WHAT'S NEW?

ARCHIVE 1

     UPDATE:

     I've posted a new Pic of the Week here.  I never get tired of looking at those old modifieds.  They were so basic, so fast, and so dangerous.  This week's Pic shows short track ace Neal Sceva in an early modified.

     Steve Knisley (soonersman55@aol.com) and Karl Brown, both dedicated FODS who have contributed much to this site, have checked in again with the names of more drivers who should be considered for the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame's first class.  They include the Smiths,Carl and Marvin, as well as Elbert "Pappy" Booker, who lost his life at Dayton, Travis "Spider" Webb, Jackie Holmes who drove for Floyd "Pop" Dreyer, Duke Dinsmore, Jimmy Daywalt who drove for Charlie Engle, Tommy Hinnershitz, Joie Ray, Johnny Shackleford, a Dayton native who lost his life at the Dayton track, Johnny Crone, Andy Linden, Troy Ruttman, A.J.Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Carl Ott, and Eddie Zalucki.  These nominees have been added to the Hall of Fame page here

     I got a nice note from Joy Petticrew (sweetheart36977@woh.rr.com) regarding her dad, Joe Raymond, and her brother Lee.  Here's what she said:

     "I have read the article you wrote on my dad and brother (Joe & Lee Raymond).  I'm so pleased that you are helping to keep old racing memories alive.

     "I remember going to the races with Dad all the time and later traveling with Lee when he raced ARCA.  Racing was something I alwways wanted to do and Dad was going to build a car for me when Lee first started racing, but Mom said NO!!!  So following Lee's racing was the next best thing.

     "Lee encouraged me to work for Bill Venturini who had the only all-female pit crew in ARCA.  I did that for three years.  Bill won the ARCA championship the last year I worked for him.  It was a lot of fun but still was not the same as driving a car.

     "Dad has been gone for two years now, and we all miss him very much.  Articles like yours will help to keep him in our hearts.  We all know he's in that big race track in the sky with all of his racing buddies.  Thank you again.  Joy Petticrew"

     I can sympathize with Joy.  When I first got hooked on auto racing in the early '60's all I wanted to do was drive a race car.  Forty-plus years later all I have to show for it is two Sunday events behind the wheel of my Sportsman at Eldora Speedway.  But I haven't given up the dream...yet.

     I feel a little guilty getting these thank you's from Joe and Lee's family members.  They thank me for the "article" I've written about Joe, but in truth I've written very little.  You can read it here.

     I intend to corner Lee as soon as the racing season ends to get more information so I can give Joe and Lee a proper write-up.  I hope that you are listening, Lee!

     The President of the SoCal Chapter of FODS, Bob Gilberg (rgilberg@san.rr.com) has spent some of his summer constructively... studying the Pic of the Week for June 29 - July 5 shown here on the right and here on the Pic of the Week page.

     I described it as a 6 cylinder engine sporting 6 single-barrel carbs.  Bob wrote:

           "Foggy - I haven't yet figured out what the block is, but believe it or not...look very closely... I think that is a Hilborn injection system instead of carburetors.  It also looks like the block is lying over at a 15 to 20 degree angle.  The answer will probably be known when someone recognizes the staggered exhaust and intake port layout on that head... ."

     Bob's right of course.  Those aren't carbs at all; it's some sort of injection system.  And if you look closely you can see that the exhaust pipes attach to the ports at an angle; the engine is definitely laying over slightly.  About the only thing I got right is (1) it's a 6 cylinder, and (2) those could very well be old gym socks over the injectors!

     Thanks, Bob, for keeping me straight!

     I've added five newspaper clippings detailing activity at the track just after the war here.  They make fascinating reading.  The clippings were provided by Terry Spitler from his father Bill Spitler's collection.  Terry sent them in many weeks ago, but I managed to lose them in the shuffle.  I apologize to Terry for the delay, and extend my thanks, along with the thanks of all the other FODS for his contribution.  And, of course, Terry is now himself a certified, true-blue, 100% certain FODS.

     My next update will be in a few days.  I promise!

                                                            ---Mickey

                                                            July 14, 2008

     UPDATE: 

     We were saddened to hear of the passing of Robbie Dean on July 3rd after a long battle with cancer.  Our condolences to Robbies family and many friends and fans.

     William Ray, son of the famous Joie Ray, sent along a photo of his dad at Dayton Speedway in the J.R. Pennington car.  I've posted it as the Pic of the Week and you can see it here.  Visit Joie's website at www.joieray.com.  Thanks to William for the photo; he's now an official FODS.

     I've also received numerous additional nominations for the Hall of Fame.  They are car owners/builders Al Watts, Pop Dreyer, Jack Steck, Day Wylie, Jerry Gara, and Paul Wilson, and drivers Jim Cushman, Dick Freeman, Robbie Dean, Dick Arnold, and Larry Rice.  You can see all the nominees here.

     In 1976 my partners and I were hired to do the advertising and public relations for the speedway.  You can find some of the ads we prepared and placed in various media in the 1970's - 1980's Gallery here.

     When we announced the answer to our Mystery Number Four in the last update we told you that Ed Hillbilly Duncan and Bill Pelphrey co-drove Pelphrey's car to win the last Dayton 500 in 1981.  We've been reminded that we should have said Ben Pelphrey, not Bill.  Our apologies to Ben, where ever he might be (he hasn't yet checked in and no one has provided any information about his present whereabouts).

     Given the trouble we've had getting our facts straight about the Dayton 500 run in 1981, you can understand why we are having such difficulty learning about Aloysius E. Theisen who was born in 1906 and died in a midget crash in Detroit in 1935.  FODS Rick Patterson (elvis334@att.net) is still hot on Al's trail and I am planning a trip to Detroit to look through newspaper archives, check the public records for details about Al's death (and birth), and talk to the folks who run Saint Alphonsus cemetary.  As it stands now, Al's grave is marked with a stone that simply says "son."  I think that this early pioneer of our sport deserves a bit more and if I can get the necessary permission I'd like to install a larger marker behind the current stone detailing Al's accomplishments.

     If that comes to pass, I'll invite the FODS Nation to contribute a dollar or two to help with the costs.  Stay tuned for more on this.

     And, as always, my thanks to all of you who continue to help with the site.  Your photos and remembrances are always welcome,  Contact me here to contribute.

                                                            ---Mickey

                                                            July 7, 2008

     UPDATE: 

     Time for a little housecleaning.  First, Scott Stovall is NOT the current flagman at Ft. Wayne Speedway; he's the flagman at Baer Field in Ft. Wayne.  (You can still yell up to him and tell him that you read about him and saw his photo here.)  FODS Lee Raymond reported that he made a mistake, and since by his own admission it's the first he's ever made, he is officially forgiven.  The #71 on the Dayton 500 page 1979 photos here is not driven by his dad, Joe Raymond.  It is, we believe, being driven by Bobby Jacks.  Frank Patick owned a #73 that had a similar paint job and it was the car that Joe drove.

     By the way, FODS Jerry Wahl (jlwahl1@hotmail.com) identified yet another entrant in the 1979 Dayton 500 pictured here.  The gold and white #50 was driven by Ken McEldowney.

