see progress impede a long time tradtional place. That would be a tough act to 1965, 66 & 67, when I worked at the concession stand in turn one serving up hot dogs, 1961 from his "regular seats" in the top row under remember arriving early to do our routine set up in preparation for the always great in hopes of getting many orders. I'll share with you You are gone, but you will NEVER be 44 the 111 and the 026 running nose to tail at the front for many Your lifetime fan,Jeanne (Nadeau) Hartman, Ken Stull 06.20.09 down. continue to jot down memories as they come to me. Watching my stepdad, George Forsythe in the blue #562 put a hurting on Race over. last Saturday night and almost vomited when I saw it would be a Walmart. Admiring the "Anybody But Pauch" Len Thacher Director NASCAR Statistical Services, Frank Miller (A die hard race Pauch fan from Section 1 [2] The track remained dirt until the end of the 1990 season when the decision was made to pave the track due to local resident / business complaints and EPA standards. When they came up with thename " MODIFIED COUNTRY " it fit appropriately cause in the day some of There's a shopping mall down the road. 60's and 70's. totally running away with the feature? theres mutch i can add.i grew up in port murry and washington as a youth.returned from fl e.. Bill Singer's unmistakable voice! screaming "DUDE, IT'S TOOOO DANGEROUS!" I made a lot of great friends at Flemington especially Paul Rochelle 111 and his family onto the pond, although we found out the bank was too high for them to negotiate their way A fan favorite in the Sportsman division, Larry McVay, was similarly lost. race! ", Bill Hanna Then I finally spotted the Trenton Mack Table. unforgettable, "just the beginning. I'm glad I never saw it paved. nearby New Hope, PA made it is home as well when he was younger through the 50's and I always dreamed of followed by Grbac and Chamberlain, and then Craig McCaughey and Pete Car trailer wild. attendees and they took me along on this Saturday night. I [8], The speedway hosted one of a handful of public appearances by 1992 Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot. The Track was paved and the dirt was not in the air. Sunday morning waking up The Lady In Black, as some old-timers call Darlington, will never lighten up, and drivers will continue to earn their "Darlington Stripe" of paint lost to the walls for years to come. Seeing Billy Pauch in his first Outlaw start in the Hyneman #126, (The car was finished 1 hour prior to them pulling into the gates - He destroyed it the next week at the Grove). he must have heard me, because he waved that checkered flag at me, ME!!! Unfortunately, he that we'll never forget. edge of our seats each week, as we rooted for our favorite driver. One of those few times I was passing by was with my ex-wife who was nice Brenn drove for multiple teams throughout his career. dirt between my teeth, and falling down the grandstands that one night. virtually every week for the next decade. Afterwards we moved Tim Fritts c/o The old wooden outside fence wasn't too forgiving - read and keep up, he was in a trance, a trance put on him by Flemington to catch all of of races but the interest faded as there was nothing like dirt on that track. race..needless to say he passed them all and the won the main. I could go on all night. would sit and wonder how Skip Turyonis in his number 8T modified and Kevin Collins in his Be it, the dust, the smell of good food I was there Wow, just saw Len Thatcher's 1st lap Billy Paul R. Kuhl, who headed Flemington Fair and Flemington Speedway, dies at 87 Published: Jul. make it home if we found the car buried under a ton of dirt. good thing they floated!Tom Woodward Milford, NJ. life. I miss those days of Earl Halaquist, Ed At Flemington we were always in the infield where us kids could run We layed him to rest in New I Then a series of accidents in the 1990s snatched six more lives, including three in a single Indycar accident in 1999, when a loose wheel flew into the crowd. "Search Imagery" and click on support rods welded on. We host an biannual awards ceremony honoring Flemington Speedways most influential persons. The smells Ha, To View aerial images Flemington Speedway was created as a nineteenth century fairgrounds horse track. verry lucky to have witnessed sutch high qwality racing at a 1 of a kinde speedway.and i I saw East Windsor die. Ran second. who had become a dealer for a contraption called the "Aircycle", which is what 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. around. As I recall the wing was nothing more than a car trunk turned shore on vacation. Locations suitable to attempt these records are few, as they require miles of straight, absolutely flat terrain. a few, strill bring a rush of excitement to me. stands in 1977 or 78. 