was a lot of fun!

When Jason was five years old, I started bringing him to Elmsford, to race in the NASCAR series. He won at least three titles in as many years! How cool, beating guys that were my age! Jason and I won our first six-hour enduro when he was seven years old. It was awesome, and so exciting! Jason drove like he was on rails. Three years later we almost won the enduro again with Jason and my other son, Peter. We lost by less than a couple of laps to Paul Gelman's team. Second place wasn't bad with a seven-year old and a 10-year old for teammates!

I'm so sad I won't be able to share this fun and excitement with my grandson Hudson. He's nearly two, and I had plans of taking him soon with his dad, Jason.

I had many enjoyable years at Elmsford Raceway, thanks to Lou and Barbara. I even helped out behind the counter for awhile, when in between jobs. Actually, Lou was able to help me land a job as a graphic artist, in Elmsford, which lasted two years and eventually launched me into the more stable career at McCann Erickson in Manhattan. Thanks, Lou!

Those years of racing with my kids were some of my fondest memories, win or lose. I wish I could race there one more time with them, and Lou. I honestly wish I could keep it going.

To Lou and family,

All the best!

Joe Kunka

[NSwanberg]

Go fund me to keep Elmsford open? The story above plays pretty well.

[MSwiss]

A picture from the pits, at the 1984 World Championships at Elmsford.

 

[jmkunka]

 That is Elmsford, with the plan of the de Portago on the wall, correct? Great photo, thanks for posting!

Joe

[MSwiss]

Correct.

 

I edited my post to make it clear.

[mjsh]

Stuart, Les and P.A.?

[MSwiss]

Yes.

It's kind of nice to have a pic of four "lifers," and that are all alive.

Thanks, as always, to Gary Puetz for taking and giving me the pic.

[slotcarone]

Why the face mask?

[MSwiss]

I was hand cutting a steel center section.

Actually perimeter chassis #003.

[Weedracer]

As an infrequent visitor here I have a tendency to resurrect old threads, but at least this one isn't in the Memorial forum. At least not literally.
 
I can't say that I was surprised that Elmsford closed, but at the same time it is sad. It was always there even during times of racing inactivity. I definitely missed the best times there starting later than some of you, but did have some great times there and a margin of success.
 
In 2005 or 2006 maybe, a Winter Nationals was announced after a long period of inactivity and I made the trek with the old standby gear from the stone age and it still worked fine and I got a second as I remember. Attendance was a bit weak, but all the usual suspects that you'd expect were there and we had a good time. I'm guessing that this was the last wing car race held on that track.
 
Without exception, the same thing happened to me that day that had always happened. In practice nothing seemed to work... panic set in as always, but then I remembered to just relax and run the race and like magic, the race started and everything was fine, the car was on rails as it always was and I had a blast. Andy Wasserman ran his antique Ray Kalio chassis (a true work of mysterious art) and won his class of course. I ran a wire and hand-cut steel gadget made by a fella named Gary Pierce that I still have with an O/S Royale SE body.
 
Jaz mentioned me not being able to collect my winnings there once, and I had forgotten about that, but while I now remember being a bit PO'd about it, the value of the win in the face of all of the adversity made it not really matter in retrospect.
 
Early on I got a lot of mentoring from Kieth Keeler about car set-up and racing on that track and will always appreciate that. I had a wire-to-wire win there in a Winter Nationals that remains the most satisfying race I ever had. The braid was falling out by the yard, there were no track calls of course, the dogs were running all over the place and gluing and marshaling was always a challenge. Cars would go under the bridge and disappear, having gone straight and over the railing by the front door... no track call. Good times.
 
I hear that Lou has moved to the Philippines and that Barbara is not well. 
 
I wish them well and thank them for doing what they did for so long for so many.

[papineau]

 

 

 

 

I used to work at the Elmsford Raceway when I was a teenager. Lou and Barbra DelRosario will be missed!! As far as the rracks are concerned, I contacted Michael DelRosario (he still runs ERI Associates) and told me that the last landlord they had threw them out!

