Hey fellas, --long time lurker, first time poster-- I thought some of you guys might show some interest in this little bit of race track history that I found this past week. (link below) It's an old race track in New Bremen, OH. It's only a few minutes away from (Tony Stewart's) Eldora Speedway which a lot more people know about. The only reason I know about this track is because I work for Crown Equipment in New Bremen and wanted to dig up some history on it. The owner of Crown also owns the track. Some pretty big names raced at this track... enough of my rambling though... I'll let you read it. You have to scroll past a few pictures to get to the guts of it. http://www.aaronfry14.com/tracktales4.htm
good to see ya brado. That's an awesome track. When I can make it up there we need to check that place out.
Here's a scan of the cover of a 1969 New Bremen Speedway program cover. It was a big USAC sprint car track.
I can remember the name popping up once in a while in older articles. Great to put a "face" with it. Wonder if kids fished in the infield pond while the races were going on?
Anything I can do to contribute... It's amazing the things you find in these small towns. It amazes me even more how small this world is. Never thought anyone would have a scan of the program cover...sweet. Dvanecek...You're more than welcome to come up any time. We can hop the fence.
Great post looks like it would have fun to race there. Does anybody Wilmont Wi. use to race super modifieds there in the early 70s.
I saw a show at Wilmot years ago....1986. It was a special featuring Dairyland midgets, supermods, and winged sprint cars.
Exactly what i was thinking. Maby we can get Brado to talk Mr.Crown in to letting us use it. Hell he could even make some money off of it by charging people admition.
Cool find. The place looks in decent shape. Scrape off the weeds and line em up. There are a couple of racing history groups I belong to where some of the people go out and hunt down old race tracks either in person or on Google Earth. Here's a couple more. Vaca Valley Raceway outside of Vacaville, Ca. http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/VacaValleyToday.html Here's one of my favorites, Paramount Ranch in Calabasas, Ca. It was a movie ranch for many years and they used to have the Renaissance Pleasure Faire there (wenches!!). It's now a park and about 80% of the track is still there if you know where to look. http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/ParamountRanchToday.html Cheers, Kurt
Jungle Park near Rockville Indiana needs to be the place for the "Jalopy Showdown West" I am just trying to figure out how to make it happen
When I worked for Howe Racing Ent. we took Ed Howe's Green Hornet race car down there the year prior to it closing. A few drivers had challenged Ed to go down and try his skills. At that time he was doing really well at the other mid-west tracks but had never been to New Breman. We unloaded the car and Ed either set a track record or ran right on the record qualifying.During the heat or Austrailian persuit the car started to stumble at the end of the straightaway and by the end it would barely run. Back in the pits we discovered that the fuel hose from the pump to the carb was deteriorating and small chunks of rubber were lodged in the fuel inlets restricting the flow of gas. By the time everything was disassembled, flushed and put back together we had missed the call for the feature. Before leaving it was decided that we had time to make the program at Flat Rock speedway in Michigan on the way home. at Flat Rock Ed set fast time, won the heat, the Austrailian Persuit and the feature. The guy he beat that night might be familiar to some of you. His name is Joy Fair and he made quite a name for himself in Midwest late Models. I always regretted not going back to New Breman but it just wasn't in the cards the track closed the next year I believe. Every time I come from visiting my mom in Dayton,Ohio and pass the New Bremen exit on I-75 I always have the urge to pull off and drive by the old track. Now with this thread I just might do that. Frank
butch 27, Howe and Fair became really good friends over the years. When Ed was developing his chassis he used Fair as his bench mark. When ever he thought he had made an improvement in the chassis, Flat Rock was where he headed to test the changes. He felt that if he could take on Fair and do well he really had something. One time Joy's engine was ailing before the feature and Ed asked him to drive his car to see what he thought. Joy won driving Ed's car that night and commented it was the finest handling chassis he had ever driven. Only problem he could see was it lacked some horsepower. Joy's engine man, and his name escapes me right at the moment, was known for making some of the most awesome power ever put in a short track car. He was the owner Of Dearborn Crankshaft if anyone remembers his name. Joy was one of the cleanest drivers I've ever watched. One night at Flat Rock he and Ed, after quickly coming through the pack (no.1 and no.2 qualifyers) ran wheel to wheel for 50 laps and never touched one another. One lap Joy would be on the inside and the next it was Ed. The crowd was on it's feet the whole time and the finish line camera gave Joy the win in what everyone there said was the closest finish they had ever seen. After the race Joy swore Ed had won but the photo showed Joy about an inch or two ahead. Some fun times and the start of what was to be my longest running job, fabrication subcontracting building Ed's roll cages , frames, A-frames, fabricated spindles, sway bars, and anything else he needed to keep Howe Racing Enterprises in business. Frank