     FODS Scott "Pockets" Miller checked in with the final pieces of the puzzle to solve Mystery Number Four here.  FODS Earl Isaacs arrived just a bit later than Pockets with the same information.  Congratulations to Pockets.  I've known Pockets for over 35 years.  He routinely catches three or four races every weekend and has probably seen thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of laps as a fan.  Despite the fact that he has been asked countless times to help out on pit crews, he has successfully avoided turning his passion into a job.  He got his nickname when he was a member (and I use that term loosely) of my team; no matter how serious the thrash to get to the track, every time I looked up Scott was standing there with his hands in his...you can guess the rest.

     Three new names have been added to the list of Hall of Fame nominees here.  There's still time for you to nominate your favorite Dayton Speedway participant.  Send the name(s) to me here.

     I've added several more Dayton Speedway program covers on the home page at the bottom of the lower right hand column.  Visit the home page here.

     I've added a Track Records page here.  So far all I've posted are the track records as of 1964 as listing in the speedway's 1964 program.  I'll update the page as I find the actual final records.

     I think that I found a photo of the Plymouth that Troy Ruttman sold to the Walther family of Dayton, that ended up owned by Jerry Gara and driven by Joe Raymond.  You can see it here at the bottom of the lower left hand column.

     We're still working to uncover the complete history of driver Aloysius (Al) E. Theisen, the 1934 Mid-West Champion.  He drove for Dayton's John Vance, and he was talented.  Al's 299.2 points in 1934 beat legendary drivers Rex Mays (284.2 points) and Mauri Rose (280 points) for the title.  Killed in a midget race at Detroit's Motor City Speedway in 1935, Al rests now in Saint Alphonsus cemetary in Dearborn, Michigan. We'll have more on Al's life and times to come.

                                                                        ---Mickey

                                                                        July 4, 2008

     UPDATE: 

    My thanks to the FODS Nation for all the help in deciding who was in the #0 maroon car in the 1979 Dayton 500 photos posted here.  Moose Meyers had been at the wheel of the #0 for many seasons, but the driver in 1979 looked like Scott Stovall.  Lee Raymond (kilkare@kilkare.com), Earl Isaacs (eisaacs@woh.rr.com), Jerry Wahl (jlwahl1@hotmail.com), and Steve Knisley (ygarman45@aol.com) all contributed to the answer.  As it turns out, there's not much of a mystery about what happened.  The Stovall Family always owned the cars that Moose Meyers drove.  Jim Stovall waited until his son Scott was old enough to make the move to the Late Model, and then Moose retired and Scott took over the driving.  The team enjoyed some success with Scott before finally folding.

     By the way, Scott is still in the racing game, but is no longer driving.  He's the flagman at Ft. Wayne Speedway!  Next time you visit the track, yell up to Scott and tell him you read about him here! 

     And speaking of Lee Raymond and the Racing Raymond Family, I heard from not only Lee but also Kristen Williams, Joe's granddaughter and Lee's niece.  Lee checked in with the information about the Stovall/Meyers question, and also to identify the car his dad, Joe, is sitting in on the Raymond family page here (bottom left hand column).  The car is a 1965 Plymouth that Jerry Gara purchased from the Walther family who had in turn purchased the car from Troy Ruttman for the engine.  (Sounds like an expensive way to buy an engine.)  I've fixed the caption on that photo.  Lee also reports that the #71 on the 1979 Dayton 500 page here was driven by his dad, not Bobby Jacks as we had first indicated.  I've fixed that caption, too.

     Kristen wrote "Hello, my name is Kristen and I am Joe Raymond's granddaughter (Lee's neice).  My Aunt Carol forwarded me a message and asked that our family write into you.

     "I really don't know much about my Grandfather's racing (he really wasn't doing it anymore during my time).  My Uncle however was the racer at the time and we would go to Kil-Kare and watch him.  I wasn't allowed to go to any of the other race tracks; my Mom said that they were not a place for little girls.  My Mom used to work on lee's pit crew; she would do the gas fill-ups.  My sister and I had shirts with Lee's #1 on them and we would wear checkered-flag earings!  We were so proud and ready to flaunt our Uncle's stardom.  I  know that I have pictures that I can contribute, but I'll have to sit down this weekend and go through all of them.  As far as Grandpa, I liked going into his garage to look at his racing photos that he had hanging up.  I don't know who got those photos when he left us two years ago, but I'm sure they're floating around somewhere.  I'll see what I can come up with.  Kristen Williams (kwilliams17@hotmail.com)"

     Thanks for checking in, Kristen.  You are now an official FODS (even if Dayton was one of the tracks your mom wouldn't let you visit!).  I'll be thrilled to share any photos you might find with the rest of the FODS Nation!

     In the last update I told you that I had been contacted by ygarman45@aol.com whose mom, currently in a nursing home in Dayton, had confirmed the dates the speedway was paved and the smaller track was built in the infield.  I also told you that I had no idea who ygarman45 was.  Good news; Steve Knisley reported back in and admitted to being ygarman45.  We're also able to identify the mom with the amazing memory, Martha Knisley.  Steve reports that his dad had a garage and towing service and used to work on a lot of the race cars in the Dayton area in the '50s and '60s.

     Steve also has nominated his old friend Denny Dean who reportedly loved the Dayton high-banks so much he drove from Columbus every Sunday to race on them.

     My thanks to Steve and his mom, Martha, both of whom are now official FODS, and I have added Denny Dean's name to the list of nominees for our Hall of Fame here.

     Bob McCray (sprintracer2001@aol.com) one of the first FODS to contact this site when it began, had surgery on June 30th and will be under the weather for a bit.  We wish him well.  He also wanted to nominate Sonny Ates and Larry Nuber to the Hall of Fame.  Ates was already a nominee, but I have added Nuber's name here.

     On May 31, 1976, the Ohio State 500 100-lap segment was run at Dayton Speedway for the supermodifieds.  It was quite a show, even though the weather didn't cooperate.  My company was doing the publicity and public relations for the track that year, and the track just could not catch a break.  You can read the Dayton Journal Herald report by Bucky Albers here.

     A new Pic of the Week has been posted.  You'll enjoy it.  You can see it here.

     Lots of FODS came up with partial answers to our Mystery Photo #4 here.  Jon Powers (jon.powers@safeauto.com) and racinmick1122@aol.com both correctly identified the guy on the left as the legendary Ed "Hillbilly" Duncan.  Jon thinks the photo was taken after the Dayton 200 win, but because he was very young he cannot remember more.  The man on the right remains a mystery and I'm not going to give you the answer until someone correctly identifies him. 

     Finally, an exchange of e-mails with loyal FODS contributor Steven N. Levinson reminded me of a touching story he'd shared with me some time ago, but that I'd forgotten to pass along to the rest of you.  Steven met driver Larry Crockett at Salem Speedway in August, 1954.  Crockett asked him for his name, and Levinson said "Steve."  Crockett thought a minute and replied, "You are the ugliest kid named Steve I have ever seen."  Needless to say, that obviously joking remark hurt Steven's 11-year-old feelings.  At the same time, the moment linked the two.  Crockett's death at Langhorne March 20, 1955, Steven describes as a "horrible personal tragedy for me." 

     You can see several photos of Larry Crockett on this site.

     That's it for now, gang.  Once again I have to say that your involvement and participation in keeping the memory of long-vanished Dayton Speedway humbles me.  "Thanks" doesn't do justice to what your efforts have meant to me and to hundreds, if not thousands, of other Dayton fans.

