George Perluke was heavily involved in
racing from the 1930’s until the 1970’s in the area along the north
branch of the Susquehanna River. George made his fortune by inventing a
machine that would take the dents out of beer kegs. He was the promoter
of racing at McCormacks Park in Ashley, PA where one of his racers was
Chris Economacki. He later promoted Pocono Sunrise Speedway which sat in
the middle of Blakeslee, PA very close to Pocono Raceway. He was also
the promoter at Kochers Speedway near Shickshinny, PA.
Sitting in the
grandstand looking across the infield lake at turn 3 |
One of George's last
efforts was Berwick / Beach Haven Speedway. The big half mile
was built just off Route 11 on Racetrack Road. A large pond was
built in the middle and an amusement park with rides from the
defunct Palisades Park in New Jersey was built on the
backstretch. Huge bleachers to seat close to 5000 people were
erected on the front stretch. He started to build the track in
the 1960’s and may have held racing that early.
Regular events started in 1977
and were held on Sunday Afternoons as there were no lights. The
only division was the sportsman, now called the small block
modifieds, that raced at Big Diamond and Herb Harvey Speedway.
They paid $400 to win from the $400 purse. Nothing for anyone
else. |
My first visit was on a blistering hot
summer day in 1977. The $3.50 it cost to get in was collected as you
drove in. With only a few hundred people in attendance you had your
choice of seating or you could roam the pits that were just off the 1st
turn.
Even with the large pond in the infield
the track was very dusty. Warm-ups were impossible to see and several
watering breaks did nothing to improve it.
Grandstand and
scoring tower |
There were only a
handful of cars there but three in particular standout in my
memory. There was a gold coupe. I don’t remember who drove it
or its number but I remember that the driver was the last person
I’ve seen racing while wearing a tee shirt. Ironically the car
caught on fire twice. The second car was driven by Pottsville's
Aaron Brommer. A yellow #31 Pinto that ran at Big Diamond. He
was the days winner. The third car was a blue Mustang #24 driven
by Jimmy Spencer.
What little bit of racing you
could see was not too exciting on the big, wide, flat ½ mile as
Brommer was clearly the class of the field.
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Beach Haven hung around for a few more
years changing divisions, sometimes in the middle of the season. They
ran limited late models and late models, two classes that competed at
nearby Selinsgrove. The last race was a late model race won by Ed
Spencer. Billy Shipman of Sunbury was second. Perluke told Spencer he
didn’t have any money to pay him but after a little Spencer persuasion
finally came up with the purse. The speedway and amusement park has sat
in the weeds ever since.
4th turn with the
cooling towers from the Berwick Nuclear Plant in the background.
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The speedway still
sits pretty much as Perluke left it. The infield pond is
supposed to be a pretty good fishing spot. The huge bleachers,
now rotting, flag stand, announcers stand, concession stand and
track prep equipment are all still there. The telephone pole
guardrails ring the inside and outside of the track and in the
brush behind the track are the remnants of the amusement park.
Some of the carousel horses have made their way to a museum at
Knoebels Grove Amusement Park but a good deal of the rides still
remain.
Berwick / Beach Haven never
held events with the prominence of those held at Williams Grove
nor will it’s loss be lamented like the loss of Reading but it
is a piece of Pennsylvania racing history and the final dream of
a man that did a great deal to shape racing in Northeastern
Pennsylvania.
Northumberland, PA
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