Delaware Speedway is excited to be celebrating our 60th season of racing with our fans, drivers, and other supporters this year.
As part of the 60th anniversary, I have been asked to piece together the basic history of the track. These calls have gone out before, testing the waters and getting ahold of some of the material. The difference this time by is that with the 60th anniversary, a notable section of the souvenir program is currently planned to be dedicated to showcasing this history.
So this will turn into a bit of a scavenger hunt, the results of which will be shared through the souvenir book. Extra material will turn up on the website or in other publications at a later time.
We are looking for:
-Any photography from the early days of the track, especially the 1950s.
-Photos (not from souvenir programs) after 1960.
-Schedules showing the dates of events in that season.
-Any printed program or trophy indicating who the champion(s) were in a season.
-Promotional posters of significant races and weekly events.
-We have access to plenty of photos after 1992, but anything earlier is harder to come by.
-Any video of ‘historic moments’ prior to 2005 (Rogers television recordings do not count)
-Stats from any season of racing (note: speedway stats are present for any season after 2000).
Material dropped off at the track office should be in an envelope marked with your name, telephone number, and address on it. Please do not leave historic material in the mailbox.
Please pass this info along to any fans you know who might not read these message boards.
Also, if you believe you are an authority on a particular period of track history, or feel you would have something to contribute to a “meeting of the minds”, please contact me by telephone or e-mail to receive information for a mini-conference which will be held in the near future.
I look forward to seeing what is out there!
Thanks again,
-John Houghton
Announcer / PR
Delaware Speedway
(519) 652-5068 Ext 201
Here is the oldest photo we have on record. It is catalogued as "Delaware 1956 Copperhead / Lobo 1":
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
I've had a few calls and e-mails on this so far. Based on what's been called in so far, I wanted to share something important.
Nearly every person who has contacted the track almost did not, believing that the speedway already had the information or items that they have to offer. To be clear we do not and these items are important.
The only things that are officially in the speedway record are a handful of black and white photos (one of which is above), a few news stories, and not much else. Even the photos that are being posted in the other thread of races from the 1980's the speedway has no photos of. The reason for this is partly historical - - the 'modern era' of Delaware Speedway, the time period I began working at the track during didn't begin until 2000 when the lease was purchased by Brad McGonigle and the other investors.
If I were to divide up the time periods we are looking for things from, based on promoters:
1952-1960 - - Construction & operation under Hugh Brodie
1960-1968 - - Early promoters
1969 - - Conversion from 1/4 to 1/2 mile.
1969-1975 - - Jack Greedy Era
1975-1979 - - Transition Period (Prince / Pratt)
1979-2000 - - Novotny / Cascar Era
2000-present - - Modern & Post-Cascar
If this is starting to ring any bells with regards to items you may have (photos, programs, t-shirts, schedules etc), now is the time to break out these items. It is my hope to put together a display and reproductions of a few of these things for fan display throughout the season, but this cannot be done without your help!
Items are catalogued, digitally scanned and then can be picked up by their owners (unless they choose to donate the item, in which case it is stored for the project).
It is not everyday your home track celebrates 60 years of operation. Help us put together a meaningful historical project to be enjoyed by fans this season!
To Get Involved Contact:
John Houghton
Announcer / PR
john@delawarespeedway.com
(519) 652-5068 Ext 201