Added Attractions

Back in the day race promoters came up with all kinds of ways to get more fans to the race track. Many times you would see a State Championship race or an Amateur Championship race advertized. The Rockingham Speedway held several Rocket 100 events each year. I found this article in the July 25, 1958 Richmond County Journal about Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, N.C..

Speedway Adds Weekly Talent Elimination To Race Events

Speedway promoters here will feature weekly Amateur Talent eliminations along with Sportsman, Amateur and Rookie cards for the next ten weeks.

Race fans will serve as judges in picking the winner each Saturday night and during a later race date will decide the Speedway Talent Champion. A $100.00 War Bond and a Trophy will be awarded the winner.

An added attraction this Saturday night will be little Sammy Wilson who is well known for his singing and dancing "Elvis Pressley Style" on television.

What added attractions did your local track have?

Nashville Speedway had:

• the Joie Chitwood Show

• 
  
• some guy who blew himself up with dynamite in a wooden box (as a kid, I had to shield my eyes as my heart raced about 200 BPM)
• a few lame demolition derbies - including a 'football' themed one where the cars tried to knock a VW bug across the opposite 'goal line'. Only one problem - the cars ran out of gas before either 'team' could score a touchdown
• a Uniroyal promotion with 3 stunt drivers piloting Chevelles as I recall. The 3 drivers were lamely named Uni, Roy, and Al. Pretty sure I have a promo 8x10 around here somewhere.
• a jump over 4 cars by a kid on a bicycle by Tuck Henderson. I also grew up in Donelson, a Nashville suburb. But I never knew Tuck. If I had, man oh man, I'm sure I would have idolized him and that sweet banana seat on his bike. In the Evel Knevel era, we used our bicycles to jump over ANYTHING.

• a weekly girl's and boy's bicycle giveaway - I put my name in the drawing week-after-week, year-after-year. Nothing. One night - in 1977 I think - my family took 2 sons from a neighbor's family. Wouldn't you know it? One of them won the bike on his first attempt! I was taught a valuable life lesson. Rather than be happy for my friend, I was PO'd. That was MY bike! I got the tongue lashing of a lifetime from my mother which was preferred over Daddy's belt. Today, they still goad me about that night a bit. Fortunately laughter follows vs. finger wagging or the ziiiiipppp of a belt leaving a pair of Sansabelt slacks.

A few more added attractions from Rockingham back in the day.

-Wheel Rolling: Driver and mechanic teamed to roll a single wheel with tire one lap around track. More entertaining than you might think.

-Pony Race: Young fans ride ponies bare back around track. It was a race but staying on the pony could be the most challenging thing.

-Greasy Pig: An untamed greased pig is turned loose in the pit area. The driver that can catch the pig and get it in his race car gets to keep the pig.

-Powder-Puff Race: Usually in Amateur (modified) cars the ladies pulled their helmets over fresh hair do's and did battle for 10 laps. If the same woman won more than once she would be invited to run with the boys in a regular show.

-Match Races: Four cars line up four abreast and from a dead stand still run two laps and then reverse direction and make one lap back to the start/finish line.

Some really great promotions here. Maybe it's time to bring some of these back.

there some good ones on here - i remember green white checkers match races in street cars - at a dirt track one time they had a greased pole climb - miss speedway beauty contests - anyone remember the boxing matches at charlotte that humpy put on - i really enjoyed those - the drivers would walk across and watch also - this was done just before qualifying back then on wed. afternoons .

yessir, they'd set the ring up right at the flagstand

I think those boxing matches today could be a saving grace for NASCAR. All disputes to the Big Yellow Truck...then to the ring for a final decision.

How about a 10 lap race for college students.In researching about Occoneechee Speedway I ran across this article for theOctober 29th ,1950 race.Not sure what cars they raced or how many actually started but I found this interesting.

What a neat piece, Laverne. Wonder if Arnold Toomes of Randleman was T.A. Toomes or a relation?

I wondered that too Dave.Maybe someone this weekend can shed some light on this .

I just read an article on T.A. - forgot he was sentenced on a murder conviction in the 90s. Must of been another relation - he was Thaddeus Allvin Toomes, Jr.

This link to a story may work:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19960128&id=OItOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ERUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6632,4496192

I was surfing thru the TV channels earlier this week and came across a short video clip of an interesting concept. The cars were racing with a car upside down strapped to the roof and roll cage. Talk about body roll and having to soft peddle the turns. It really looked like fun. Dont know where or when it happened, Maybe someone else saw it and can fill in that info.

Coincidental too considering Lee ARNOLD Petty married into the Toomes family.

I've asked Russ Thompson if he remembers a few more promotions from Nashville Speedway days. He said he'll think about it & hopefully give me a few.

Meanwhile, he recalled a promotion from back in the 50's when Bill Donoho promoted races at the Legion Bowl in Nashville. During intermission, they had boxing matches with a kangaroo! Russ asked Bob Reuther and Herb Lewis and some of the guys who were around, and they said it was crazy. Anyone who thought he was a bad a** (and after consuming a few Schaefers there were probably a few!) could come down out of the stands and go a round with a boxing kangaroo.

Hmm, check out this grave info and info about the 2010 passing of Arnold J. Toomes. Was 82 years old at death in 2010 - making him about 22 in 1950 / college age.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=53973495

Had son named - Richard Maurice Toomes!

