I was saving this for a rainy day....
Former Orchard Blooms With Enthusiasts
Chemung Breeds a Popular Brand...
By Ed Collins
The old orchard ain't what it used to be. Seven years ago, just west of Chemung, on the Ely Bodine farm, were an orchard and a corn field fitted neatly into a curiously shaped depression. The loudest sounds were the caws of an occasional pair of crows and a farmer's sigh at eventide
Today, of a Saturday evening comes the ripping snort of an engine, the sound of furiously revolving tires swabbing a flat furrow in a hard turn and the roar of crowds ranging from 1500 to 2000. It's the site of Chemung Speedrome, a mecca for stock cars.
Peopled by a close- knit group who are more gentled by the roar of pounding pistons than the purr of a kitten and more warmed by a 20- foot exhaust stream than the morning sun, Chemung represents a vital sport.
Each Saturday night upwards of 50-55 cars compete for 40 per cent of the $1.15 per-person gate, but only incidently for the money involved. Only a top driver makes his expenses and then, to stay on top of his class, he turns his winnings back into his pet engine block.
THE PUBLIC picture of "hot rods" screaming down a narrow residential street is not the picture of these drivers. If anything, they drive a car on a public road with twice the caution of the average driver. Consider the case of 22-year old Bill Schroth of Bressport currently the second- ranking Atlantic Stock Car Assn. driver in Class A at Chemung.
Bill started driving stocks at 18. His father, Carl Schroth (who acts as part of Bill's pit crew), tells it this way: "Bill was driving too 'hard' on the highways. He hadn't been arrested , of course, but I didn't want anything to happen to him. So, his mother and I gave our permission for him to drive at the track. "Within a year of driving at Chemung, he was a more careful driver on the highway than I am. That's why I'm all in favor of this idea".
Bill started with a '54 Ford engine block that his parents bought for him. Last year he graduated to a Class A car, Don Moyer's No. 49 with a '56 Ford engine, and since then he's been close to the top. In fact, Moyer has such trust in Bill's ability that he delivers the car to the quater-mile dirt oval, turns it over to Bill and his pit-crew (Carl Schroth and Dean Wheat) and becomes a complete spectator in the stands.
THE CLASS A LEADER is star Lucky Cornish of Ithaca, who doesn't seem about to be passed, as he piles up feature win after feature win each Saturday in his colorful "no. 44". And right behind the Breesport youth is eight-year veteran Bucky Buchannan of Horseheads in "No. 77" and Percy Brown of Elmira in "No. 59".
Keeping it in the Chemung family, the youngest driver on the track, 18-year old Earl Bodine No. 88 of Chemung , leads the Class B division, closely followed by Tex Owens (No. 48) of Endicott and Jack Curren (No. 00) of Elmira, who are tied for second, and Cliff Pierce (No. 29) of Elmira who is fourth. Earl is the brother of Junie and Carl Bodine who run the track located on their father's former farm-land.
JUST AS Bill Schroth is an excellent example of what the stock cars can do for young men, Pete Marone of Ithaca is an example of how they can keep the spirit fresh. "Nearly 50", Pete was a field driver for a long time but in the past year has picked up steam and several first place spots.
Similarly, with men like Junie Bodine, who puts in hours that can never be tallied in dollars and cents in readying the dirt oval, and Bob Fuller, the aerobatic flagman whose driving days are over, being a part of the operation of a stock car track is like an outdoorsman's breathing pure air.
Junie is almost a part of the track, having seen the orchard and the cornstalks fall, and the bulldozers scrape a reality out of the hazy plans of some enthusiasts, and the contoured furrows of a turn. It all started when some members of the Finger Lakes Stock Car Racing Assn. became dissatisfied with conditions at another Southern Tier track six years ago. They came to Ely Bodine and his sons and mentioned the bowl-like depression behind the barns the indians are supposed to have helped raise.
June recalls "There was an orchard near the road and the cornfield went back to the hill. We marked out a course by walking off the distance and placing rocks, then took the tractor around to mark the inside lane. There was still a barn in the middle of the track and some trees around. But when the bulldozer took over and started shoving dirt and trees out of the way, it really began to look like a track. We bought lights and hooked up a war surplus generator we had in reserve here on the farm, and we had our track.
THIS IS CHEMUNG'S sixth year of racing and it's growing more prosperous and better. The track time has improved from 17 seconds to 16. One second may not seem like a lot, but when a pack of stock cars do 75 miles per hour on the straight and 45 on the curves, it's 20 extra thrills in the space of a caught breath.
Driving at Chemung is not just a matter of tooling some hopped up coups onto the track. Prime requisite is a good engine, preferably encased in a durable (and often venerable) coupe because the lighter coupe chassis handles better on curves.
Beyond that certain safety regulations must be observed. Car's must have roll bars installed inside the cab, the insides must be stripped of all upholstery and glass except for the windshield, the fenders must be either cut down or removed entirely, a safety belt must be installed and the front and rear wheels locked by welding the spider gears. Further, each car must have a fire extinguisher in it, and front and rear crash guards: and the driver must wear a helmet.
Most necessary for a driver are intelligence and instinct. A Class A car probably represents about a $2000 investment. Class B car a little less than half that amount.
Car's are known by their numbers rather than their drivers and the point standings are awarded accordingly: should one driver come up with a little better car, it's an out-and-out challange to his opponent's skill and ability- both mechanical and operation.
ROB FINNEY of Chemung is president of the Atlantic Stock Car Assn. (which sanctions Chemung) and Bernie Foster is secretary. Earl Buzell is chief timer, Bob Shaddock announcer and Harry Hoyt pit steward. Unofficial timers and pit crew members are the wives and girlfriends of drivers and mechanics who become as expert and enthusiastic about the sport as their men.
Chemung runs twice this week. The course will hold a program Memorial day at 2:30 p.m. and again Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. The program, which include "heats" (time trials from each of which four drivers qualify), "semis" (semi-final races from each of which six drivers qualify) and the "features" (either main event or special match races).
Chemung's biggest and wildest crowd totalled 4,000 on a "free" night. It's largest paid crowd was 2,200. It has only once (and that on a cold night) dipped below 1,000. From all indications [this is where the article was cut off...sorry guys...it's reprinted with all it's warts!]