Nostalgia Night at Lernerville Speedway 07/13/2012
Article appeared on Racingweb.com written by Jim Zufall.
(07/30/12)...No matter what walk of life we come from; what activity we are involved in, one thing is common among all of us: We all need to not forget our history and where we came from. In racing, we all owe a debt of gratitude to those who came before us and plowed the road to where we are today. One of the ways race fans have been able to honor the pioneers of our sport in this area is Lernerville Speedway’s Nostalgia Night. On the Lernerville schedule in early June every year, the event has a long history of falling to a rainout. This year was no exception.
So, on July 13, 2012 the annual installment of Nostalgia Night took place in the midway area of the speedway behind the grandstands. With nearly 15 cars of several styles on display, there was enough on hand to make most any race fan from the 1960’s or 1970’s reminisce about days from their past. Also in attendance were several retired drivers and car owners that were happy to rekindle old acquaintances.
Don Gamble of Speedway Productions and the “Rappin’ on Racin’” radio program is the impetus behind Lernerville’s Nostalgia Night. He spends countless hours contacting retired drivers and car owners, working closely with speedway management to bring the new and old together for this one special night.
This year a new twist has come on the scene. The Pennsylvania Vintage Dirt Modified Racing Series, the brainchild of Jim Kirkwood, brought several members of his club to Lernerville’s Nostalgia Night. Thanks to the vintage modified club, the night’s racing took on a look that set it apart from all the Nostalgia Nights in the past. After all the “Fab Four” divisions had run their preliminary heat races, seven vintage modifieds took to the track for a heat race of their own.
This was no parade either. Full speed racing, almost the way it used to be. I say almost since these guys have an agreement that while they want to race, they also don’t want to tear up their equipment. They just can’t go online and order more sheet metal and have things looking like new again by the next race. But it was racing to be sure. The best part for me, a fifty-something race fan, was watching these guys drive. By that I mean you can actually see the drivers working in the car. Just like I could see them from these same grandstands four decades before, sitting with my dad watching Lou Blaney, Blackie Watt, Ed Lynch and others master a 1970’s Lernerville Speedway.
Lernerville Speedway’s Nostalgia Night has taken on a whole new meaning with the addition of the PA Vintage Modified Series. It truly took me back to a simpler time when my dad and I sat in the grandstands of a very new Lernerville Speedway or North Hills Raceway. Watching these guys in the vintage modifieds makes us really remember those guys that came before the current crop of drivers; those guys who truly plowed the road to where we are today.
Video of 'Nostalgia Night' at Lernerville Speedway
Many thanks to Aaron Zufall, Jim Zufall and Racingweb.com