Mothers Day always started out the season for Stock Car Races. So exciting. Dad would take the pickup down early in the morning and back it up to the fence for us all to sit in. Then back home we would go.
The day would be spent with so much anticipation for the evening. Mom would pack a cooler some snacks, blankets. Now to wait until evening.
Finally it was time, off we would go, catching that first glimpse of the bus up on stilts, as we were going over the viaduct. It was used as an office and the judges announced the races from there. Then to find our truck, unload the goodies and go mess around, waiting for the races to start.
My favorite pastime was walking barefoot through the dried up curls of mud. Crunching them all up between my toes. (Fine, its not like you didn’t know I’m a strange duck!) Making a trip to the bathrooms, snack bar and visiting with everyone you saw every week.
Finally it was time, Smokey Jines hit the flag stand, the National Anthem was played, then you heard those cars all start. From year to year the drivers changed—Darrel and Alvie Howell, Jerry Brammer, Rich Rorhrbuck, John and Dan Miller (Snoopy Car), Dan Kepler, Marshall Rogers, Walt Ditsch, Alvie and Erwin Wilkins, Russ and Shorty Campbell, Al Heckman, Neil Tanquary, and on and on. You yelled for the ones you liked and hoped to see a good race. A crash would bring you to your feet, then Smokey would pull out the red flag! Hopefully all was well. Back to green and we were racing.
Then came the Trophy girls,. I remember when Christy Theies got to be a trophy girl. She lived down the block from us. And boy did we think that was the coolest thing ever. All those pretty girls, with those greasy guys smoochin’ on ‘em. They didn’t seem to mind it, and the fellas sure didn’t!
I drove in the powder puff one time. John and Dan Miller were kind enough to trust me with their car. I had been practicing like crazy in my car and was ready to go. I got the pole position, nothing could go wrong. I started out great, then I started to realize how much money were in these cars, and if I wrecked it, I would feel horrible, as they couldn’t even finish the night’s races. So I slowly ended up in last place. Felt stupid, but didn’t want to wreck the car. If they had street Volkswagen races, and I had my own car, look out. I about scared my buddy Kim to death practicing for the race.
The Stockcar closed down for a few years, and then the drivers got it going again. So many of the same families that raced years ago. Now we were the parents taking our kids out. What fun we all had!
The season always seem to come to an end to soon. But that just meant the fair was around the corner, and you would see a lot of those guys in the Demolition Derby. Those were more fun to drive in—the cars were already smushed!