Posted by Donnie Martin --Previous Message--
on 8/31/2007, 8:47 am, in reply to "Your opinions on Freeport Stadium"
205.174.187.10
I was just wandering thru the internet and thought I could find something on Freeport Auto Races, it was a very important part of my chilhood.
Billie Kedenberg was my Aunt and I used to spend my summers with her and the races became a very important part of my young life. I used to love watching Les Lee, George Cousin, Jim Lacey & Bruno Brackey give it their all. I miss all of it.
I myself worked as sound technician at the old Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa and Copromoted @ Orlando Speedway with Ray Balckburn.I also worked with Don Nerone in USA Late models and other shows. And to this day I have not seen another stock car program any better than at Freeport.
All of them are gone now,the race track, Uncle Jake, Aunt Billie, her daughter (scorer's) Jo Ann Bennett and husband Chuck, Uncle Casper, Lucy Cascio (front office)and Duke & Nickie. It has left a big void. I am very privledged to have been around these people. They were a class act. No matter what happened by whom it was the best stock car program around. I know personaly they loved what they did and was proud of their program. Yes I am bias but love does that to ya.
It's good to see the memories are still alive. I had someone tell me that as long as you keep something (one) in your thoughts and share it then it(they) will never die.
Thanks, Donnie.
: Chuck, you opinions on Duke Donaldson
: and Freeport Stadium are typical of
: the "holier than thow"
: opinions that I have experienced in
: my lifetime from from "school
: teachers" like yourself who
: never built a car, never drove a
: car, never promoted a succesfull
: race track for many years, paid
: outrageous money to it's drivers,(40
: percent of the gate) owned an
: Indianapolis roadster that qualified
: for the race one year,and turned a
: drivers strike, ( a demand from the
: drivers tracks top division in to a
: shut out, "I don't need
: you" to finish out the 1967
: season, (they realized the had no
: place to go with their topless
: cars)..they even came to Staten
: Island to race for a $100 to win and
: got chased away. Duke Donaldson was
: a great promoter and suffered the
: fate of many northeast speedways in
: the mid sixties. Drivers strikes
: where prevalent in 1966 and 1967 and
: were the demise of several
: speedways. Promter Gabe Rispoli
: moved up the Class B division when
: the top division pulled out and was
: able to operate his track with those
: cars and drivers. Duke Donaldson
: was smart enough to revise the rules
: and brought back the modifieds to
: Freeport in 1968 with 7 inch maximum
: width street tires ,390 C.I. limit
: which resulted record car counts and
: good crowds. I know, I ran my 32
: Plymouth there on street tires and
: loved it.
:
: --Previous Message--
: :
:
:Freeport stadium tried to build up
: interest in their lagging
: "modified six" fields by
: having the roofs cut off of the cars
: and calling them open cockpit
: modifieds. One of the promoters at
: the time was Duke Donaldson who had
: part ownership in some Indianapolis
: cars and was an open cockpit
: enthusiast. (as well as being one
: of the most egotistical and worst
: stock car promoters ever!) Anyway
: Mickey Corr cut the roof off his car
: but left it so that it could be
: bolted back on when he wanted to
: race elsewhere. For a couple of
: summers he and his wife Fran would
: go own vacation with their racecar
: and he would race other places.
: Before this orange number 40, Mickey
: owned a non-ford number 140 and a
: modified number 1401/2 that were
: driven by Bob Lamoreaux. Hope this
: helps some. It took the Campi's with
: all of their money to finally ruin
: the track. I said to Don Campi to
: his face one night at New Egypt
: Speedway when he asked me what I
: thought of the Improvementa that he
: had made to the new Freeport
: Speedway, and I said to
: him,"You destroyed for the
: backyard racer". He walked
: away. I now you have many fond
: memories of Freeport,but you can't
: make negative comments about a man
: like Duke Donaldson, who made alot
: money and flaunted it, but did a
: much better job at running a race
: track than the Campi's did with all
: of their money.Keep building your
: models,that's as close as you will
: ever get.
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