     P.S.  The search for Al Theisen is going well and we are getting closer to filling in some of the details of his life.  We've found his grave marker in the Saint Alphonsus cemetary in Dearborn, MI, and it says simply "son."  We're certain that he buried there with his family and he is not alone.  More to follow.

                                                              ---Mickey

                                                              July 1, 2008

     UPDATE:  Who knew that I would be back updating the site just one or two days after the last update?  Just when you think that you know me...

     I received a touching note from Carol Owens (dowens3@woh.rr.com), daughter of Joe Raymond and sister to Lee Raymond, both of whom have their own page here, and both of whom have been nominated for the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame (see the list of nominees here).  Here's what Carol had to say:

     "I would like to thank you for the article on my Dad and Brother (Joe and Lee).  I can remember as a little girl all of us following Daddy to the track to watch him race and later to watch Lee.  I didn't like it when they both were on the track...it was a little nerve-wracking.  I was married on a Saturday and Sunday everyone went to Dayton Speedway to see Lee race.  If that's not a racing family I don't know what one is.  Dad's great grandson Steven and Landenn are very much car nuts at very early ages.  Steven could tell you at two what a Cobra or T-Bird, Mustang, or any make of car was.  Landenn is not far behind and even though he didn't get to meet his great grandpa he talks about him and knows he was a race car driver.  He sists on his grandpa David's lap every Sunday or Saturday night to watch the NASCAR boys and will tell you papa Joe and Uncle Leebo raced them.  I think we may have two more racers still to come and carry on the family tradition.  Daddy would have been so proud.  Again, thanks for the nice article.  Carol Owens (Joe's daughter)

     By the way, I've been asked how long the Raymond page here and the Dunlevy page here will be "under construction."  The answer is: probably until the racing season ends.  The folks who can provide more details about both families are busy...racing!

     Ken Koontz (koontzkenneth@yahoo.com) has checked in and is now a member of the FODS Nation.  Ken wanted to make sure that John "Shorty" Miller's name was added to the Hall of Fame nominee list.  I've done that. You can see the entire list here.  Welcome aboard, Ken!

     Ace photographer Earl Isaacs (eisaacs@woh.rr.com) has also dropped by and asked that Jerry Wahl's name be added to the Hall of Fame nominee list here.  I've done that.  Jerry was, among other things, the track announcer at Dayton Speedway for a time.  Thanks, Earl, and welcome aboard.

     Speaking of Jerry Wahl, he went into youtube and checked out that video that was supposedly shot at Dayton Speedway.  You may remember that FODS P. Heinfeld (smokey@wcoil.com) came across it, but doubted it was Dayton.  I agreed with P. Heinfeld, and now Jerry agrees that the track on the film is probably Winchester.  As evidence he points to the opening in the wall for access to the pits just like today, the absence of billboards down the backstretch, and the absence of the Dayton pedestrian bridge at the exit of turn 4.  Case closed...but wouldn't it be great if someone came forward with some film shot at Dayton?

     I've put up a new Mystery (Number 4).  It's an easy one, and I probably put more effort into cropping the picture and posting it than you will use in identifying it.  Take a look at it here, and send your answers to me here.

     That dang maroon #0 car that is shown on the Dayton 500 page here has been causing us some trouble.  Most of us remember that Moose Meyers drove the car with the distinctive #0 bisected by a checkerboard stripe, but some of the FODS offering help in identifying the cars from the 1979 edition of the 500 have named Scott Stovall the driver of the #0.  I've just gone through the tons of photos provided by Ralph C. Bray Jr. and I came across a photo of the #0 taken from the back, and there on the tail of the car, clear as day, it says "Stovall Racing" and Scott is standing near the car adjusting the collar of his firesuit.  Can someone out there tell us what happened to Moose and how Scott happened to end up using the same color/number combination that Moose used for so many years?  Contact me here.

     We still have no solution to the Al Theisen mystery.  (Scroll down to the "Help Needed" item posted on June 4 on this page.)  Aloysius Theisen was a champion race car driver who, at least for a time, called Dayton Ohio his home.  He won races in 1932, 1933, and in 1934 won three races driving for Dayton owner Johnny Vance.  He was named the Midwest Champ.  He died, we believe, in a race in Detroit, but things get murky after that.  We have no idea what happened to him or where he is now.  His story deserves to be properly told.  He was, after all, one of us.  FODS Rick Patterson (elvis334@att.net) is our lead investigator, and FODS Gene Ingram (harleygene@comcast.net) has provided some assistance.  You might be able to help solve this mystery, particularly if you live in Detroit.  I'm going to start a page dedicated to the Theisen mystery.  You can visit it here to see how this mystery unfolded, what we know for sure, and what is still uncertain.  Thanks in advance for your assistance!

     Coming attractions:  I'm thinking of adding a bulletin board feature to the site so that you FODS can communicate with each other without waiting for me to post.  Maybe a blog will be added later.  Stay tuned.

     That's all for now, gang.  My continuing thanks to all of you who are helping (probably more than you can imagine) keep the memory of Dayton Speedway alive.

                                                                            ---Mickey

                                                                             June 26, 2008

     UPDATE:     My apologies to all the FODS who thought that perhaps I'd fallen under a bus or was otherwise incapacitated since it has been almost 20 days since the last update.  Sometimes life interferes with my other interests!

     Loyal FODS Rick Patterson (elvis334@att.net) has sent along a couple of photos of Ralph Latham in what I think was the Morgan Chandler Chevelle at Dayton Speedway in 1970.  Rick is confident that the 1970 date is accurate; it was the only year that Latham ran the two four-barrel carb set-up.  I posted the photo of Ralph from www.dirtfans.com in the 1970's - 1980's gallery here on the top of the left hand column. 

     I'm posting the other photo provided by Rick right here so that everyone can see what Rick looks like, or more accurately what Rick looked like 38 years ago.  He's the chubby little race fan on the left.  I have it on good authority that Rick is much taller now, but is still prone to wearing his pants the same way.  (Just kidding, Rick.)

     Rick has also sent along some valuable factoid bits and pieces that go a long way towards further fleshing out the history of our old speedway.  I've added Rick's contributions here on the Track History page, plugging them into the information we already have on hand.

     Candidates for The Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame continue to be named.  You can see the current list of nominees on the Hall of Fame page here.  If you have a name that should be added to the list, please contact me here and I'll see that your nominee is on the list.

     Brand new FODS Steve Zechman (zechman@hotmail.com) has checked in with his memories of Dayton Speedway.  You can read his contribution here.  Welcome aboard, Steve.

     Bill Ashworth has provided the dates for the very last Dayton 500.  It was held September 25 and 26, 1981.  I've added this info on the Track History page here and on the new Dayton 500 Gallery page here.  Thanks, Bill!

     New FODS P. Heinfeld (smokey@wcoil.com) hipped us to an old 8mm film of a USAC sprint race that's posted on www.youtube.com and that claims to have been shot at Dayton Speedway.  P. Heinfeld told me that he doubted the film was shot at Dayton; I've seen the video and I agree.  It looks like Winchester, particularly since the opening shots appear to have been taken from the steps of the pedestrian bridge that used to cross the Winchester track at the entrance to turn 1.  See for yourself.  Go to www.youtube.com and type "dayton 1960" into the search engine.

