First Race Winners

By Steve Bubb


The first race at a speedway - it is a big event.  The winner of the first race gets a place in the history of the speedway.  Often that first winner is remembered more than other winners.

With that in mind I went through my records of former tracks in Pennsylvania looking for the winner of the first race at the many closed tracks in this state.  Below I will list the track, the year it opened, the winner of the first race and the type of race car used.  This does not include every track but I have come up with a long list for your enjoyment.  In the future I'll update the list with more tracks.  Note: the winners are for auto racing.  Several tracks held motorcycle races before the cars.
Track Year Driver Type of Car
Allentown Fairgrounds 1919 Ira Vail Big Car
Altoona Wooden Track 1923 Eddie Hearne Champ Car
Blue Mountain (Linglestown) 1957 Mel Kreiser Modified
Bone Stadium (Pittston) 1948 George Fonder Midget
Bradford Park 1954 George Caler Stock Car
Brecknock (Reading) 1937 Ted Kline Big Car
Buhler Stadium (Hazelton) 1935 Johnny Duncan Midget
Butler Fair (Prospect) 1960 Steve Ungar Modified
Central (Bird In Hand) 1935 Don Raye Big Car
Circle M Ranch 1955 Ed Haldeman Stock Car
Claridge 1951 Joe Mihalic Stock Car
Clearfield Quarter-mile 1962 Pickles Orf Modified
Clearview (Aliquippa) 1954 Ray Gray Stock Car
Davis Lane (Hustontown) 1951 Dean Mixell Stock Car
Dickey Ben Starbrick 1950 Bob Allen Stock Car
Dorney Park (Allentown) 1939 Doc Shanebrook Midget
DuBois Quarter-mile 1959 John Royer Stock Car
Dysart Park (Hollidaysburg) 1948 Otis Stine Midget
Erie Stadium 1947 Carl Scarborough Midget
Fireball Stadium (Reynoldsville) 1958 Joe Goodmote Stock Car
Fredericksburg 1965 Fred Locke Sportsman
Gilpin Field (Kittanning) 1936 Deb Snyder Midget
Glen Drive (Franklin) 1957 Andy Phillips Stock Car
Greater Pittsburgh 1958 Glen Davis Super Modified
Green Valley (Mt. Nebo) 1953 Herb Scott Stock Car
Heidelberg (Carnegie) 1948 Wally Stokes Big Car
Herb Harvey (Lemon) 1967 Carl "Bub" Nagle Modified
Hershey Stadium 1939 Doc Shanebrook Midget
Hustontown 1951 Wayne Walls Stock Car
Jennings Goat Farm (Erie) 1948 Lloyd Kingsbury Roadster
Johnstown 1958 Fuzzy Rubright Modified
Kent Field (Clifton Heights) 1936 Ed Pine Midget
Langhorne 1926 Fred Winnai Big Car
Latrobe 1952 Wes Crowley Stock Car
Laurer's Park (Reading) 1937 Frank Breeder Midget
Limerick 1941 Pat Rooney Big Car
Maple Grove (Lancaster) 1937 Charlie Breslin Midget
McCormack Park (Ashley) 1939 Jimmy Price Midget
Meadville (West Side of Town) 1940 Milt Frankhousen Big Car
Mon Duke (Murrysville) 1954 Dick Linder Stock Car
Mount Carbon 1955 Claude Bitting Stock Car
Municipal Stadium (Philadelphia) 1936 Ernie Gessell Midget
National Stadium (Philadelphia) 1939 John Peterson Midget
North Bedford 1956 Ken Gable Stock Car
Penn (Brownsville) 1950 Buddy O'Conner Roadster
Pine Valley (Frostburg) 1968 Ben Bussard Late Model
Pleasant Hill (Lebanon) 1936 Bill Schindler Midget
Pocono Sunrise (Blakeslee) 1950 Dick Fries Big Car
Pulaski 1951 Don Klug Stock Car
Rose (Harrison City) 1952 Dick Allwine Stock Car
Saint Joseph's College (Philadelphia) 1938 Jim McCarron Midget
Saint Thomas 1956 Ken Reeder Stock Car
Sanatoga (Pottstown) 1939 Vic Haynes Midget
Scranton Stadium 1937 Bill Williams Midget
Sheshequin Valley (Ulster) 1954 Buck Buchanan Stock Car
Sinking Spring 1948 Art Cross Midget
Skyline (Parryville) 1951 Mike Muffley Stock Car
Skyline (Sugar Grove) 1954 Babe Gloeckner Stock Car
South Park (Library) 1953 Rusty Whiteman Stock Car
South Penn (Everett) 1955 Junior Ritchey Stock Car
Spartansburg 1948 Freddy Christensen Roadster
Speedway Park (New Castle) 1953 Jim Romine Stock Car
Sportsman's Field (Erie) 1949 Ralph Pratt Midget
Spring City 1936 Dutch Culp Big Car
Stroudsburg 1951 Harold Held Stock Car
Three Point (Wrightsville) 1959 Calen Hill Stock Car
Troy Fair Quarter-mile 1951 Doug Roe Stock Car
Twin Oaks (Chester) 1937 Jack McNeal Big Cars
Valley (Aliquippa) 1954 Bill Olson Modified
Valley Downs (Rochester) 1948 Al Shaffer Midget
Van Gordner's (Beach Lake) 1954 Lawrence Fremouth Stock Car
VFW (Ford City) 1952 Dick Bailey Stock Car
VFW (Wysox) Third-mile 1957 Jack Soper Stock Car
Warren Fairground 1929 Jack Polk Big Car
West End (Gilbert) 1951 Charley Wuchter Stock Car
West End Armory (Kingston) 1935 Bill Schndler Midget
White Hill (Camp Hill) 1938 Otis Stine Big Car
Willow Grove 1952 Charlie Musselman Three Quarter Midget
Wilson Stadium (Peckville) 1939 Harry Tuppler Midget
Yellow Jacket Frankford 1936 Charlie Miller Midget
Yellow Jacket G Street (Philadelphia) 1938 Shorty Sorenson Midget
Yellow Jacket Langhorne 1951 Bob Read Stock Cars
Zellers Grove (Myerstown) 1947 Grant Copenhaver Roadster

Be sure to check out Steve Bubb's weekly column in Area Auto Racing News

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Last Updated: 01/26/2009 10:45 PM