269 replies to this topic

[John Streisguth]

Tom:
That does indeed sound like the Collingswood track, which was there in the 60's when I was a kid and was still in existance when I started back in slots around 1988 (the main business was an auction house). I don't recall if they had R/C's upstairs, or even if there was an upstairs. I believe the Aristocrat is now at their Farmingdale NJ location. The other track they had was like a very short Engleman; when I did a race there in '88 they ran it backwards, from the short chute around the bank to the long straight. I guess it prevented launching. And the bank was pretty steep. You could see the wood through the paint, that's how old it was (and not good particle board either, that crap made from wood splinters glued together). I don't think they have that track anymore.

The location was just a bit north of Point Pleasant, in Wall township near the little stock car bullring down there. Don't know if that's as far south as you were talking about.

In any case, it's nice to see an old track still being used.

[MrWeiler]

Tom:
That does indeed sound like the Collingswood track, which was there in the 60's when I was a kid and was still in existance when I started back in slots around 1988 (the main business was an auction house). I don't recall if they had R/C's upstairs, or even if there was an upstairs. I believe the Aristocrat is now at their Farmingdale NJ location. The other track they had was like a very short Engleman; when I did a race there in '88 they ran it backwards, from the short chute around the bank to the long straight. I guess it prevented launching. And the bank was pretty steep. You could see the wood through the paint, that's how old it was (and not good particle board either, that crap made from wood splinters glued together). I don't think they have that track anymore.

The location was just a bit north of Point Pleasant, in Wall township near the little stock car bullring down there. Don't know if that's as far south as you were talking about.

In any case, it's nice to see an old track still being used.

There was another track in S NJ that was in the second story over a Ford dealership. I remember a hillclimb and an Engleman. Don't remember anything else about it except the oner had an attitude. Never went back.

MW

[Dooner]

Thanks guys for trying to help, but the place I am talking about was not The Race Place.

Tony,
You might not remember me, but my brother and I used to race at the original Race Place in the early 70s. We started going there in the late 60s. " I did a race there in '88 they ran it backwards, from the short chute around the bank to the long straight." That is the way we raced it. They used to leave a garage door open on the highway side in the summer. The track we raced on was the one by the road. People used to go there on the way to the beach wearing bathing suits and flip flops. When the braid came up during a race the owner used to staple the track down. Maybe I should have mounted magnets on the bottom of my cars. The other track by the back wall at the original Race Place was not used much to my recollection. We never raced on that one.

The store I am thinking of was on the ground floor, but you had to go up steps to the RC track. From what I recall the second floor was like a loft.

[tonyp]

Tom, I actually never ran at the race place. I stopped in a few times but it was not the type of place we would run our "Pro" cars at.

The second store which is the one I am thinking about used to run RC cars in the parking lot and I went there a couple of times.

[John Streisguth]

Tom:
That's pretty much how it was when I used to go there in the late 60's, and 20 years later I found it hadn't changed a bit. The one by the back wall was the Aristocrat. Those crossovers probably made marshalling a nightmare, so it wasn't used for "serious" racing. I'm glad to meet someone who shares memories of the place!

Maybe someone else will step in with some knowledge of the track you originally posted about. Any idea as to the town it was located in, or a rough idea? I have a lot of old magazines that may have a directory that would list it, and I could take a look.

[Dooner]

John,
Sorry I can't remember the name of the town. Back then when gas was cheap I used to just get in my car and drive. I wish I took my camera and took pictures of some of the cool places off the beaten path I ended up in.

Tony,
Maybe I met you at Checkered Flag Raceway in Clementon when Rob Renninger and the gang used to run there.

[John Streisguth]

Tom:
When I have some free time, I'll check my old mags to see if I can find anything. Do you at least remember the time frame?

[Dooner]

John,
This was many years after I stopped racing at The Race Place. I think it was around 1991-1993 before Davey Allison died, because I remember he had a huge collection of Nascar decal sheets and I bought the Davey Allison #28 decal sheet from him. I hope this helps.

[John Streisguth]

John,
This was many years after I stopped racing at The Race Place. I think it was around 1991-1993 before Davey Allison died, because I remember he had a huge collection of Nascar decal sheets and I bought the Davey Allison #28 decal sheet from him. I hope this helps.