     Lee (payback66@aol.com), a new FODS, has checked in with some help on the Dayton 500 photos that are posted here.  He believes that the maroon "0" car was driven by Moose Meyers (frequent site contributor Gene Ingram concurs) and the red, white,  and blue #71 was driven by Bobby Jacks.  Until someone argues otherwise, that's the information that I have posted on the Dayton 500 page.  Thanks, Lee!

     I received a nice note from soonersman55@aol.com (haven't found out his name yet; if you read this soonersman55, please tell me your name and your mom's name!)  Here's what he said:

     "I stumbled on your wonderful site and am very impressed.  I attended a lot of races at the speedway in the '50s and '60s, and all the races from 1975 until the track closed.  My dad was tow truck driver at the track in the '50s and '60s.  I have a few good stories about the happenings at the track that I will share with all the FODS...Keep up the good work."

     In a separate message he said "I contacted my mother today.  She's in a nursing home in Dayton and she says the Dayton Speedway was paved in the fall of 1946, and the smaller track inside was built in the spring of 1947."

     Even though I don't yet know who soonersman55 is and am not sure how his mother remembers the activity at the speedway I'm adding her remembrance to the Track History page here.  Only a fool would question a mother's memory!

     Those FODS who have been following this site are familiar with the tortured adolescence of Bob Gilberg (rgilberg@san.rr.com) who happened to spy a dazzling Mari Hulman in the Dayton pits 55 years ago and has never been quite the same since. (Read all of Bob's remembrances here.)  When last we heard from Bob he was in some torment because the picture his family provided of Mari in the pits shows her standing next to a wall that doesn't seem to show up in other pictures on this site.  Bob was beginning to wonder if he'd spied Mari at Dayton or perhaps some other speedway.

     Bob's brother Rich (fgilberg@woh.rr.com) has ridden to the rescue.  According to Rich, "The June issue of 'Sprintcar and Midget' magazine has a picture of Gays Biro in the Caruso #36 at Dayton in 1951.  The car is shown next to a concrete pit wall.  Perhaps these were torn out with the 1/4 mile track was put in.  Maybe this will shed some light on my brother's picture of Mari Hulman and Jerry Hoyt and the HOW #21."

     In addition, Jerry Wahl has confirmed that concrete pit stalls used to line the inside of the Dayton Speedway front stretch.

     I believe that this confirms that Bob's original sighting of Ms. Hulman took place at Dayton Speedway.

     New FODS Paul Holley checked in with some help identifying the drivers in the pictures posted on the Dayton 500 page here.  Paul has identified the white car with the blue stripe #15 as Steve Stout.  Paul reports that his stepdad, Bill Whitmarsh, was Stout's mechanic.  I'll add that information to the Dayton 500 page.  Thanks, Paul!

     New FODS Jon Fannin (jonandsteph8407@aol.com) has also written to help with the 1979 Dayton 500 photos posted here.  He believes that the #0 car is Scott Stovall, the #45 is Dave Jackson, and the #22 is Mick Miller.  We need someone to confirm whether the #0 is Stovall or Meyers.  In the meantime, I've added Jon's information to the Dayton 500 Gallery page.  Thanks, Jon, and welcome aboard!

     This site's Mr. Know-It-All (or Mr. Knows-Almost-All) Jerry Wahl has provided an additional bit of information regarding the track configuration. Sometime in the late 1970's the Figure 8 track was cut into the infield.  Thanks, Jerry.  I've added the info to the Track History page here.

     I've posted a new Pic of the Week here.  Yes, I know that the previous Pic of the Week was up for almost three weeks, but I'm not changing the name of the page to "Pic of What Will Probably be a Very Long Time, Certainly More Than a Week."

     Stalwart FODS Steven N. Levinson e-mailed to remind me that the Dayton track was actually 270 feet longer than a 1/2 mile.  Thanks for the reminder, Steven.  I've added that info to the Track History page here

     Rich Gilberg (fgilberg@woh.rr.com) who was mentioned earlier in this update also sent along this note:  "Your stories about the Jim Hurtubise and Jim Rigsby accidents jog my memory about another such out-of-the-track excursion.  I expect this was in the late 60's or early 70's and I think the driver was named Jim Smith (?)  In a USAC sprint show he went out of the track right at the exit of turn 2 but survived to race again.  I think he was driving an Indy style off-set sprinter, and I was once told that he lost his life n another USAC show at Eldora.  Anyone else recall this?"

     As a matter of fact, Rich, I do remember the incident, but some of the details like the driver's name are foggy for me.  What I remember most vividly is that the driver announced that he had used up all his luck (in surviving the trip out of the Dayton track) and he was retiring on the spot.  He did, but his retirement was short-lived.  He returned to the cockpit...and died soon after in a racing accident.  I'm relying on the rest of you FODS to fill in the details.

     Thanks, Rich.

     And I am pleased to announce that we now have a European Chapter of the Friends of the Dayton Speedway, and Michael Ferner (fines@gmx.de) of Germany is hereby appointed Chapter President (he's finding about his appointment as he reads this).  He writes:  "Dear Foggy -  On the Dayton Speedway 1950's - 60's page there's a picture of a crashed #73 sprint car (Gene Ingram photo), with the caption unsure about the who and when.  I believe the picture to be from the 1953 April 25 AAA show at Dayton Speedway, when Gene Force fast-timed and then crashed a Lee Elkins sprint car in the first heat.  Mike Nazaruk later won the feature in the Elkins #83, and since Lee had but two sprint cars at the time, Force woud have to have been in the #73.  By the way, Gene also crashed the following two weekends at Winchester and Illiana, respectively, and as a consequence lost his ride."

     Thanks, Michael.  Your information matches what others have provided in bits and pieces.

     Steven N. Levinson is rapidly earning his CSI: Dayton Speedway badge.  He took a look at the lead photo on the home page and saw that my caption simply narrowed the year to etiher 1954 or 1955.  Steven concluded that if Larry Crockett was indeed in the #31 in the photo, then the photo had to have been taken in 1954, because Crockett was killed at Langhorne on March 20, 1955, two full weeks before the first race of the 1955 season at Dayton.  Well done, Steven!  I've adjusted the caption on the lead photo of the home page.

     There's much more to be done and much more to be posted.  I'll do my best to do the next update within a week.  Thanks to all of you who have helped make the site so successful.  I'm approaching 50,000 hits and I STILL haven't added any meta-tags so that the search engines can find me.

     By the way, my website reports indicate that a little over 9% of the visitors to the site use Mozilla to browse the web.  I loaded Mozilla and used it to see what the site looked like with other than MS Explorer.  You folks who are using Mozilla are missing a lot, based on my experience!

                                                             ---Mickey 

                                                              June 25, 2008

     UPDATE:  We have a flagman!  Brand new FODS John Potts has just checked in.

     "I flagged many a race at Dayton while I was with ARCA, and a couple of local programs when Earl Baltes was promoting. Also, Shorty Miller and I were great friends. I loved that place, and I'll start racking my memory, to see if I can penetrate the CRS for a story or two.  John Potts"

     You can reach John Potts at indybigjohn@adelphia.net

     FODS Ron Pollock who provided some of the great photos of MARC action at Dayton Speedway  in 1953-1954 is a very busy man.  He's working on a book about midget racing AND pursuing an idea for an Ohio Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum.  You can reach him at ronpat@getinfo.org.

     Thanks to the combined efforts of FODS Gene Ingram, Steven N. Levinson, and Jim Graybeal, our Mystery Number Three has been (mostly) solved.  Read about it here.