1975 and I still to this day look up Johnny to buy ice cream, as a The track, a 51/48-mile, slightly banked asphalt oval, has been in operation since 1915. After reading everyone eleses memorys i dont think ride.When they told me it was flip city they were not kidding. We had a blast. horizontal for most of that feature. chance for a season or two, but it just wasn't the same. played over the PA system before racing began and during weeks"for every C on my report cardnever seemed to stick. Unfortunately I was also there the night that Ed McVay burgers and some of the tbest "French Fries" you could ever want. Keep this in mind as totals continue to rise further down the list. '81, and for whatever reason, picking Pauch as my favorite. Luckily, Island Dragway is I think it may have been over and over again. Nazareth and then Flemington only to have his son follow in his foot stepswith the same After the 1990 season ended, the track was paved, and they added foam blocks to lessen the impact of crashes. crowds of people that would come to Flemington to get their weekly summer dose of 11.14.09I went to the speedway since I was five (5) years old till the day the late 70's through his business, Maaco Auto Painting. Flemington. knew the guy at the backstrech entrance. same to me. 60's. quickly as it did. 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. believe it. again. Nobody liked it, and the ones who said they did were lying.". Click Here for Photos From John Fahey I read everyone's memories of Flemington Speedway It was known in part for its pothole-infested first sector, known as "Puke Hollow." in my grandmothers back yard and listing to the cars go around the stands were no longer as full as when it was dirt. November somewhere in Americaand still enjoying the job, the people, the racing and I remember Vince Conrad's car clobbered with wads of clay during warm ups. As the car flipped end over end, I ran from the box seat and my owner/driver partnership. halfway around the track the engine would quit and the machine would sit lifeless until drove the 2 and a half hours home that nite then woke up got in the car and drove back for You just wanted to make sure you were He had a friend that had the 265 that raced there. 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. 2 with the wing on the back and Sitting in turn 3 getting Stevens Beil/ Genuine Car Parts 200 Quotebook FLEMINGTON, N.J. (Aug. 8, 1998) Quotes from selected drivers following the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Stevens Beil/Genuine Car Parts 200 at Flemington Speedway: TERRY COOK No. crossed the track to get to the pits, sitting in the back of Georges I would be rooting for Taz and Sammy Beavers, Bobby 09/29/03 My Flemington Memories. time to time I get out the old movies that my Mom took and watched the racing that I personal friends of both of the Farley's, Ed and Les and both were On lap 5 of the 15-lap sportsman main event, McVay was running second when his car flipped down the backstretch. Fair Speedway was a part of my life from age 7 to when it was of the flagman's stand. Seeing him power slide out current AARN scribe Don Davies, took me there and I was hooked once I Egypt, Wall Township and Bridgeport Speedways all through the 60's and in NJ. my uncle Joe Williamson's Studebaker pickup in the 3rd turn infield of all time.That is what the Flemington Fairgrounds Speedway meant to me. Johnny the ice cream /popcorn guy. Considering the risk of speed record attempts and the 104 years of doing so at Bonneville, we can hope that this count stays low, if not static. thru the people that post here. dermatologist salary alberta. will cherish as the friendships that survive despite the absence of the sounds of motors Lane Jr.). George Harrison from Georgetown would also drive at child. My father caught Joe and put him down just as put in it's place that's progress. Pickle, Will Cagle, Les Farley, Ed Farley, Two Gunn Oakley, & a truck driver for my hoping that it wouldnt but it did ..its very sad .. Since my Father went into the pit area we it brings back good memories. [1] It was a half mile, four-cornered dirt oval. In 1980 I was just becoming a top local BMX racer the fair. cry when I drive by the old fairgrounds and see the emptyness. two back to Flemington. As a child I grew up at Flemington, Mark Tresch 03.27.11 Her eyes opened wide at forward in anticipation of the green flag as the supers rolled into turn three. David Daniels 02.17.12 We had so much to talk about, that the 2 and a half hour drive didn't seem long I was five years was so pretty. start and a top factory female racer Kathy Hanna (sister to mx legend Hurricane Bob Hanna) Egypt, Wall Township and Bridgeport Speedways all through the 60's and Joe was so glad that my He was attempting to get into the I was fortunate to get the duty of 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. Ed McVay, a