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Recent Additions to our Reading Fairgrounds Memories Page

Fred George 06.11.09

Being a regular at Nazareth Speedway the most exposure I had to the Reading Fairgrounds was in the AARN weekly and the monthly pictorials, several of which I still have. Well, one day my dad decided we were going to the races at Reading. With all the great racing I saw at Nazareth over the years, this one particular visit to Reading provided me with the closest, most exciting race I had ever seen.

I had heard tales of the packed houses Reading got, and this night was no disappointment. We settled into our seats under the big roof and got through the heats and consolations. During intermission we went down for some of those famous french fries to the right of the main stands, then got back to our seats for the main event. The feature event started and the crowd was starting to build into a frenzy already. Im not sure of the year, but the big rivalry on track was Chamberlain in the #76 Mustang (was it) and Brightbill in his famous #19 Pinto.

As the feature went on, both of them were working their way toward the front. The caution flew with about 10-11 laps to go, and those two made up the front row on the restart. By this time, the crowd was really wound up and getting louder. On the green, they took off from the rest of the field. Brightbill running the high line and Chamberlain hugging the fence on the inside. Lap after lap, side by side, neither one could get the advantage on the other. The crowd was standing now, no one was in their sits as we all were yelling for one or the other. One lap Kenny led, the next Gerald was in front. It went like this lap after lap after lap. The white flag was waving and they were still side by side, as the crowd was so loud you hear them all the way up in Allentown. Through turns 1-2 they were still neck and neck. Down the backstetch it was still a dead heat as they enter turn 3-4. Neck and neck through the turns, Brightbill high, Chamberlain low, coming off the 4th turn its now a drag race to the start/finish line. Brightbill, Chamberlain, Brightbill, Chamberlain as they near the checkered flag. The flag waves as they near the finish and at the line it was...............................................Kenny Brightbill by a coat of paint on his bumper. The crowd went crazy as they had just witnessed what dirt track racing and the Reading Fairgrounds were all about. This is what the Reading legends were made of. Long live the memories!!!!

My name is Fred George. I now live in Macungie, PA and I dearly miss the tracks that are now gone.

Gary Hebner 03/04/08
I was a regular at Reading from 1970-79. Even when I was in college I worked part time so I could attend Reading.

Always sat in the small bleachers off of turn four except for the Daniel Boone 200, than I spend the extra money and sat under the covered grandstand.

Saw my first USAC and sprint car race there. My favorite driver was Toby Tobias. I use to park under a big oak tree directly behind the bleachers I sat in and watched the cars being towed in and checking in at the pit gate. I was pretty cool seeing the cars on the open trailers and some guys, Chamberlain and the State Wide Team, etc. brought two cars, one on a flat bed truck the was specifically built for a racecar and that truck would pull a trailer with another car on it. They can take a lot of things away from you but they can't take the memories from Reading.

Peggy Snyder 01/31/07
Reading was the first track that I visited to see the USAC sprint cars run - actually, it was one of the first races I ever attended. It was there we met Parnelli Jones and Joe Pittman.

One story I do remember well, was the fact that I had to sit in the grandstand. Women were not allowed in the USAC pits at that time. Sitting next to me was a young lad, approx. 8 yrs. old who had many questions for his Dad. Could not help overhearing him, did not interrupt until the Fike sprinter fired up and the sound was music to my ears. The lad mentioned this to his Dad who ignored the question so I told him that it was a small block Chevy in there - not an Offy like the others ran. Golly, did Dad wake up then - told the kid that the lady did not know what she was talking about. I got the "last laugh" when the announcer mentioned the sound and that it was a Chevy engine in there. The lad laughed and said to me - "you knew what motor it was".

Got Dad more angry when I told him that we call them engines.

Tried to explain the difference but gave up when Dad told the lad to go get something to eat. Wish I would have had eyes in the back of my head when Joe Pittman, the father and chief mechanic on the race car, came to the fence and motioned for me to bring him the qualifying lap times. Dad did not talk to me the rest of the race and certainly, did not root for Parnelli. BUT, I did, loud and clear.

Hope you enjoy my "way back when" little tid-bits. Have had 2 men email regarding the Bobby Marshman story you posted on Hatfield Memories, and I thank you. Love to hear from people who remember the "old times". Am now a Tony Raines, GramaFan, not related but his methodical way of moving thru the pack and his quiet demeanor make him a favorite. Was led onto his career from some other "old time" USAC friends and fellow co-workers there.

Keep up the good job with these memory pages. Thanks again, Peggy Snyder at plsnyder@ptd.net - welcome all emails and/or questions and stories.

Mike Schaub 10/01/06

I missed the first race at Reading in 1955 when the RSCA first held flathead races and then hadn't missed a race until I went into the service in Aug of 1969.

Reading ran about everything you could imagine; AAA/USAC Sprints, Flatheads, which included powderpuff derbies, mechanic races and officials races, Sports cars (SCODA), Motorcycles (AMA), Go-Karts, USAC/ARDC Midgets (one being nationally televised on NBC), NASCAR Grand Nationals with Lee Petty, Cale Yarborough and other great drivers, NASCAR Drag races (on the 1/16 drag strip being the front stretch which featured Don Garlits, "TV" Tommy Ivo and Kris Karamacines, not quite sure of the spelling), Sulky races, Greyhound races, Demolition Derbies, Sportsmen, Street Stocks, Winged sprints, a scheduled snow mobile race (no snow-no race) and of course the Modifieds.

Almost all the top drivers in each division raced at Reading at one time. I believe Reading was the only track around that ran one division up until the later years.

They always averaged 8-9 thousand fans even for the flatheads. Fans would arrive early just to cheer or boo the cars as they would cross the track in turn 4. Warren Ruffner would get the fans going with "Who has the hot shoe tonight!!" and then name the different drivers. And now like so many tracks, it's just a memory.

Thanks to 3wide, with their great photo display of cars/drivers from the past, there are still those who remember what it was like to go to a race with REAL race cars and drivers that had their own personalities. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say that they should tear down the Fairgrounds Mall and build another track, I could've almost bought the mall and built a new track.

Mike Shaub
Historian/Board of Director
Reading Fairgrounds Racing Historical Society

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