     By the way, Jim Graybeal is a new FODS and first time visitor to the site.  He comes from rich racing stock: his father owned the famous "Southern Star" car that was driven by Joie Ray, among others.  Jim reports that Joie was one of his best friends.  Here's some of what Jim told me when he introduced himself:

     "I ran USAC midgets in '65, '66, '67. Just part of '65 and '67. In '66 I drove the #47 for Ted Hartley.
     I helped Buzz [Rose] with a couple of his books. I helped Tom Williams with the Jungle Park book and I helped Pat Sullivan with the new book on Joie Ray.
     I belong to The Midwest Oldtimers and will be going to most of their events. Can not make Gene's Mt Lawn deal. Going to be out of town [I live in Shelbyville, Ky]. I have the 1986 Gambler Silver Crown car that Rich Volger drove when it was new[ the Coors Light car]."

     If you'd like to get in touch with Jim Graybeal, you can reach him at graybeal@bellsouth.net.  Welcome aboard, Jim!

     NOMINATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE DAYTON SPEEDWAY HALL OF FAME!  Nominate someone or learn more here

     PAGE ADDED:  I've added a page titled "Track History" where I intend to report the history of the speedway exclusive of any particular racing activity at occured.  The first entry concerns the changing track configuration as researched by Jerry Wahl.  As more details concerning ownership and promoters become available they will be added.  If you have something to contribute, you can reach me here.

     Finally, I've added a small remembrance by FODS Rick Patterson.  You can read it here.
                                                               ---Mickey

                                                                June 4, 2008

     HELP NEEDED:  We need your help finding out what happened to a driver.  FODS Rick Patterson was searching for a pic of Wally Stokes on the web when he came across an item that said "Al Thiesen was killed in a sprint car crash at Dayton Speedway in 1935."  April 6, 1935 to be exact.  It's pretty obvious that's not true, but now Rick and I and others are wondering what happened to Al.  He was no slouch as a driver, even though he only drove in AAA for two years.  His records end in 1934, the year that saw him named the 1934 AAA Midwestern Champion.

     According to Rick's research, Al won at Langhorne May 28, 1932, at Ascot on January 15, 1933, at Winchester May 27, 1934, then again at Fort Wayne on June 10, and Winchester on July 29, 1934.  His three wins in 1934 came driving for Johnny Vance.

     A search of the Ohio vital records for the period 1913 - 1946 shows no death certificates were issued for Al (real name Aloysius) Theisen (or any other spelling of his last name) during that period.  The Motorsports Memorial site (www.motorsportmemorial.org) has no listing for Al either.

     Rick has checked with the folks at National Speed Sport News and they report that their newspaper shows no "Al Theisen" dying at any track around the April 6, 1935 date.

     Al deserves better than this anonymity.  He was a champion.  He was a racer. He was one of us.  Let's find out what became of Al so that his story can be told ... and remembered.  If you can help, you can reach Rick Patterson at elvis334@att.net.

     Thanks.                                     ---Mickey

                                                        June 4, 2008 

     UPDATE:  The new Pic of the Week has been posted.  It seems that every great human endeavor involving more than one person begins with someone saying "We've got to get organized!"  Auto racing is no different, and the Pic of the Week shows the Dayton Pleasure Car Club officers seated around a cafe table somewhere.  This group helped organize stock car racing activities in the Midwest.  You can find the new Pic of the Week here.

     Diane Smelker from San Mateo, CA, sent along what has to be the most unusual e-mail I have yet received.  Diane once lived at the Dayton Workhouse and prides herself on being a long-time "jailbird."  Now that gets your attention, doesn't it?  But Diane is no career criminal; her father was the warden at the workhouse and he and his family, Diane included, lived in a house on the grounds of the prison.  Here's a portion of what she wrote:

     "We moved to the Dauphin Co. (Harrisburg PA) Jail in 1948 when I was 5 and to Dayton when I was 10. At the Workhouse we lived in a home built onto the front of the women’s quarters. It’s almost hard to believe now, but our parents pretty much allowed us to roam all over the property although not too close to the part of the workhouse where the prisoners were housed. It was a farming operation so we often walked up into the fields behind the women’s quarters where crops were growing. We particularly liked one old barn where onions hung from the ceiling drying out...the smell was so good. All summer long we received regular deliveries of baskets of fresh vegetables to our kitchen. And we liked to trek up the hill to the far corner adjacent to the Speedway – especially when the races were on TV so our parents could try to see us standing there...

     "Interestingly I married a native Daytonian. After college I got a job in Dayton at the Juvenile Hall as a Probation Counselor. I met my husband in Dayton. He can remember going to the Speedway with his Dad on several occasions. He even says he may have been there one time when I was just on the other side of the fence!"

     She's writing a book about her father, now deceased, and his views on prison management and she contacted this site to see if anyone had pictures of the workhouse.  As it turns out, brand new FODS Scott McIlwain of Columbus, OH, just provided his pics of the 1979 Dayton 500 that he attended.  (You'll find all of Scott's pics posted here.)  And one of his pics (shown at left) clearly shows the great white elephant that was the workhouse off in the distance

     If Diane indicates that she would like to use the pic in her new book, I'll make sure that she and Scott get together.

     And even though I have no idea where San Mateo is, I'm going to arbitrarily assign Diane to the Southern California Chapter of the Friends of Dayton Speedway.  Diane, Bob Gilberg, the Chapter president will get in touch with you about the next meeting, and since you are the newest member of the chapter I suspect that the meeting will be a bar-b-que at your house.

     And speaking of new FODS Scott McIlwain, he's sent along his memory of his one and only visit to the Dayton Speedway.  His story of being young and relatively poor and limping a car in desperate need of maintenance to the races will resonate with all the FODS who can remember what it was like when we first started going to the races.  You can read Scott's story here.

     NEW PAGES:  With this posting, I've started two new pages.  The first is dedicated to telling the story of Dayton Speedway's premiere event, the Dayton 500.  I've used Scott McIlwain's photos from the 1979 edition of the big race to start the page, and I will be pulling some of Ralph C. Bray's photos of a 500 event from elsewhere on the site and posting them on the new "500" page.  I also will be adding some additional "500" photos from the huge collection that Ralph donated to the cause.  [Note to Ralph:  I'll return your originals soon!]  Visit the 500 page here.

     I've also added a page where I will post all of the 1979 USAC sprint car photos provided by Todd Ridgeway.  I'll be pulling the Ridgeway pics already on the site under the 1970's-198's Gallery for posting on the new page, and I will be adding another dozen pics that Todd's provided.  You can visit that new page here.

     I'll be posting more later today!  Please check back.

                                                                                ---Mickey

                                                                                 June 4, 2008

     UPDATE:    I've added two new pages to the DSL site.  On the "Pic of the Week" page I'll post my favorite photo received during the preceeding week.  I've also created a "Hall of Fame" page.  I'm working on the details of how we'll run the Hall of Fame; as soon as I have a plan, I'll post the details on that page.  FODS Ron Pollock has sent along some terrific early 1950's photos of MARC stock car action at Dayton.  One of them made my brand new Pic of the Week, and the rest are posted here, in the 1950's - 1960's Gallery, at the top of the lower left hand column.