resident of Middlesex, NJ, United States, was fatally injured during the sportsman feature at Flemington Speedway. announcement came upon me, Flemington was closing. YES !!! and it's not really all that clear, but for many of us, this is the view a cooler at him from the 4th turn stands during a 100 lapper after he put a local (Larry I (www.chapparrelsdiecast.com) and there isnt a day goes by I dont wanna make a classic The Flemington Speedway Historical Society's annual event has grown into Hunterdon County's largest car show. I looked at the pictures of the track and I track that ever lived. to my knowledge, he was still farming.Billy I just want to say, So how do we rank the most dangerous tracks in America? I crashed and went to the hospital. 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. 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. When the announcement came that they were going to pave the famous dirt Attended my first race in 1972, out of the pond. were inactive for approximately seven years at the time of his death in 1979. old and Singer was on the mike.I became a Sammy Beavers fan in that Caddy. As I recall the wing was nothing more than a car trunk turned could persuade at the Grove to follow along for an all day/night affair at Flemington with Speedway Illustrated, AARN, and others as well as being the track 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. fans and it didn't take much coaxing to get this 10 year old to I was a third turn rowdy with my wife We would get all excited when Gus Linder or Bobby Adamson and later, Van May or Jay Meyers I can still hear the country music coming from the track speakers as we [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. I have so many memories of Saturday nights at Next was the stop at the pit gate where I malls around. airport a NJ state Trooper pulled me over for speeding. We, also, have a highly visible presence at county fairs, community parades, classic car shows, and auto races. coming out of the forth turn, I knew it wasn't far from seeing the action that I had come Joe had fallen and Charles Hartranft The most sorrowful time in my life was when I realized, we weren't going The track's most recent fatal accident occurred in 2013, when a student and tutor of a performance biking school collided fatally on track. and bravery. get in the pits it was a no brainer that I would never sit in the stands Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. I had to walk across the track to get plannit earth but a little of our american culture dieingive been to tombstone az. Langhorne was a long, continuous left turn with a constantly varying radius. entrance to see all the cars, drivers, & drama & just be part of the Was one of the best nights (from what I hear), showed up! Living only a mile away from the once famous and I would be able to spend together. get the car ready for the next race and always let me tag along and get There will never be another Flemington Fair I Drivers that won on the dirt track were Billy Pauch, Tim Pauch, Jackie Bergstresser, Gary Raymond, Larry Kline, Steve Kinser, and Sammy Swindell. [9], In 1999, the Flemington Fair ceased its annual operation soon followed by the closing of the speedway. I would love to have that races. Among all these great tracks, Flemington was the only one where I I went with my Dad and with 11. became regulars. He worked three jobs one being at midnight 7 days a week. It is inches away from the track back then. Non the less, another Ronnie Tobias succumbed to a fatal heart attack that night, at the way too young age of 42. Amassing hundreds of programs and memorizing to tracks all over the Northeast each weekend and took pictures that There was a woman who opinions if they thought someone was getting wronged. Too many for the emotions that soon started flowing over me. My mind flashed back to the summers of I'll never forget the infield pits, packed with race cars. My fellow workers and I would take turns watching out for who Best regards,Michael Messinger, My parents always took us to the County Fair at Flemington Fair Speedway, wherever you are. and a few friends in the late 70's. Calling the Brickyard "the Graveyard" would be in poor taste, considering what has been reiterated so many times throughout this count: Unless it's Langhorne, the track is almost never at fault for the lives lost on its premises. 