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Primal Races. "This is about as far away from Nascar Nextel Cup racing as a fan can get," writes Dave Caldwell in The New York Times, referring to the races at the Orange County Fair Speedway outside Middletown, New York. "The track, 70 miles northwest of Manhattan, is more dimly lighted than a high school football field ... As the racers rumble around corners, they stir wind-whipped clouds of clay dust," driving "stubby slingshot dragsters, with cockpits surrounded by flat panels that make the cars look like cartoon versions of sedans, and they spend most of their time skidding through turns." No "scoreboards or big-screen televisions" here, but you can catch all the action by tuning into an announcer via an on-premise FM station.
The spectators, well, many of them watch the races from their own cars or trucks, paying anywhere between $10 to $27 to "park on a hill overlooking the five-eighths-mile oval." Yes, kind of like a drive-in movie. But you've got to get there real early to get a parking spot. Only 300 spots and if you want one, plan on showing up at least "three hours before the first race." Because you can count on guys like John Noyes beating you to it. John's been coming to the drive-in track every Saturday "for years," tailgating with neighbors while waiting to watch his nephew take to the speedway. This year, the season runs from April 16 through September 17, and John says he won't miss a one, "unless I get sick or something."
The Orange County Fair Speedway, ocfsmotorsports.com, actually claims to be "the oldest continuously operating dirt track in the country." It was originally built, back in 1857, for horse racing, but started hosting cars on its hard clay oval in 1919 and has been motoring in warm months since 1948. Old-timer Frankie Schneider, who "won the first heat on September 18, 1948," still attends races, but thinks it's all gotten a bit slick over the years. Yeah, all that sponsorship money from "local pizzerias, auto detailers, diesel fuel companies, bakeries, car dealerships and paving firms." Ruining everything. But that don't bother John Noyes a bit: "It's a special breed of people who drive race cars," he says. Adds JoAnne Chadwick, the track's general manager: "It's grass-roots racing."
Tim Manners, editor
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