On September 3, 2003 Lindy Vicari died. It might have gone un-noticed in some circles, but not in the modified community. Like him or not, Lindy was a legend in the modified racing world. A legend because of his success in
running that is arguably the best modified racetrack that ever existed.

I can't say that I was shocked by his death. Lindy was on in years (I won't call anyone old anymore) and every year that I personally get older the passing of people I am, or was familiar with becomes less stunning. It's a
fact of growing older I guess, and we begin to expect it.

I got a call on a late Monday afternoon from my friend Mark Bullock. Mark had just heard the news and wanted to talk about it. I didn't have much time, but Mark was able to put into words a thought that I had had about
Lindy's death. It really marks the end of all the important cogs that made up the Reading Fairgrounds. Yeah, drivers are still around, car owners are still telling stories and some of the cars that raced there can still be
seen. But the real guts of the track are all gone now. The track of course was the main piece and it's been gone for 24 years now. A lot of the active drivers, and many of the fans that are around today only know of Reading in pictures and lore. Many of the officials associated with the track, especially Warren Ruffner have also died, and that left Lindy.

Somehow, with Lindy alive Reading seemed in the not that distant past.

For those of you that never saw a race at Reading, or never saw Lindy in action you just don't know what you missed. Yeah, I've talked about it a lot, but you know what? That's my prerogative and I'm going to talk about it
again in this time of retrospection. Reading was like that you know. It was something that got under your skin and once it was there you were hooked. You can't forget about, and you can't stop talking about just because it sounds repetitive, or because someone somewhere thinks it's time to "get on with things". This was Reading folks, and it still is something special. Lindy saw to that.

With Lindy at the helm of the track grader, I have never seen a racing surface (in person) that comes close to Readings. It was REAL clay that was maintained painstakingly by Lindy and his track crew. And make no mistake
about it; Lindy was on top of the whole process. Many times I would get to the track early and there was Lindy, standing in the grader, leaning out the side door manicuring the track. Of course it had already been dug up to a
depth of about 10 inches, and now it was time for Lindy to work his magic on the track. He handled that grader like it was a toy, flattening out the clay, preparing it for the night's racing. I personally was as mesmerized at
times watching him as I was watching the cars. Week after week Reading's track surface was impeccable. I am not lying, or exaggerating when I tell you that I personally never saw a dusty race at Reading.

When Lindy was on that grader, he looked to me like one giant of a man. He was big, and his presence was imposing. Perhaps that is one of the reasons Reading was such a great place to go. The processes that Lindy had in place that made Reading tick should be invoked by tracks today. The shows at Reading ran like clockwork. I know, I know, some of you are going to say it's because it was a single division show. I would argue in return that this single division show started a LOT later than shows do today (8:15 on Fridays, 7:30 on Sundays), and were over well BEFORE they are now. Lindy's processes saw to this. The track was groomed and ready for the advertised start of warm-ups. The cars and drivers were responsive to the time restraints.

Why?

Because of the clock. You folks that were there remember the clock right? That big, green, yellow and red-lit clock that counted down the time before you had to be in line for racing. 3 minutes from the time one heat took the green until you had to be in line for the next heat. If you missed the time, you went to the back of heat, no matter who you were. If you were Kenny Brightbill and were scheduled to start 7th in a 15-car heat race and you got in line late, you went to the back. I know it bit us once. We were busy fixing a broken part on our car and lost track of time. Before we knew it our heat was lining up and we were not going to get done in three minutes. Sure enough the heat went out, the gate went down and we lost a good starting position. And you know that the heat races at Reading were not an easy process to get through. Lindy used the clock when cautions were thrown too. The clock was activated, and damaged cars had three minutes to effect repairs. If they did, they got their spot back. If they didn't, they missed the rest of the race. It kind of ensured that the best Reading had to offer, and who the fans came to see got to race even after minor damage. The clock
was used for intermission too, with what I believe was a 15 minute limit. Lindy kept the show running at Reading, that's for sure.