Memorials were requested to be sent to Victory Junction.

Yep, I'd say there is a Petty connection with Arnold.

Dave, Typical AP story slanted to try and make a Republican look bad. What they don't tell you is that T.A. warned that guy to leave his property but he did not think T.A. would pull the trigger. T.A. was protecting his daughter, many believe that if he had not then she would have been the victim.

Answered my own question. Looks like college-aged driver Arnold Toomes was the younger brother of Elizabeth Toomes Petty making him the King's Uncle Buck.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=riverrat&id=I35913

I love every one of those. I'm laughing at the thought of all of them.

In 1963 A local promoter came up with a "wrassling" black Bear. He was about 250 pounds and was trained to stand up and put one paw around your waist and the other around your neck and you did the same to him. He was on a stout 15' chain and was wearing a mask on his face. After he threw your A-- on the mat ( always in a puddle of bear pis- ) He got a pop bottle full of sugar Kool Aid. I was talked into trying him and had the crap scared outta me when his handler said "What ever you do dont cuff him ,he will slap your head off" I dont know which was worse having a rancid smell for weeks in my race suit and car or having my wife and son see me last about 7 or 8 seconds. lol.... If I can find the pictures I'll post them and TMC can have a big laugh. .....

Bill - Be honest. How many slugs did you take from that quart mason jar before wiping your mouth with your sleeve and saying "OK, let's do this."?

lol. ok, maybe a couple swig's but he didnt look that big until he stood up and by then it was to late. The strength was amazing. I thought I was strong at 6' 1" and 220 but he threw my as- clean across the mat and was on top of me in a flash. His handler was counting to slow for me so I pounded the mat real fast 1,2,3....
Try and picture a cat litter box that hadnt been cleaned in 6 months. A side benefit was no body messed with me the rest of the season....lol.

Terrible Ted vs. Bill "Bad A**" McPeek

This discussion's fun. Lots of cool memories and ideas discussed. I think many of the Promoters had similar ideas, or blatantly copied each other whenever they saw an attraction that made a buck. Most of my memories are Midwest. A guy I consider one of the best promoters ever - Ed "Lefty" McFadden, did many of the same things - Greased Pole / Greased Pig, Thrill Shows, Dynamite Guy, etc. One of his better UNANNOUNCED promotions was a big orange tarp laying on the grass infield at Dayton Speedway. After qualifying was over, and before the races started, the announcer called for every kid in the grandstand,under12, to come down on the track, through the flag stand, and line up around the perimeter of the tarp. Four guys slowly removed and folded the tarp. The kids had to wait on a whistle, then they scrambled in the grassy area where old Lefty had "sowed" the field with about fifty bucks worth of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Everybody got a pocket full, and there was even someone holding a small bag of "extra" change to be given to any small kid who did not actually find any money in the scramble. Old Lefty was dumb like a fox - most of the change ended up being spent at the concession stand anyway !

One of the other promotions I remember from another track was a race by the race officials - flagman, chief inspector, starter, announcer, track sweeper (me), etc. They had about four or five old junkers from the junk yard next door to the track lined up on the start/finishline. Borrowedhelmetswere provided, and the winner was to be the first one back to the start finish line. EXCEPT - we had to do it in Reverse. Backing your way around a 1/3 mile high banked race track while looking over your shoulder isn't as easy as it sounds. I think only one car actually made it. Don't remember who won, but everyone waslaughing their behinds off.

I'll leave you with a photo from one of Lefty's promotions - the annual Miss Dayton Speedway contest - from 1967. I was about the same age as these ladies were then, so I had a real keen interest in this competition. I posted this shot on Mickey Thompson's Dayton Speedway Lives web site and he sent out a heart-felt invitation to any of the ladies in the picture to do a current photo shoot all these years later. Any of these gals still around would be 65-ish now and I'll bet at least a couple of them are still "hot" looking ! Enjoy.

Steve

My guess about some of them:

8 - went on to become a nurse

7 - had zero interest in being there once she learned she was only getting to meet Steve Struve instead of Steve McQueen

4 - would still be smokin hot today. Book it.

3 - just got a whiff of Bill McPeek after he wrestled a bear

Thanks Chase! Now I'm having flash backs. lol

Steve, Now we know why Chase never made it as a beauty contest judge. Number 6 looks a lot like Bonnie Penny who was a student at Centre College in Kentucky and whose father owned Penny Oldsmobile in Dayton.She was a summer intern at Wright Patterson AFB where I worked in the Flight Dynamics Lab.

One year, Hope Willard, of Myrtle Beach's iconic, Willard'sFireworks , promoted Little River Raceway. That year's 4th of July race included a lights-out-gala-fireworks display. Impressive as it was, the fireworks paled in comparison to a drunk driving across the speedway, in a '69 Pontiac Bonneville, and being T-boned by dueling-for-first-place Sam Ard and H.P. Larrimore.

Hey Bobby

who actually hit him HP or Sam and was Sam driving the Thomas Bros car then?

Fred, they were door-handle-to-door-handle and BOTH hit the Pontiac. Sam was driving his own car, #82 '65 Chevelle, this was before his Thomas Bros. days. H.P.'s car's chassis was bent at the firewall and required extensive frame straightening.

Thanks, Dennis.