….people keep saying Raceway Park was bulldozed, it was not. I was just there a few weeks ago for a concert. It is intact, a couple of jersey barriers and some weed whacking and they could be racing in a week.
"Englishtown" has some special memories for me. Although I've spent a little over 90% of my life in western NY, I'm originally from the central NJ area. On a couple of visits back to NJ that my family made, when I was in my mid-20s, I managed to make it to Raceway Park, to catch what they called a "weekly show". I was amazed at the number of cars that were there, and not just street/strip cars, but a large number of "full-tilt" race cars. I distinctly remember the cars in Pro Stock, as that was a popular, newly emerging class back then. It was like a "who's who" of east coast Pro Stockers, and as I said, what I saw was just a typical Sunday show.
It's a shame to see a track with that storied history laying dormant.
I guess the exception to the rule is Jukasa Speedway in Hagersville Ontario, the phoenix that rose from the ashes of the dormant Cayuga Speedway..... The owners recently bought an older golf course outside of Caledonia Ontario and are putting millions into improving the place with a long term goal of hosting the Canadian Open. Hope they don't lose interest in the track. The golf course was kind of an odd purchase as it has been reported one Cdn. course a week goes out of business as the population ages.
A similar situation is also occurring here in western NY. Golf, a LONG TIME leisure activity, is also showing a loss of interest here, too. 2-3 well known courses in the Rochester area have closed up over the last 3-4 years, after having enjoyed stellar success for DECADES. Also look at the sport of bowling. At one point in the Rochester area, there were probably 25 bowling centers of varying sizes, from 8 lanes to 100 lanes, that were BUSY all the time. Now there are just a handful of centers in operation.
Apparently, times DO change....