     FODS Bob Gilberg, who has just been named President of the Southern California Chapter of the Friends of the Dayton Speedway (he's discovering his new title as he reads this) sends along an interesting pair of postscripts to his earlier memory of the blond dazzler who apparently pushed him headlong into puberty.  That blond was Mari Hulman and besides appearing EXACTLY as gorgeous as Bob remembered, I hasten to point out that she was (is) also wealthy and a sprint car owner.  The lady had it all!  Check out Bob's entries (and photos and program pages) here.

     A brand new FODS has checked in:  "Hi!  I'm Larry Smith.  I grew up two doors away from "the track" as the neighborhood kids called it.  My little brother raced there I think.  I know he worked at the track and built a car to race at the track.  We've got pictures and posters.  I'll write soon!  Larry"  When Larry sends in his photos we'll post them.  Welcome aboard, Larry.

     Loyal FODS Gene Ingram has provided new pictures for the site.  Several have been posted here in the 1930's - 1940's Gallery (although it could have been taken in 1950).  The other photo has been posted on the HELP! page here.  The caption on the back of the photo says "Wally Stokes at Dayton Speedway."  Gene and I are not so sure that's Dayton Speedway in the photo, but I'm confident that the FODS National will come up with the definitive answer.  Speaking of the HELP! page, I've not received a single answer to the current mystery photos.  I understand that the photos involve local stock car action, but surely someone remembers what must have been a really exciting exit of the speedway.  Please visit the HELP! page here and see if you can help with the captions for the (now) two mystery collections there.  The photos provided by Gene that show a collection being taken up for driver Mel Hansen who was paralyzed in a midget crash in Detroit can also be found in the 1930's - 1940's Gallery here on the lower right hand column.  My thanks to FODS Steven N. Levinson who provided the research necessary to date the photos of the Hansen collection!

     Sleuthing FODS Rick Patterson has helped correct a caption in the 1930's - 1940's Gallery.  Early on I posted some photos provided by Dave Kramer.  The photos were taken from the speedway's covered grandstand and were clearly quite old.  I described them as possibly the oldest photos on the site.  Rick has stepped up to point out that a Karl Brown photo that I posted later in the same gallery is the only photo on the site that shows action on the track before the grandstands were built, and therefore that photo must be older than the Kramer photos.  I can't argue with that kind of detective work.  My thanks to Rick for helping keep things straight, and for his kind words about my efforts here at Dayton Speedway Lives.

     That's it for tonight, gang.  I've still got more to post, including our first European FODS checking in.  Check back tomorrow, May 29, for additional posting.

     And, as always, thanks to each of you for helping to keep the memory of Dayton Speedway alive and well.

                                                       ---Mickey

                                                       May 28, 2008

     UPDATE:  The mystery has been solved!  FODS Gene Ingram just happened to have received a copy of our mystery photo from Joie Ray just before Ray's death, and Joie was able to identify everyone in the photo.  Go to our HELP! page here to see who's who in our mystery photo.  It confirms that Dayton Speedway was an important stop for the royalty of early American auto racing.  Consider that the photo includes the very best drivers of that era: Joie Ray, Tommy Mattison, Lee Wallard, Tommy Hinnershitz, Troy Ruttman, Rex Mays, Jackie Holmes, Jimmy Daywalt, Mel Hansen...the list goes on and on.

     My thanks to our many FODS who e-mailed suggested identifications for the drivers in the photo; several of you also wrote hoping that someone somewhere had a marked-up copy of that photo and could supply the answers.  Thanks also to New Castle, Indiana's leading FODS, Gene Ingram for coming up with the answer.

     One mystery solved, another takes its place.  Check out our HELP! page here for our second mystery.  We'd like to know when these photos, provided by FODS David King, were taken, and what event is shown.  We also like to know more aobut the driver/owner/sponsor of the wrecked stock car that not only cleared the Dayton Speedway fence but also nearly made it to downtown Dayton.  It must have been quite a ride.  Somebody out there knows the story behind these photos.  You can see all of David's photos here, and you can see the mystery selection here.

     I still have a lot to do.  Photos to be posted.  Personal remembrances of Dayton Speedway to share.  And at some point I need to add meta-tags to the site so that the search engines can find us.  As it is now, virtually every visitor to the website (over 30,000 hits) has reached DSL by typing in the entire URL, or by clicking a link at another site.  I've held off adding the meta-tags because frankly I can't keep up with the submittals of the FODS now!

     Thanks FODS for all your support and kind words.  Stay tuned; more to come!

                                                                  ---Mickey

                                                                  May 19, 2008

     UPDATE:  FODS George Brose was first out of the gate with identification of some of the men in our current mystery photo.  You can see his answers here.  Until someone comes up with better or additional identification, George Brose will proudly head up the team at "CSI: Dayton Speedway."  By the way, I added an index photo to make it easier for our CSI team to tell us which driver they are identifying.  The index photo (the same photo cropped with the drivers numbered) is on the same HELP! page.

Thanks George!

     Loyal FODS in good standing Steven N. Levinson waded into the fray with educated guesses as to some of the drivers in our mystery photo, and an analysis that narrows down the possible date the photo was taken.  Check it out on the HELP! page.  Thanks, Steven!

                                                        ---Mickey

                                                        May 15, 2008

     UPDATE:  On this cold and rainy and generally miserable day in southern Ohio, I was able to finally scan and post the photos and memories of FODS Karl Brown.  You can find most of Karl's early big car pictures by visiting the 1930's - 1940's gallery here.  Brownie also provided two pictures of Elbert "Pappy" Booker, who Karl described as one of his favorite drivers, and I put them on the In Memorium page here.  One picture shows a smiling Booker sitting in his race car; the other shows his car following his fatal accident.  I also expanded Booker's information on the same page using contemporary newspaper accounts and information from Buzz Rose's book Kings of the Hills.  Brown also supplied a photo of old friend Al Watts, a kind and decent man who loved the midgets and owned several.  Al is gone from us, but you'll find a photo of him here, at the bottom of the right hand column.

     You'll find Brownie's remembrances here, and a photo that I've posted on the new page, HELP! (as in, I need your help identifying the folks in the picture) here.

     I've also cleaned up some of the captions on the photos supplied by FODS Steven N. Levinson, with his valuable assistance.  Specifically, the photos of Eddie Sachs and Ed Elisian were both taken following the 1955 Dayton 100, while the rest of Steven's photos were taken July 17, 1960.  You can check out the Levinson photos here.

     My thanks to both Karl Brown and Steven N. Levinson.

     Still to come before the weekend is over: the rest of Steven's pictures, the photos from Todd Ridgeway, Rick Patterson, and David King, and memories from Bob McCray.

                                                          ---Mickey

                                                          May 14, 2008

     UPDATE:  Today I finally was able to post some of FODS Steven N. Levinson's photos.  Steven took the photos in the infield at Dayton Speedway following a USAC sprint car feature won by Parnelli Jones.  One of the photos shows Ed Elisian and I've captioned that photo will a summary of Elisian's sad racing story.  You can find these pictures here at the top of the left hand column.  More of Steven's photos will be posted soon.

     I've started a new page, "The People," that will give me a place to pass along information about some of the unforgettable characters who have been connected with the Dayton Speedway.  First up, John "Shorty" Miller, the Dayton flagman who didn't like to be called a flagman.  Read his story here, and if you know of an individual who should be profiled please let me know.

