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Part
II
1952 would be a busy time at Dorney Park
Speedway. The speedway would open at the same time as the amusement
park. Opening in late May, most of the local tracks would already be
under way. Despite the late opening date, the Park would stage as
many races as the other tracks. In action on Wednesday and Saturday
nights, the Valley Auto Race Drivers Association would run the shows in
1952. A total of 39 races were on the schedule for that season.
The first three races of the new season would fall to the weather.
Newt Reinert would take the first race of the year. The next week
twin features were staged and Fred Fehr swept both. The stock cars
were given the next
Saturday night off as the Park management decided to bring in the new
craze in racing; the three-quarter midgets. The ARDC TQs ran a show
by themselves. Jiggs Peters won that event followed by Ed McDonald
and Larry Bloomer.
During the month of June, Newt Reinert would win two of the stock car
races. Lou Johnson, Ken Wismer and George Sleight captured single
wins during the month. Fred Fehr started July off by winning the
50-lap Fourth of July championship. Fehr was red hot and would win
two more features during July. Dick Miller and Ken Wismer would
snare a win during that time and Newt Reinert added one more to his 1952
win list.
August would be the month of rain as four shows would fall to the wet
weather. When the weather would allow Otto Harwi and Rocky Derr
would find their way to victory lane. That would lead to a big Labor
Day show at the
Park. A four division show would be staged over the holiday.
The stock cars, ARDC midgets, ARDC three-quarter midgets and the novice
stock cars would take to the Park surface. The stock car main went
to Bob Rolland while Norm Geist would gain the victory in the novice
class. ARDC wins went to Carl Miller in the midgets and Tony Martino
in the three-quarter midgets.
Dorney Park would continue its racing through October. During that
span it was wide-open racing. Of the ten events staged, nine drivers
would capture a win. The only repeat winner during the ten races
would be Ken
Wismer. Dick Keen, Willard Miller, Bob Rolland, Fred Fehr, Otto
Harwi, Charlie Hansler, Marty Acker and Newt Reinert all had one win each.
The novice stocks were a second division at the same time. Like the
stocks, this
class was wide-open. The only repeat winner would be Henry Troxell
with two. Single wins went to Cornelius Marx, Cliff Treese, Ernest
Friend, Gerald Bitting, Earl Nothstein and Paul Madtes.
The 1952 season would end with the big annual event. That would be
the team races. The year before it was a 400-lap race but in 1952 it
was reduced to 100-laps. Like the previous year, each car would have
two drivers. The pit area was moved to the infield to allow for the
driver changes. The winning team for the 1952 race was Fred Fehr and
Newt Reinert. In second was Charley Cregar and Vince Conrad and
behind them it was Bob Buffton and Henry Ahlum.
1953 would usher in a big change for Park racers. They would be
racing again on Wednesday and Saturday nights but there was a new
organization running the events. Track promoter Red Crise would
bring in NASCAR to sanction the racing at the Dorneyville track. 40
races were on the schedule for the new year.
Through the years Dorney Park had a problem with rain and the first race
in 1953, like the other years, would be rained out. The next week
Arnie Troxell would win the first race under the NASCAR banner. The
following two
events would fall to the rain. Rain would be a problem in the early
1953 season. While Lee McCullough, Jack Mann, Bud Mohr and Curt
Sherman would score victories, five shows during that span would fall to
rain.
After Sherman's win there would be a streak of drivers winning two
in-a-row. Marty Acker would be the first to win back-to-back.
Then Dick Keen did it followed by Jim Delcamp. After Delcamp's
second victory, single
wins would go to Bill Wetzel, Jack Rudy, Freddy Adams and Warren Mutter.
The Jack Rudy win would be the Fourth of July 50-lapper.
Following Mutter's checkered the track staged a Mid Summer championship
show with Twin 50-lap events. The NASCAR stocks would run the first
50-laps and the ARDC midgets would go the second 50. Jim Delcamp won
the stock car 50 with Jake Jacobus and Don Ressler following. In the
midgets it was Nick Fornoro picking up the trophy with Steve McGrath and
Fred Meeker trailing.
It was back to two nights of stock cars at the Park. Vince Conrad
would become the driver to beat and he would take three checkered flags
over the next several weeks. Charley Cregar, Ernie Uff and Jack Mann
would also win during this span.
NASCAR brought in their big guns as the NASCAR sportsman class invaded
Dorney Park. A few of the Park regulars tried their hand at racing
with the boys from the south. It was a 100-lap affair and famed
driver Joe Weatherly would be victorious that night. Ken Marriott
would follow in second with Tom Elliott finishing third.
In the final weeks of racing in the Park Jack Rudy would take two wins
with Charley Cregar and Freddy Adams taking one each. A 100-lap
championship would be held and NASCAR invader Ken Marriott would win that
event. The season was going to end with the annual team race.
The team race this year was increased to 200-laps. The duo of Jake
Jacobus and Jack Rudy finished first followed by Arnie Troxell and Marty
Acker in second and Curly Moyer and Bill Wetzel in third. One more
race was added to the season after the team
event. That race was won by Jake Jacobus.
I should mention that during the 1953 season the novice stock cars were often
a second division at the Park. I may be missing some of the novice
results as these were much harder to find. I have 17 shows in 1953
for the
novice class. This was a very competitive division as 17 races were
staged and 14 drivers captured feature wins. The only two repeat
winners during the year would be Earl Schaeffer with three and Harry
Oswald with two. Harry Wenhold, Jack Deibler, Bob Snyder, Bill
Pardom, Barton Behler, George Green, Fred Singley, Charles Quinton, John
Yerger, Al Grim, John Toth and Cornelius Marx had single wins. I
hope I have the spelling of the names correct. Getting the correct
spelling of names was a problem during that era.
In the next Park history article it will be NASCAR back in 1954 at the
Park and two nights of racing comes to an end. In 1955 NASCAR is
gone and
independent racing takes over.
Be sure to check out
Steve Bubb's weekly column in Area
Auto Racing News
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