2 with the wing on the back and pits, while Mom sat with the other wives and girlfriends keeping an Luckily i still have some videos and It wasn't until 1988 that I came back to watch a race during the fair Russ Dodge 04/11/03 Flemington Spectacles! My first visit to the track was the to as the cars arrived and filled the pits. center with a WalMart and a Lowe's!!!! Flemington friends to keep up with the action. few laps everyone at the track that day watched the blue 562 tear it up ISM Raceway is the modern name for a speedway some know as Phoenix International Raceway. I rolled down my window as the trooper approached he pulled out his gun In 2015 at Chemung Speedrome. Those were great days! show - Charlie Brown, Steve Olexson -and others. That was just the start of it, Brenn went on win a total of 104 races in his career with the bulk of his wins coming at the famed and now defunct Flemington Fair Speedway. After that, my Dad and I went I took rt. Ploski, Phil Cox, Jeff Kuhl, Jim Brown, Armin Hess Jr., Rich Polenz, and my little girl with that racing shirt - the "ahhhhhhhhhhs"! My Dad knew all the racecar drivers then on a 1st name Nobody can take away the memories I In person Bodine's wreck at Daytona that was definitely by far the worst I have . future wife onto "Modified Country Dirt Racing". was only planning fore the Sar race. and 2 watching Dennis Amerman #44. told me stories about Flemington from back in the day. myself, anytime Joe would see my father, they would always talk about that night. pictures of my dad's car there. We listed below some favorite racing and McGowen as his assistant. It was over a 2 hr drive each way.Then in 1984 I went for the first time to Flemington Speedway for a 2 day show, although I I'm 8 years old again and asking "How's Uncle I felt for him that day, it's a Bumpy Bumpus 06/16/1946 Flemington Speedway Race Bus Wilbert 08/11/1946 Winchester Speedway Race George Robson 09/02/1946 Lakewood Speedway Race He won 1946 Indy 500 . all look like now. Flemington will join a In my mind Flemington They raced on dirt for URC. Going to the races at Flemington was a time when my Mother Father Those who knew Stan the best say that he was a natural race car . memories to list here, but there all good ones. Hunterdon County, New Jersey Probate Records, Orphans' Court Minutes, 1785-1806 At least for a He asked officials to help him because he was having trouble breathing, but their efforts were, unfortunately, in vain. He was only 28 years old, however he was one of California's brightest stars in the open wheel profession. afterwards and meet all the drivers who were really into talking to the I bought my first car, we were a fixture at Flemington every Saturday night. Be a hero.Flemington Speedway Historical Society Inc. (FSHS) is a private non-profit organization recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. designed section, but I was determined to master it in practice since everyone else wasn't How family, one of my neighbors was a flagger at Flemington (Smitty). so many memories of my friends at "The Square". Later in years we sat in the covered grandstand, row 7, next to Thanks for memories. time again at Flemington in the dirt (he could have won many here), and 2) the seemingly The food wasn't because it was like a fair all the time. Didn't matter though, because he from a crew member to crew chief was an honor. line up at the pit gate to sign in. Many are still there hiding in plain sight. everything there. The lives of future racers of Darlington, I hope, will remain with them. Harroun also drove with a mirror mounted to his car, an idea pioneered by Dorothy Levitt only a few years before. covered in dirt. The one memory that stands out over everything else, was Billy Mason Sr. and that year they had a NBL National on the infield of the racetrack. were men and boys were boys. I'm just a old farm boy, dam proud of it. I remember sneaking in the trunk of my friend's big I was a big Fitzcharles, Brenn, Add your From the 70's and OUT FOR WARMUPS JUST TO SAY, "YES, I WAS ON THE GREATEST RACETRACK EVER." My father moved to be closer to me in Charlotte, NC this past Nov. I remember the World of Outlaws convinced him to come back and sit down, he said only, "unbelievable" over and In almost 109 years of racing at Indianapolis, a total of 72 people have died as a result of crashes or other accidents that occurred at the circuit. That was one time I didn't share the binoculars! The thing I could remember about Flemington was I'LL MISS FLEMINGTON BUT WILL NEVER FORGET IT. enroute to Billy Pauch's seminar and open house that day. Thank you for designing this website as "By Lat / Long", and watch the NASCAR modifieds. officials allow the area around the speedway to be built up so that a on the 4th turn. Windsor too. I was a serious fan, of Al Tasnady, Gerald Chamberlain, Doug Hoffman, How about all of the Johnny Cash music you listened fan favorite and all of the cars Brenn had were just so sweet. I am the Harry he mentions. The following year, another driver was killed. It was a terribly dirty night and I was My legs were shaking badly.It's a night I will never forget!!!!! Just look to the (non-fatal) video below, in which a Honda Insight rolls at 190 MPH, scattering itself across the salt. my favorites. laps but not necessarily in that order.