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Part
I
In 1938 a new fifth-mile speedway was built on the hill above the Dorney
Park amusement area. Designed by Dorney Park Coaster Company
president Robert Plarr, the track, Dorney Park Speedway, was built
for midget racing. It was a narrow, flat fifth-mile, sand in its
first year and asphalt after that. It had seating for 5,000 people.
The speedway was known for great midget racing during the era of the 1940s
but in the next decade a big change took place. The midgets were
eliminated as the weekly class and in came the big stock cars.
During the 50s, the big coupes were taking over the racing at many
speedways. They were a big hit at the small tracks built for
midgets. At speedways like Dorney Park, Bone Stadium, Yellow Jacket
and Sanatoga, the sight of watching the stock cars bump and bang their way
around the tight, short speedways was what the fans wanted. Big
crowds turned out to watch the powerful, often full-fendered cars working
their way around the short tracks.
This is a look back at the 1950s racing at Dorney Park Speedway. As
a child I loved to sit, much to the dismay of my father, down in turn
three. There, with only some wood planks as a guardrail, the action
was literally in your lap. Up to its final demise, Dorney Park
Speedway always had a special place for me. Nothing could beat a
Saturday night at the Park. Due to the large number of races run at
Dorney Park during the 50s, this will be broken down by two-year segments.
This will be a look at 1950 and 1951.
In 1950 Dorney Park Speedway was hosting two nights of racing. On
Saturday night the ARDC midgets were in action. Under the lights on
Wednesday night it was the American Stock Car Association stockers
providing the action. When Dorney Park opened in 1938 Red Crise was
the promoter of the track and he continued to lead the way through the
50s.
Rain hampered the early racing in 1950 as only two shows were run out of
the first seven scheduled. Both shows were for the midgets and Steve
McGrath captured both. Ralph Sheller won the first stock car race in
1950 when he beat known midget driver and car owner Roscoe Hough.
Over the next month McGrath would take another midget win while Ernie
McCoy, Len Duncan and Al Herman would capture single victories. The
win by Herman came in a 50-lap championship.
The stock cars had a tumultuous month. Dick Eagen and Lucky Loux
would score checkereds. But a big problem with local stock car
racing came to a head on a Wednesday night at the Park. Racing clubs
were the rage at the time with the stock cars. Almost every track
had a different club running its stock car class. With Dorney Park
racing on a Wednesday night drivers from a variety of clubs would converge
on the speedway. Finally some bad blood between different clubs
created a bad scene following a Wednesday night show. According to
an article in the local newspaper the almost riot-like conditions in the
pit area had police from many of the local departments being sent.
The following week the Park tried to run the stock cars but too few cars
showed up and the show was dropped. The stock cars were dropped
until the situation could be settled.
The ARDC midgets continued to stage good shows with stars like Duncan,
McGrath, McCoy, Dutch Schaefer, Carl Miller, Charlie Miller, Hawley Kight,
Tony Martino and Jiggs Peters. Carl Miller, Joe Barzda, Walt Fair,
Hawley Kight had single wins while Dutch Schaefer won two. But it
was a race late in the season that will be remembered as one of the great
moments in midget racing at the Park. On that night famed big car
driver Johnny Thomson showed up. Thomson, used to the big cars,
racing on dirt, had never even seen the Dorney Park race track before.
He started last in the main and found a line on the outside. Using
that line he charged to the front and before a stunned crowd, pulled off
the big upset win.
Meanwhile the stock cars were allowed back, and it was now open racing on
Wednesday night. Most were from either Sanatoga, Nazareth or the
Pocono region tracks. Frank Battman and Newt Reinert, two Sanatoga
drivers, won the first two shows. Jimmy Ryan, Ken Wismer, Shorty
Kerschner and Harold Held
took wins.
The last month of racing in 1950 found stock cars-only. Fred Fehr
and Claude Bitting captured wins while Jimmy Ryan had two victories.
The three total wins for Ryan would make him the only repeat winner that
year in the stock cars.
1951 started off much like 1950. On Saturday night it was ARDC midgets
in action with the Atlantic Auto Racing Drivers Association in action on
Wednesday night. In 1950 39 shows were scheduled for the Park and in
1951 41 shows were staged. Just two months into the season there
would be a change that would alter the racing history of Dorney Park
Speedway.
The stocks started off with Claude Bitting winning the first race, with
Fred Fehr and Vince Conrad taking victories before Bitting would score his
second. Former roadster racer Bob Rolland would take a stock win
after Bitting's second.
The midgets had all of the stars back at the Park. Dick Dowd, Len Duncan,
Tony Martino and Charlie Miller all had single wins. But a change
was coming for the midgets. Red Crise decided to have the midgets
and the stock cars on a double-card show on a Saturday night.
Charlie Miller won the midget portion of the show while Bud Mohr won the
stocks. The story goes that Crise then had the fans vote on which
class they wanted to see race at Dorney Park. The fans voted for the
stock cars and just that quickly the midgets were gone and it was Saturday
and Wednesday night stock car racing at the track.
Now the only class at the speedway, the stock cars provided wide-open
action. Over the next two months Newt Reinert, Bill Lee, Nap
Knappenberger, Frankie Schneider, Claude Bitting, Ken Wismer and Walt
Whitman would score single wins. The only repeat winners during that
time would be Bob Rolland and George Sleight, each with two victories.
Then the management at Dorney Park scheduled a show that even today is
hard to imagine. They brought in the NASCAR sportsman cars for a
400-lap affair. Going 25-laps on the tight, small surface was hard
but try going 400-laps. A pit area was set up in the infield for the
drivers. By the end of the night it was modified legend Frankie
Schneider topping Roscoe Hough for the big win.
The management must have been pleased with the event because three weeks
later they scheduled another 400-lap affair, this time a team race.
Each car would have two drivers, allowing for pit stops to provide relief.
Once again the pit area was moved to the infield. The team of Chet
Fehr and Phil Friebel won the long distance event. The team races
would become a tradition at Dorney Park during the 50s.
For the remainder of the season it was still wide-open stock car racing.
Lee McCullough would be the only repeat winner during this time with two
checkereds. Single wins went to Otto Harwi, Ken Wismer and Claude
Bitting.
The last race of the long 1951 season would bring back the midgets.
The ARDC midgets took to the asphalt and Charlie Ross was the winner.
Coming up in the next article will be the long 1952 season and NASCAR
arrives at the Park in 1953.
Be sure to check out
Steve Bubb's weekly column in Area
Auto Racing News
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