     FODS Bob Gilberg checked in again from sunny San Diego CA to share another memory, and this is one that can only be described as one of Bob's defining moments.  It involves a girl, and not just any girl but Mari Hulman, daughter of Tony.  Miss Hulman must have been quite a sight; it seems to have pushed Bob directly into puberty right there on the spot, in the Dayton Speedway infield, 1953.  Even now, 55 years after he saw her, he can still describe what she was wearing.  Read Bob's note here, at the top of the list of FODS memories on The Stories page.

     This week I hope to have my new scanner up and running so that I can post those photos from Karl Brown.  I'm also hoping to post the rest of Steven N. Levinson's pics, along with those from Todd Ridgeway and Rick Patterson.

     Finally, I'm pleased to report that Lauren, Don Thompson's granddaughter, sent along a short note indicating that she and her brother had heard about the site and enjoyed visiting it.  Thanks, Lauren!

                                                               ---Mickey

                                                               May 12, 2008

     UPDATE:  Today I've added a great picture of Benny Parsons (my thanks to John Potts) just the way most of us remember him.  Click here then scroll down the page.  You can't miss that yellow #98.  I've also added pictures from the 1981 Dayton Speedway awards banquet.  Check out the top points earning drivers, many of whom look like they are on their way to a disco, by clicking here and scrolling down the right side of the page.  I haven't had a chance to do much with the "Family Ties" section, but I did just add a picture of Lee with his victory hardware from that 1981 awards banquet.  You can find it here, then scroll down on the right side of the page.

     My thanks to John and to Jerry Wahl.  Still to come, photos from Steven N. Levinson, more great sprint car photos from Todd Ridgeway, some really cool stock car pics from the '40s from David King, photos from Rick Patterson, and those Karl Brown photos I've been promising you for the last 11 years or so.

     Thanks for your support of the site, and your patience; I'm posting as fast as I can!

                                                                  ---May 8, 2008 

     UPDATE:  Well, gang, it should be obvious to most of you that Foggy and I are falling farther and farther behind in trying to update the website with all the pix and info that the FODS are providing.  We continue to plug along and I promise that eventually all your contributions will be recognized.  Today I added a link under "Sister Speedways" to an excellent article about Salem Speedway by FODS Steven N. Levinson.  You'll find it at Sister Speedways by clicking here.  I've also updated the credits for the Marvelous '50s Mods page in the Galleries section.  FODS Lynn Mitchell brought the existence of the pictures to our attention, but they were really part of the collection of Dick Eder, a well-known race driver in this area.  His son, Les, originally found the old 35mm slides among his dad's belongings (he thinks that his dad actually took most of the photos), made CDs,and distributed them to race fans.  I'm indebted to Les for identifying the source of the photos, and of course we are all indebted to Dick Eder, not just for the photos that he left behind, but for the many years of thrills and excitement he provided behind the wheel.  You can get to the Marvelous '50s Mods page by clicking here.   My thanks to Steven, Les, Dick, and Lynn!

     NEWS FLASH!  We think that we have located a former Miss Dayton Speedway!  We're waiting now for confirmation and photos.  Stay tuned!

                                                                     ---May 7, 2008

     UPDATE:  This morning I've added several FODS memories of the day that Jim Hurtubise crashed out of Dayton Speedway by adding another page under "The Stories."  You can reach the Hurtubise page by clicking here.  No photos yet of the event, but someone out there surely has some.  My thanks to FODS Steven N. Levinson and Skip Barker for their Hurtusibe memories.

     I've also added under "Sister Speedway" FODS Don Lieberum's research on Ft. Wayne Speedway in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  The Ft. Wayne track predated both Dayton and Salem Speedways and grew to be an imposing high-banked track.  You can read Don's account here.

     I hope to add more yet today so check back.

     NEWS FLASH!  That Corvette station wagon Dayton Speedway pace car has been found alive and well!  A note from Jason Pryor reads: "I own the Corvette station wagon pace car shown in your article.  The car was given to me by my father (Dave Pryor).  He got the car from Don Thompson before he passed away.  My dad always told me that Don was a great man and from the little time I spent with him I would definitely agree.  I have been told he would have done anything to keep Dayton Speedway open.  They said at his funeral that Don had given out more than a million of the #27 hats seen in the photo labeled Last Owner before he passed.  I would appreciate any info possible and I would also do my best to answer any questions you may have.  Jason Pryor"

     How about it gang, does anyone have any information on the pace car conversion that you can share with Jason?  Reach him at jpyror@oneil.com.  And you will find a picture of the pace car here, third picture down on the left hand side of the page. 

     According to Jason, the car is in great shape.  It is still red, but repainted from its Dayton Speedway days.  Jason has had all the shiny bits rechromed and is slowly restoring it to its former glory!  Thanks for checking in, Jason!

                                                    ---April 30,2008

     UPDATE:  I've corrected a photo caption that appeared here (second picture down on the left hand column).  I thought that it was Larry Moore in the #27 racing Buster Blackford in the #55.  It turns out that the driver of the Paul Storer owned Camaro was none other than good friend Don Wilbur.  Sorry for the mix-up, Don!

     I've also added here memories provided by visitors to this site.

                                                        ---April 29, 2008

     UPDATE:   I've posted more of the Ray Peterson/Skip Peterson photographs.  Two of Ray's sprint car photos are on the home page, and several more, showing stock car racing, can be found here on the page I've set up for the Peterson/Peterson photos.  The photos at the bottom of the home page showing the 1979 final attempt to make the speedway a going concern were actually taken by Skip Peterson.  I'm also posting here (at the top of the lower left hand column) today an excellent collection of early '80s USAC sprint car photos showing the stars and cars of the USAC sprint series battling it out on the high banks at Dayton in what might have been their final appearance.  The photos were provided by Todd Ridgeway from his collection. 

     We've also received a nice note from Chris Hill, son of former Dayton competitor George Hill.  Here's what he had to say:  "I have enjoyed the web site very much and I'm planning on writing a longer letter later to give you some more information on a race between my dad and Harold Smith at Dayton Speedway. I also have a few pictures I will send along of some of the cars that my dad drove. He owned his own car before driving for Bolingers Garage. He also drove a car for Tex Roberts, a retired Air Force Colonel. After that he drove for Marion Brooks of Urbana. We lost most of our pictures of dad and his racecars in a fire but we have salvaged a few over the years. I look forward to writing more soon. Thanks for the web site!"
        Thanks to Ray, Skip, Chris and Todd all of whom are now official FODS!

                                                                   ---April 28, 2008.   

     UPDATE:  I've finally got those amazing Ray Peterson/Skip Peterson photos posted in the Galleries section.  You can find them by clicking here.  I'm working on posting photos provided by Steven N. Levinson that show some of our heroes, Ed Elisian, Eddie Sachs, and others in the infield at Dayton after a race.  It's sometimes hard to remember that these larger than life personalities from our rich motorsports' history were, in the end, just men who liked to race and were good at it.  I'm also working on a collection of material provided by Karl Brown.  You will like what you see.

     Finally this note to all my racing friends and FODS: your response to this website has been overwhelming (literally).  You've been sending stories, remembrances, and other items at an unbelievable rate and though I am way behind in answer your many e-mails I will get your thoughts posted here eventually.

     Please stay tuned and check back often; I'm pedaling as fast as I can!