That would put it in the time frame of when Zeppelin Hobbies was in it's heyday. I have some old Model Racing Journal mags that may have something listed. Too new for Car Model and similar magazines.

[tonyp]

Tom, probably at Clementon. That was my favorite track, Won a lot of pro races there including an ARCO. Ernie and I won just about every big race there in a 2 year period. For some reason my stuff always handled really well there.

[Dooner]

Thanks John.

[Dooner]

Tony,
Do you remember a very outgoing guy who used to go to the big races and plug his motors? He gave me a calling card, but I misplaced it.

[tonyp]

No idea...

[Bob Chaney]

John, Nutley originally had 3 tracks, a 165 Engleman which was shaped like a king track except with a square (triangle shapped) donut.

I know I'm a bit late to this rodeo, but I believe the Engleman "king" was also a mirror image. Here is a photo I took of the example found at Broadway Hobbies (Pasadena, TX) in 1971 (pre-PA days), at the "hottest day of the year" Texas USRA race held there.



.. you can see just a piece of the triangle donut, but get a load of that bank, with a much abused plate glass window directly behind it; and the flat deadman and finger turns (the dogleg ate a few chassis that day as I recall because the heat caused that visible joint to flutuate a bit).

Just of historical interest, that is Joe Callabretta with his back to the camera and Jim Honeycutt just striding into view.

[tonyp]

Thats the track but backwards.

[John Streisguth]

Yeah, it was definetly not a reverse. Tony, did the Engleman King at Nutley have corners that flat?

[tonyp]

Absolutely. Completely flat. The donut was a triangle shape which required like 3 blips to get around. Big home track advantage. When I first started going to Nutley they used to run the track backwards, until Emott & PVA showed up and told Mike Tango they were wrong.

The wall at the end of the straight (lead on turn going the right direction) had the battle scars of many a car.

As far as I recall, every Engleman track I ever saw or raced on was dead flat but had higher banks than the American tracks. I do not believe they ever made made a "banked" track.

[John Streisguth]

Yeah, my faded memory does recall that triangular shaped donut. I was probably still running ready-to-run cars at that point, or maybe one of the Champion jaildoor-type chassis that I still have.
It would be really cool if someone could put together a history (with pictures) of Nutley.

[tonyp]

John, you raced at the Nutley location right? What about when Mike moved to Belleville?

[John Streisguth]

Yeah, followed Mike with the move, and raced there until it closed (about 1972 if I am correct?). I didn't get down to either location as much as I would have liked since I didn't start driving until 1971. I believe I was actually in one race with you at the Belleville location. It was 1970, a 4 hour enduro for Grp 27 cars and limited to semi-pro and amatuer class drivers. I was teamed with a guy by the name of Jim Swift. That Noose painted body I have was a prize from that race.

[alainprost22]

I loved the Clementon track. Real smooth power. One motor all day long. I remember the deadman, being dead flat. Jon Laster used to jet on that track. It was always a pleasure racing there. Same thing with Nutley .. I would usually get a ride, with Steve O'keefe. I always had a great time, at Nutley.

Question .. Who was that guy (I'm pretty sure he was a regular), that had an AMX, with two huge speakers, mounted on the rear seat area??? That, for some reason, I remember ...

[tonyp]

John, do you have a picture from back then, I think I remember you.

[John Streisguth]

John, do you have a picture from back then, I think I remember you.

I think I buried most pictures of me from those days in the backyard...
Seriously, I can probably come up with something. I probably have my H.S. yearbook around somewhere (always good for a laugh with some of the "do's" from back then)

I'm curious if you remember that particular race.

[tonyp]

Did you race as John S. and your mom would drop you off at the track?

[John Streisguth]

That's probably the name I used (you know how it is to have a last name people can't pronounce...) but my mom never drove so it was my father who drove me. In 1970 I got rides from a friend of mine many times.
I remember one time I didn't have a ride home, and someone dropped me off on Bloomfield Ave in Newark to catch a bus. Since that was only a few years after the Newark riots, being a small white kid with a huge slot car box was kind of scary . I felt like I might as well have had a target painted on my back.