a03.21.04__6_HOF_FLM_0090V

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Date:	Visitor's Name:	Comment:
03/21/04	3-Wide	This picture has special meaning to me. To many, it may look like just another hungry pack of racecars streaking past the covered grandstand like they had done for decades before and were expected to do for many more. But to me, this picture really is the beginning of the end. This picture was taken during the first few weeks (probably April) as Keith Hoffman (shown leading here) was eventually thrown out of the class for having prior racing experience from the year before in PA. I was a member of the #A team with our driver Billy Schenck ending up finishing second in the Rookie Championship to Sam Martz. Life was great. Little did we know that while we were having fun being a part of something that had been in our lives for so many years, plans were being layed to pave over the clay surface, and with it, the future of Flemington would be sealed beneath. For while a few curiosity seekers and those displaced racers and fans from Wall found a new home, many more felt betrayed and vowed never to return. For the few that did, they usually did so just once, as that was enough to confirm the reality and to only reinforce what we all knew all along. The magic was in the dirt. In a few years, the asphalt will be removed, but this time it will be replaced with the asphalt of a shopping center parking lot.
03/21/04	Fred Voorhees	You know 3-wide you are absolutely correct. I forgot about that little deal and I should be ashamed of myself. In fact, I am good buddies with a cousin of Sammy Martz and I have worked alongside of Sam on the same job in the construction trade and I should have remembered that.
03/24/04	Todd Lewis	Remember that was Martz in the 3 , McCaughey piloted the 57 for David Graham and eligibility issues that hampered his rookie efforts.
05/01/04	chapparrel	I love your pics, I was at Flemington every Saturday Night. I was a big Chamberlain, Fitzcharles and Brenn fan. Are some of these guys still around? www.chapparrelsdiecast.com
11/01/05	Jack Stanley	A few cars back, I was wheeling away trying to catch the 6 of Keith , the A car of Billy, and the 3 of Sammy,, What a tough year to pick for being a rookie, as many of my fellow "classmates" have gone on to great racing successes.
07.22.12	Jack Burroughs	Flemington reality? Think about it, yes the paving was a disaster, but it still was better than the EPA shutting them down for a multitude of so-called Violations? At least we got some good shows for a short while.
07.22.12	Jack Burroughs	"The Magic Was In The Dirt", tells it all , no better way to say it.
07.24.12	3-Wide	I'm not of the opinion that the timing of the track's paving had anything to do with the EPA, but my opinion may be just as correct or just as incorrect as all the other opinions that are out there, so we'll leave it at that. I think the only ones that know for sure why Flemington was suddenly and surprisingly paved at the conclusion of the 1990 season are Paul and Ricky Kuhl. I went to Flemington once after it was paved and I couldn't categorize it as a "good show." I saw unfamiliar faces in the stands... mainly those that had migrated to Flemington from Wall and other speedways, but almost no one who had not spent very many Saturday nights in the stands pre 1990. There might be a few exceptions, but for the most part, there wasn't a whole lot for the dirt fans to like since our expectations were to see cars in a controlled four wheel drift all the way around the track... Hearing guys powering wide open through the entire corner, not hearing engines deceling on corner entry... I'll be the first to admit, I never gave the asphalt much of a chance... I don't like surprises and I was totally blindsided with the suddenness of the decision that was made... as were all of the dirt surface fans. I was equally surprised with the 'dissing of the "Dirt Track Racing" in general, and of "The fan of the past that would sit in the dust" by track management in print immediately following the paving. They instantly went on a campaign of how fans had changed and that they were changing to meet the needs of "the new fan." IT was the exact same feeling that you'd get when you were a kid... and were a super fan of a particular radio station.... let's say a hard rock station... and then one day, without warning... you tune in to hear Led Zepplin and instead, you're hearing The Captain and Tennille. Little did you know, but management made a business decision to change formats from hard rock to easy listening... and I guess management figured I'd go along for the ride... or would be replaced by a better demographic. They can say they had to change... They can say that "the times, they were a changin"... but the bottom line is they took something away without my permission and I still haven't gotten over either (the paving of Flemington or when FM 99X changed formats...) For me, 1990 was Flemington's last year.
11.04.15	John McCaughey	Just happened to notice this....that's not Sam Martz, that is a guy named Bob Drift and the car was #one3D. I put the body on that car for Bob, in fact this car was the last narrow body 126 that Pauch drove. Drift kept it for years, I heard he finally sold it within the last year or 2. One more little piece of trivia....Drift is Ricky Grosso's father in law.

Photo ID #	a03.21.04__6_HOF_FLM_0090V_1
Car #:	#6, 3, A
Driver (s) :	Keith Hoffman, (either Sammy Martz or Darren McCaughey in the #3???), Billy Schenck in the #A
Location:	Flemington, NJ
Date:	1990
Photographer:	Fred Voorhees
Photo provided by:	Fred Voorhees
Comments:	Comments provided by Fred: Keith Hoffman got his racing career behind the wheel off to a great start by capturing the 1990 Flemington ~~rookie division title~~.