My one and only personal contact with Lindy was a treasure. We had an extra car, and Donnie Varner had just destroyed the Anthony's Furniture Mustang the week prior in a vicious front stretch crash. On a whim, I suggested that I didn't think the car would be fixed, and perhaps we should call someone and see if Varner needed a ride. Of course nobody on the team would do it, so I picked up the phone to call Reading. Lindy answered the phone. So here I am, a 15-year-old scruffy kid talking to the promoter of Reading. I introduced myself and asked if he knew of any drivers who were looking for a ride for Friday night. He didn't hesitate in answering "Donnie Varner". I made arrangement with him to have our extra car there on Friday night for
Varner. He thanked me, and that was it.

Yes, we did bring the car, and yes, Varner did drive it. He didn't qualify, due to the fact that we had the complete wrong gear in the car all night long. I think he ended up one spot shy in the consolation. Lindy came over and thanked us for having the car there, and for the rest of the season whenever I ran into him he would give me a little hello. Seems that Lindy was always in motion, but that little action of his has stuck with me to
this day.

Lindy was so involved with track preparation that he helped come up with an additive to fight dust. Formula L was it's name (I wonder what the L stood for!) and it was put to use at Reading to tame any dust that came up. As I said, I never saw a dusty race at Reading so I guess it worked. It was also the compound that was put into place at Flemington to help it with its dust problems in the 70's. And I believe it worked pretty well there too. Again, an idea put into play by a promoter that was in tune with what was needed to provide a good show. Lindy was also the "behind the scenes" guy for all non-racing things at Reading too, including the concessions. If Lindy was the guy responsible for getting those great Reading French Fries to us, then that is a greater accomplishment than the great amount of races per year and cars per race that is Reading Legacy.

He was also one of the few promoters who had a great set of rules, all agreed upon by the competitors BEFORE the season started. It was in reality a dictatorship as Lindy set the rules. But, he would gather all owners and
drivers together in meetings over the off-season (which was relatively short at the time) to set the stage for the upcoming season. When those meetings were done, the season started and the rules were adhered to. They must have been fair, because under the duration of Lindy's modified-only promotion the track averaged 44 races per year, with an average of 45 cars per race (from the www.rsca-racing.com  website). That is an amazing statistic, considering there are few tracks today that can pull 45 cars for a major event, let alone a single weekly race.

Finally, there was the purse. Reading was always at the head of the field for paying a modified purse. If I am not mistaken they where the first to offer $1000, then $1500 and finally $2000 to win a regular weekly feature.
He paid bonuses for the highest finishing modified that used a carburetor, showing appreciation for the team that dared to be a little different. Admission prices were always fair, but of course they could be with full
grandstands every week. Concession prices were also fair, and well appreciated. Did I mention the French Fries? And how many times lately have you seen full grandstands for an early spring race where the temperatures
are under 30 degrees?

Lindy tried a couple of other promoting endeavors after Reading closed. Nazareth National and East Windsor come to mind. While each could be considered successful, they never had the aura that surrounded Reading.
Perhaps it was the track, perhaps it was the competitors or perhaps it was just the "right time". People might argue that it was really the track staff that made things happen, but I would argue that no matter how good a staff you have there has to be strong management to make it work. Whatever the case, everything was influenced by the presence of Lindy Vicari, and all made better.

You want to really know what kind of person Lindy Vicari was? Mark related to me that in 1974 when his brother died, Lindy attended the funeral. Then in 1998, when Mark's father was seriously ill Lindy inquired, at a gathering
of some sort how Joe was. Mark lied, and told Lindy he was doing well. Lindy's response to Mark was, "You tell your father I love him". Yep, a big guy, with a bigger heart. Rest in peace Lindy.

Reach Scott Pacich at pacich711@cs.com

Note: This article originally appeared in Area Auto Racing News in 9/16/03

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