                                                                    ---April 23, 2008

     UPDATE:  Whew, lots to talk about this Saturday morning.  First, FODS Steven N. Levinson, who penned the first hand account of his visit to Dayton Speedway as a youngster on the day Jim Rigsby died, jumped in with a correction to a photo we posted in the Gallery under "1950s - 1960s."  We said the photo showed the aftermath of the Gene Force/Jim Rigsby crash with Force's car sitting backwards on the track and track workers standing at the top of the track looking over the guardrail, presumably for Rigsby's car.  Levinson's memory is crystal clear and he corrected us thusly:  "You have that photo of the aftermath of Rigsby's accident and it shows a car # 73 which you identify as Gene Force.  It is also an overcast day.  Gene Force was in # 6 (It was a stretched out Midget). I forget the owner's name.  # 73 was the MacNamara car driven by Mike Nazaruk who won on Aug 31, 1952.  So that photo does not belong to Gene Force's car # 6."  We'll fix that caption, Steven, and thanks!  (By the way, if you haven't yet read Levinson's first-hand account of that day at Dayton, you should.  Go to the "In Memoriam" page and look for the link under the Jim Rigsby section.)

     FODS Rich and Kathy have stepped up to confirm some of the "Marvelous '50s Mods" captions that were supplied by Jerry Wahl.  The #20 car was definitely Dick Pratt and they remember that he ran dual rear wheels for a time on the car.  They also supplied a possible photo identification: the modified shown near the Miami Maid bread truck they believe was driven by Walt Scherer.  Anybody have a better idea?  Thanks to Rich and Kathy!

     Brand new FODS John Leach, Jr. has checked in.  His dad, Johnny Leach, drove at the speedway in the late '70s and early '80s.  John is off now on a search for pics of his dad at Dayton that we can post here.  Stay tuned.

     New FODS Lee Fisher has checked in.  His dad Jerry was the track photographer at Columbus Motor Speedway and other Oho tracks for over 30 years.  Jerry started with Bob Rader and then took over for him when Rader retired.  Lee tells me that he never got to visit Dayton Speedway but he has heard plenty of stories.  When his dad passed away, Lee donated all of Jerry's negatives that weren't damaged by flood waters to Mike Garepy.  Lee suggested we get in touch with Mike to see if Dayton Speedway is featured in any of the negatives.  We will try to do that.  In the meantime, Lee is going to search his own collection; he thinks he might have pics of cars at Powell that also ran at Dayton.  Check back to see if Lee was successful.

     COMING SOON:  FODS Karl Brown is gathering lots of Dayton Speedway items from his own auto racing collection to share with all the other FODS.  We hope to have something posted soon from Karl.  Also, FODS Skip Peterson, former chief photographer for the Dayton Daily News, is checking his own collection of early Dayton Speedway photos taken by his dad.  Hopefully Skip will find something to share with us.

     THANKS!  The site has been on-line for approximately 16 days and there have been over 10,000 page views by over 1,000 individual visitors!  I never imagined that kind of response.  To be honest, I thought that this site might get the attention of my own circle of racing friends, and perhaps family members who felt an obligation to check it out.  I'd like to attribute the popularity of the site to my own amazing skill as a webmaster, but since I've only been a webmaster for 16 days I'm pretty sure that's not it!  The site is booming, clearly, because people remember the Dayton Speedway, they remember the way they felt when they visited the track, when they watched brave guys challenge the high-speed banking.  My sincere thanks to all the FODS that have checked in with pictures, stories, remembrances, and kind words about the site.  Thanks particularly to Greg Billing who covers auto racing for the Dayton Daily News and who gave the site a nice plug on April 18, to Jerry Wahl whose memory continues to amaze me, and to Gene Ingram who not only provided some great pictures but who also stepped up to try to help me improve some of the pics on the site.

   Thanks to you all.  I hope that you are enjoying the site as much as I am enjoying bringing it to life!

                                                                 ---April 19, 2008

     UPDATE:  Jerry Wahl, the brainiac who carries an auto racing encyclopedia around in his head, has come through for us again.  He's studied the pics supplied by FODS Lynn Mitchell (see the "Marvelous '50s Mods" page by looking under the "Galleries" tab or by clicking here) and was able to actually reach back through 50+ years of fog and remember some of the drivers and owners!  (Yeah, I know what you're thinking.  Same thing as me: I can't remember stuff that happened last week, far less 50 years ago.)

     Jerry's effort was not perfect.  Some he knew, some he thought he knew, and some he had no idea about.  Which leads me to this site's new protocol.  If we are pretty confident in a photo caption, the caption will be in black, just like most of the rest of the text of this site.  If we THINK we know, but aren't sure, the caption will be in red.  We could sure use your help on the red captions, and all the captions for that matter if you detect a problem.  And thanks, Jerry!

                                                                    ---April 17, 2008

     UPDATE:  I've posted on the lower right hand column of the home page the link to The Vintage Racer site's satellite views page so that visitors to this site can see where the speedway used to be.  I've also posted the rest of the photos of '50s era Modifieds provided by FODS Lynn Mitchell.  They are all on their own page under Galleries.  Look for "Marvelous '50s Mods."  Thanks again, Lynn!

                                                                     ---April 15, 2008

     UPDATE:  I've added some of those fabulous early '50s modified pictures that FODS Lynn Mitchell provided for the Dayton Speedway website.  I think that you will be as thrilled to see these pictures as we were here at the plush Dayton Speedway Lives! website offices.  Believe it or not, there are still some more pictures from Lynn's collection to add, so check back.

                                                                       ---April 13, 2008

     NEWS:  How's this for coincidence:  in the last 24 hours I've heard from FODS Karl Brown who told me that he was 8 years old when he visited the speedway for the first time in 1939, and FODS Jason who told me that he was 8 years old when he visited the track in 1982 just before it closed!  Karl, or "Brownie" as he is known to friends, was no slouch as a driver back in the day.  Karl won a TQ championship with a Midwest group back in the '60s.

     Jason asked me where the track was located.  Here's what I told him:

     "Dayton Speedway was located on Dayton’s far west side just off Old Soldiers’ Home Road very near the VA Hospital. I haven’t driven by there in at least 30 years, but someone who visited the DS site told me that there was absolutely nothing there now that would lead you to believe that there had ever been a race track there.
     "I stumbled across a site the other day (I wish I had kept track of the name of the site because I can’t find it now) that featured satellite views of race tracks. [ A couple of our loyal FODS found the site!  Check the Satellite View section in the lower right hand column of the Home page for the link!]  The race tracks were divided into three groups; currently active tracks, tracks that were closed, and “ghost tracks” that were so gone that there was no evidence of them. I thought that DS would show up on the closed list. I was sure that at least the outline of that huge ½ mile high-banked track could still be seen. I was wrong.
     "Dayton Speedway is so gone and vanished that the website (which I’ve forgotten) had a satellite view side-by-side with a road map, and on the road map they’d draw the outline of the speedway where it used to be. On the satellite view there was absolutely nothing."

     If any of you FODS out there stumble across the site I was talking about in my reply to Jason, please let me know so that I can link it to this site.
                                                                                 ---April 13, 2008

     UPDATE:  The website was last updated on April 12, 2008.  The NEWS items, the FODS CHECKING IN items, and the details of the most recent updates  were all moved to this page.  It was clear to me that if I continued posted these items on the Home page in the lower right hand column that column could eventually stretch the length of the Dayton Speedway!  For those of you who come back to the site from time to time to visit, check the WHAT'S NEW? page to find out what we've changed or updated since your last visit.

                                                                                ---April 12, 2008