| Msg ID: 2767299 |
Flemington Speedway Rookie graduation class 1977 +0/-0
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| Author:Lenny Swider
3/6/2023 2:29:21 PM |
Good guy and former driver Jim Palko stopped by and dropped off some cool stuff to share with you all. The Rookie graduation class of 1977 had 45 rookies. There's some big names on this picture that went on to very successful racing careers. Jim actually kept some of his envelopes from the pay out window from his rookie and sportsman years. look how small they were. Comments please.
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| Msg ID: 2767322 |
Flemington Speedway Rookie graduation class 1977 +0/-0
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| Author:paintman
3/6/2023 6:47:17 PM Reply to: 2767299 |
Don Kania? Scottie's brother? |
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| Msg ID: 2767379 |
Flemington Speedway Rookie graduation class 1977 +0/-0
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| Author:RuCu
3/7/2023 12:07:47 PM Reply to: 2767322 |
Yes, Don is Scott's older brother. Sat right next to Scott several times at Flemington. |
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| Msg ID: 2767328 |
Flemington Speedway Rookie graduation class 1977 +0/-0
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| Author:John Mc
3/6/2023 8:16:29 PM Reply to: 2767299 |
Lotta familiar names there. |
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| Msg ID: 2767360 |
Flemington Speedway Rookie graduation class 1977 +0/-0
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| Author:kjeyres
3/7/2023 9:20:21 AM Reply to: 2767328 |
Beards and mustaches on Rookies! Now it's pimples and boogers. lol |
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| Msg ID: 2767457 |
Flemington Speedway Rookie graduation class 1977 +0/-0
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| Author:Kevin Mc
3/8/2023 6:46:19 AM Reply to: 2767299 |
The payouts are fascinating. I remember the first time I made a street stock feature at EWS in 1985 I made $5 at the end of the night. Five one dollar bills. 🙂 I'm curious though, how much was a pit pass in those days? Race fuel? A rookie car? I'm always interested in how much it cost to turn money into noise in earlier times. |
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| Msg ID: 2767499 |
Flemington Speedway Rookie graduation class 1977 +0/-0
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| Author:John Mc
3/8/2023 3:28:44 PM Reply to: 2767457 |
At Flemington as long as you had a pit license back in the day it was the same to get in the pits as general admission. You bought your ticket at the gate entering the grounds and exchanged it for a pit pass when signing in the pits with your pit license. They wised up later on. |
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| Msg ID: 2767509 |
Kevin Mc, rookie racing in 1979 +0/-0
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| Author:Rick Shive
3/8/2023 5:40:21 PM Reply to: 2767457 |
This car, avoiding mayhem for a change instead of causing it, I had about $1200 in it. $700 or so of that was engine. CAM2 racing gasoline was $3.25 per gallon. Here's the interesting part. About my second week of racing, the "gas shortage" hit. Everybody was scrambling for gas, but guess what? At the track, all the CAM2 (or SoCal, if you bought from Nazy Krate) that you could afford .I used to get $25 a week in payoff, and the gas dealers hung around until after the races, knowing everybody was gonna buy gas for our truck. I bought all my payoff would buy, and dump it in my '69 Chevy truck (400 small block), got me through the week. Like John Mc said, general admission for pits as long as you had a $10 annual pit license. No hand stamps or wrist bands, we used to fish the pit pass through the chain link fence to infield, to let other crew in. |
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| Msg ID: 2767513 |
Kevin Mc, rookie racing in 1979 +0/-0
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| Author:RuCu
3/8/2023 6:02:39 PM Reply to: 2767509 |
During the fair, before Kuhl installed the 12 foot high chain link fence, we used to drop the ticket stub down from the open grandstand when no one was looking to get our friends in one by one. Got about 5 or 6 of our friends up into the open grandstand on one ticket. I only ever hopped the fence once bet turns 3 and 4, and only snuck in once hiding under a blanket in the back seat. |
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| Msg ID: 2767799 |
Kevin Mc, rookie racing in 1979 +0/-0
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| Author:Kevin Mc
3/11/2023 12:45:50 AM Reply to: 2767509 |
Interesting numbers there. It sounds like a bargain but you know racing cost alot back then too. |
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| Msg ID: 2767813 |
Kevin Mc, rookie racing in 1979 +0/-0
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| Author:SteveWhitney
3/11/2023 7:53:18 AM Reply to: 2767799 |
To compare the costs, I think I was making around $12.00/hour as a welder/fitter at Ingersol-Rand iback n 1979.
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| Msg ID: 2767819 |
Kevin Mc, rookie racing in 1979 Steve +0/-0
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| Author:Rick Shive
3/11/2023 8:23:01 AM Reply to: 2767813 |
I was making $4.25 per hour when I started racing! I changed jobs soon after for $4.50. Great times, I was racing, still had money for beer! By contrast, my good friend Jeff Hanna was driving a 1977 Ebersole car, and I believe he he had over $3000 just in the engine. My car was assembled from various parts I'd gathered starting in 1976. |
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| Msg ID: 2768110 |
Kevin Mc, rookie racing in 1979 Steve +0/-0
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| Author:Kevin Mc
3/14/2023 5:23:13 AM Reply to: 2767819 |
I wanna say I was making $7 or $8/hr when i was racing. We complained that gas, pit licenses and pit passes were too high. I remember if I made $40 I covered my costs for the night which included a stop at the Wawa near Great Adventure for hot dogs and Cokes. This was the old Wawa and not the giant one that sits there now. I think running top 10 would get ya at least $40 in the street stocks at Wall. It's all relative. |
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