 

So I have an idea to have them remade (the Nuvolari at least, and possibly the Deportago (that was the small one in the back of the original location.) The Hawthorn was the figure 8 track. So far the only person I've been able to contact who might be able to help remake them is Gary Gerding, of Gerding Fast Track fame, however he doesn't want to make any tracks that long anymore. I can commission him to remake the other two though.

 

Is anyone here interested in investing in slot car racing Icons? Let's rebuild history!!!   

[old & gray]

Thank you for the pictures of the Elmsford tracks. I raced at Elmsford in the 1970’s and 1990’s and have many memories.

 

The last time I was at the track, (in its last location) I though the Deportago had been replace by the Ogilvie Orange from the Stamford shop.

 

When you think about recreating the Nuvolari which part of its history are you thinking about? The first shop I saw that track in was the one under the bowling alley. The story I heard was when the track as planned (220’ Engleman) was too wide for the space, a track was built with tighter corners to narrow the footprint to fit the space, then the straights were extended to bring the track back to 220’. The result was increased straightaway speeds with reduced cornering speeds which resulted in a track that gave quite an advantage to the hometown crowd.

 

Recreating the Deportago could be an interesting exercise as the flexy and retro cars of today would be more interesting to run than the group 7s of the 1970’s.

Good luck with your project.

[slotcarone]

Great pictures of these tracks in their last location. Our second Retro East race there in the F1 race cars were launching for no reason on the top two lanes. My car was one of them. If you notice the bathroom door just beyond the bank well the cars flew into the wall above that door and fell to the ground. Needless to say a lot of damaged cars that day.

[papineau]

Old and Grey - I was hoping to get the original specs frim Michael DelRosario for all of the tracks. I worked in the location below the Bowling alley in the 90's. So that's the Nuvolari configuration I remember. I plan on starring a go fund me to have the tracks remade. Hopefully people will want to help have them remade.

[tonyp]

Of all the track we raced on in the pro era, Elmsford was the worst. The 220 launched on the lower lanes from the beginning. Lou would reply "It’s character" when people complained.

By the time we ran Retro most lanes were launch ramps and the slot was so worn out In the deadman on green you deployed 9 out of 10 times no matter how slow you went.

Even though I won my biggest race there I’m glad to know it was chopped up instead of sold to someone who did not know.

[Jaz]

Tony,

I thought you hated Cape Oaks more. THAT was a launch pad!!!

[NJ Racer]

Ernie Provetti qualifying at the '84 Worlds in Elmsford

 

https://www.youtube....eature=youtu.be

 

 

 

[jmkunka]

Tony,

It's unfortunate your memory of Elmsford is so sour. I'm happy to say my memories are just the opposite. I enjoyed many years racing with my 3 kids in the NASCAR & GTP series through the 90's & beyond. Each of us winning & loosing many races, as well as winning multiple series championships. It was all good, win or loose! Especially when my 7 year old son Jason & I won our first 6 hour GTP enduro. Because our car ran flawlessly & we each drove nearly a perfect race, even 2 hours in the dark, our car was protested at the finish! The motor was torn down, declared LEGAL, and we were awarded the trophy. That's as good as it gets for a father & son.

 

Lou & Barbara were always very gracious & I miss them & those days dearly.

Joe Kunka
Backmarker

[elvis44102]

Back in the mid seventies our Ohio crew went to race on the "Nuvolari"...Jim bendes myself an Jan..i just could not get the hang of the track lol

if i remember correctly it was the corners from coming off the bank to the far away switch back...just could not judge the distance of those corners (im six foot tall)

 

To make matters worse the race director somehow gave me the title "rookie of the Nuvolari" and the Ohio crew then called me rookie all weekend..i always enjoyed the racing environment and the fact my racing seemed limited never really detracted from the overall experience