Frank, Thanks for some memories.. no better seat in the house at FR than the wooden bleachers in turn three. The last time I saw Joy run he won the feature, when he stopped for the checkered they presented him with a birthday cake....FOR HIS 65TH ! ... the guy was one of the best there was! CC Joy's Career Highlights: [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Born September 10th, 1930[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Harry S Truman was President of the United States when Joy started his career! Fair drove in six decades -- and has made hints he wants to try for his seventh! [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-First race was Pardington's Pastures Speedway in Sterling Heights, MI (14 Mile and Dequindre area)![/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Won at the International Exposition Fairgrounds in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Champion, 1965 Baer Field in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Champion, six years running, Toledo Speedway, Ohio, 1967-1972, then again in 1974, late model division.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Late Model Champion ten times, Flat Rock Speedway, Michigan.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-1977 Mt. Clemens Race Track, Michigan late model champion.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Late Model Champion at Flat Rock, Mt. Clemens and Toledo, all in 1981 (at the time, Mt. Clemens was a NASCAR sanctioned track).[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Won inaugural Glass City "200" at Toledo, 1968 (Joe Ruttman also won this race, driving Joy's four-door Maverick). Joy won the race again in 1975 and 1976.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Won nine out of 14 features at Flat Rock Speedway in 1969, including 100 lap invitational where he lapped the entire field; also won 10 of 14 features at Toledo.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Won the 1974 Ohio State "500" championship.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Won two ARCA Supercar (ReMAX) Series races at Toledo and at Sun Valley (now Anderson) Speedway in Indiana in 1972.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Won over 700 short track features in 12 states and Canada. Winningest driver in state of Michigan with over 600 victories.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Two NASCAR Grand National (now Nextel Cup) Series starts, both coming in 1956. Best finish ninth at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL. Other start was on Daytona's Beach course where he experienced a DNF (clutch).[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Won dirt all-star race inside the Pontiac Silverdome (former home of the NFL's Detroit Lions) in 1982, beating NASCAR greats David Pearson (second place), Neil Bonnett and Kyle Petty and short track ace Bob Senneker, among others.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1987.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Car #1 retired from ARCA competition in 1999 -- first and only driver in series history to receive such an honor. Also that year given honorary ARCA lifetime membership.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Won almost every event he finished; dominant on various types of tracks rarely seen from any other stock car driver.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Many articles on Joy in "Stock Car Racing Magazine", "Late model Digest" and others.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Prepared cars for some of the best short track and NASCAR drivers in the country, including: Ruttman, Dave Marcis, as well as Rick Sheppard and Dick Price, to name a few.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]-Best known as, "The Fair One".[/FONT]
ProEnfo, Thanks for the rundown on Joy Fair's career. Everytime we ran against him it was an experience to remember. As I said he WAS the cleanest driver I can remember. This was one of the reasons Ed Howe liked to run against him. He knew there would NEVER be a "cheap shot" or deliberate move to take you out. If you were the best man in the race he let you prove it but that's exactly what you had to do "prove it". When you beat Fair (which was VERY rare) you had beaten the best. Some of my fondest memories of REAL racing included him in the field. As a side note, the rivalery between Ed Howe and Bob Senneker was one to behold when they were both at the peak. Ed retired (from racing and business) long before Bob but they sure put on some shows at Berlin Speedway and Tri-City speedway to name a couple. Frank
Frank, Ed held his own 'legend status' .. besides his wins as a driver if you had 'Howe' equiptment you were running the 'good stuff'.. Senneker, Ruttman, Byrd, Hanley... a lot of good racers between Flat Rock, Mt. Clemens and Toledo..I think I need a fix .. CC
There is an Old Timers Show at Jungle Park in Sept sometime. This old race track is full of history. If there is any interest I can confirm the date.
Change the number on the link and there other stories of old race tracks. 5 To be exact. http://www.aaronfry14.com/tracktails1.htm http://www.aaronfry14.com/tracktails2.htm http://www.aaronfry14.com/tracktales3.htm http://www.aaronfry14.com/tracktales4.htm http://www.aaronfry14.com/tracktales5.htm
WATCH OUT FOR GUNFIRE!!!.....About 2yrs. ago in the summer a friend was riding with me as we drove right by the ol' New Bremen Speedway and noticed that there was a gate open..I just had to turn around and go back..I was thinking about all the memories there, going to those races with my Dad in the late 50's and 60's..Soo... As I drove thru the open gate and watched for a No tresspassing sign and there wasn't any signs..I drove right to the gate at turn 1 , shut the car off and we both got out and were lookin' all around..I decided to get the camera out of the car and snap a few pics and as soon as I held the camera up to focus we heard guys yelling ..."Hey what the ="#$@#^&%"]#$@#^&% are you doing" Then we hear guns firing east of the backstretch..We dove in the car got out of there real fast!!...I don't know who it was or how many but we were pretty rattled and I don't plan visiting there anytime soon!!!
Man I can tell a few stories about New Bremen, was racing Midgets and Sprint cars there from about 1961 thru 1972. maybe I shouldn't tell them kind of stories
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