Kanawha Valley Dragway. It was exactly what youd hope to have in an announcer. We were there last Wednesday, with 25 teenagers, and they all had a wonderful time. The drivers were characterized by maybe the best short-track announcer Ive ever heard, a guy named Tom Galon. Internal Link . Riverside Park Speedway - David Allio | Racing Photography Archives The bleacher seating surrounding the track was also removed to make way for the 6,200 chair back seats. Riverside Park. 77 Peros Dr., Agawam, Mass. FEEL FREE TO LET US KNOW! Glossary Tweet. The teams decision to forgo any changes paid great dividends as the Pontiac Grand Prix ran fast and consistent on long runs throughout the evening. He was born in West Spring-field, son of the late John and Mafalda Mich-novetz and graduated from West Springfield High School Class of 1962. Riverside Park Speedway Demolition Derby & Figure 8 Racing Agawam Mass has 514 members. Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut and Monadnock Speedway in New Hampshire are just some of the local options within driving distance. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Agawam, MA Racing on a tight track for 150 laps with 25 veteran competitors can sometimes be an unmistakable comparison to a championship boxing match, toe-to-toe for 15 rounds. My last year, 1996, the paid attendance in the grandstand was 143,000 people. The park was shuttered during the Great Depression, but was reopened by Edward Carroll in 1940. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. This scenario was played out Saturday evening at Riverside Park Speedway, where Kelly Moore put on a superb display of racing enroute to a 2nd place finish. Jocko Sr. won 31 feature races and multiple championships at Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass., and won the track's biggest event, the Riverside 500. Joys assistant was Dodge, who took over as promoter in 1982. The great Reggie Ruggiero closed the books with 98 modified feature wins, about a quarter of his career total, leading all drivers. I was never on a banked track, racing with that caliber of drivers before. Riverside Speedway was a NASCAR short track that was inside of Riverside Fun Park in Agawam, Massachusetts. This would have been around 1984. He started his interest in racing with Leo Matte at Riverside Park with the likes of George Lombardo, Ed Patnode and Labbee Brothers Racing. Henry J. Perkins transformed the picnic grove into an amusement park more than 100 years ago with the addition of mechanical rides like The Giant Dip, an early roller coaster. "I would like to Thank You so much for making Carlys 17th birthday party GREAT!!!! Legendary Riverside Park - SPEED SPORT Gary worked for many years at Germano Auto Sales before owning Garys Service Center in Agawam, which he sold two years ago. Many stars of racing exelled at Riverside Park in the 1980s, including the 2000 NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Champion and Busch North Series star Jerry Marquis, 7 time NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Champion, 4 time NASCAR Busch North Series Champion and 1999 Craftsman Truck Series rookie "Mighty" Mike Stefanik and Featherlite Modified Tour and NASCAR Busch Series star "Magic Shoes" Mike McLaughlin. Riverside Park Speedway was a 1/4-mile oval paved race track, located at the present site of Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts, one mile north of the Massachusetts - Connecticut state line. legend Roland Pappy Lapierre Sr., car and engine builder Jim Jorgenson, 1987 Busch North Series champion Joey Kid Kourafas and Irene Venditti, widow of Seekonk Speedway founder D. Anthony Venditti. The pit area was alongside theConnecticut River with large Grandstands being built on the hill leading from the amusement park down to the race track. Vintage photos: Riverside Park in Agawam - masslive.com SITE DESIGN BY. Much of the coaster's second half (essentially everything north of, and including, the station and entrance queue), as well as more than half of the park's "D.C. Superhero Adventures" section, now sit on land once occupied by the track's racing surface. - hosted events on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, making it possible for some of Riverside Park's early stars to race in the area almost every night of the week. "I would like to Thank You so much for making Carly's 17th birthday party GREAT!!!! Tracks - Racing-Reference Another exciting development in 1997 was the acquisition of the park by Oklahoma-based Premier Parks, Inc., parent company of Six Flags, the world's largest regional theme park company. Did you miss a thrilling Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, or David Gravels Tri-City triumph? The Rocky Hill, Conn, driver was a crowd favorite at the old Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, where he won three track championships (1979, 1984, 1988) and a record 93 feature races over 23. It was common to have up to 60 modifieds in the pits, all vying for spots in a 50-lap feature that started only 20 cars because the track was so small. One unforgettable element of racing at Riverside was the annual 500-lap races for cars competing as two-car teams. The tiny, flat confines forced drivers to bump and bang their way to the front, which often triggered fisticuffs in the pit area, jammed between the backstretch and the river. Fiore shared stories of how his team would often struggle to get back home after races they had won, since most payouts were made by check and no banks were open late at night. Meet. Rollie Jacobs (left), former public address announcer at Riverside Park Speedway, inducted legendary car owner Mario Fiore (right) into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame on Sunday in East Windsor, Conn. The 1980s arrived! Use THIS BUTTON to share this track's profile with your friends! We carry brands such as Parker, Enerpac, NoShok, Daman, Hiwin, UR Robot, Robotiq, Schunk, Rechner Sensors, SICK sensors, Weidmuller, Dixon and many more! "Riverside Park was like Daytona to me," Reggie Ruggiero recalled. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Galex Fox, left, and Dave Darland, right. History. 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The first top-5 finish for the Tic-Tac Pontiac Grand Prix team pushed Moore, the 1995 Busch Grand National North Series champion, up 14 spots to 13th in the championship point battle, a mere 88 points out of the top spot. They had a BLAST! open to all that raced at riverside park speedway no matter what car-truck demo-enduro-figure 8 & 4 cylinder-strickly-late model-modified ya drove! Ted Chalmers, a 35 year racing veteran, wrote his name in the history books as the first ever champion in that division. YOUR PARTY AND CELEBRATE Ruggiero told a story that some knew, but others didnt, about a decision that might have changed the face of NASCAR history. Auto racing legend Rene Charland, of Agawam, dies at 84. And for decades, Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass., was exactly that. Did you miss Kyle Buschs dramatic win at Talladega, or Brandon Overtons $50,000 triumph? (Republican file photo) Staff-Shot 20 / 28 Republican file photo Vintage photos:. You knew Rene Charland was the bad guy and Buddy Krebs was a good guy. It was a great experience., SPEEDSPORT.com is a part of the NASCAR Digital Media Network, The cars line up for the Riverside 500. One of them was future FOX Sports broadcaster Mike Joy, who announced at Riverside while still in college. Jackson County Speedway. Despite the gathering fiscal clouds, the Dodge era at Riverside was spectacular, with Stan Greger, John Rosati and Mike Stefanik capturing track titles in the modifieds. It was more like an adventure.. Miller, a Twin State (Claremont Speedway) standout for many years before moving on to the Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Busch Series died at the age of 34. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. He resided in West Springfield and Agawam all his life. Truex Jr. Ends 54-Race Winless Streak At Dover, WoO LMS Notes: $50,000 To Win In Wisconsin, More Than 60 Hours Of Indy Coverage On NBC Platforms, Perez Leads Red Bull One-Two In Azerbaijan. It was quite a ride for Fiore, who got into ownership in 1969, when he put $300 into a car purchased by a friend.
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