firstever

half mile

No offense Lenny, I have looked at 2 different listings and all have it as a half mile. I went there several times and i thought it was a half mile. Guess the horse thing would explain the horse type fencing. Thanks
 
the only wall on the track that was ever there during its life as a stock car track was on the front straight
 
I wasn't around back then,but I think my brother Mike Plocher might of been the flag man.I know he did some flagging back then
 
Ray guss was tough back then and he was tough at tri cityhttp://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DRAY%2BGUSS%2BJR%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Davantsearch6%26fr2%3Dtab-web&w=480&h=337&imgurl=www.dirtfans.com%2Fimages%2FGussJrRay_Hines15.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dirtfans.com%2FRayGussJr.html&size=23k&name=GussJrRay+Hines1...&p=RAY+GUSS+JR&oid=4ee822232f65cdb6&fr2=tab-web&no=10&tt=125&sigr=116819t95&sigi=11dqjrn6j&sigb=12v7cq512
 
Ray guss won about everything in that time period always raced at tri city and white city and was always up front
 
first ever

why date and year. ray guss first and dick taylor 2nd. they raced mods and late modles 2gether. every sanctioned track had drivers there.it was on a sunday in 86.hamerly had war wagon there and blew engine along with klein
 
4 owners

Can anyone name the 4 owners of the Midstate Raceway?
I knew one of the owners really well as he was a co worker in the late 90s.
 
because

Because i read somewhwre the first race was jan. 19 1984 and i thought i was there in 1985 thats why brotha.
 
1984

do a search on stl racing for white city, there is a big post from eillen who did the history of the fracks around here. she really knows her stuff if you read about.
 
first ever

thats cool i may b wrong bot year but i was a teen. but that is who won the first ever stock car race there
 
first race at white city

somone give me a dif stat on that race. just asking cos that race i was at that day was talked about 4 a month 4 being the first ever stockcar race there.i dont know if they meant a sanctioned raceor what but it was a big thing.
 
Here's what I had written down on my little 4x6 index card....

White City, IL 04-13-1986

1st heat lineup
28-Rick Standridge....45-Mike Mudd
47-Rich Hayes..........9-Tom Seets
360- John Seets.......75-Ray Guss Jr
41-Chris Bargetzi

finish
41-Bargetzi,47-Hayes,75-GussJr,9-Seets,28Standridge

2nd heat lineup
11-Kevin Gundaker....30-John Stiers
49-Tom Rients..........78-Perry Tripp
12-Allen Thomas.......24-Dick Taylor
10-Doug Klein...........32-Jim Rarick

finish
11-Gundaker,49-Rients,78-Tripp,24-Taylor

Feature Lineup (draw for positions)
Thomas......J Seets
Tripp..........Rients
Gundaker....Hayes
Guss Jr.......Bargetzi
T Seets......Taylor
Klein..........Standridge
Steirs.........Rarick

Feature Finish .... 30 laps .... $750 to win
11 Kevin Gundaker
75 Ray Guss Jr
24 Dick Taylor
12 Allen Thomas
360 John Seets
78 Perry Tripp
32 Jim Rarick


The above is what I had written down.... not claiming 'official'....
Below, what I do remember, long long day, like most day races anywhere....
Bob Memmer (UMP) was present....check out your old issues of Mid-American Auto Racing News April 25, 1986, and the article by Bob....two weeks later in the letter to the editor, is my letter in rebuttal, although like normal, I wandered a bit from the subject.
Lot of rain the night before, after a couple hours of trying to pack the track in, they gave up on time trials.....just run in the ruts.... by feature time it was so dusty the drivers could not even see the front of their own cars....
In the drivers meeting, it was stated that they would draw for position in the heat races, and then invert for the feature lineup....
I thought that was strange, why even run the heats? And why would you want to win a heat? So you can start at the back of the feature?
(but what do I know?)
The first heat, as Standridge and Guss were running away the first few laps, you could see it click as Standridge and Guss acted like the red flag came out down the backstretch, and it was funny watching them all try to finish in the back.... The second heat was not as bad, as with Gundaker on the pole, and Rients pushing him, well at that point gettin the checkers for them two was more important than starting the feature in the back....lol
Of course, then AFTER the heats, in the next drivers meeting, they announced that maybe the plan to invert the field was maybe not such a great idea, so they re-drew for positions for the feature....

I wonder if I had any pics from that day????:cool:
 
:DNo problem, just not had a lot of time lately to go down memory lane....

I do remember that after that, there were a few races where the UMP Late Models raced 'against' the Allied Modifieds.... One time Ed Dixon in his Allied Modified took the UMP guys to school, actually won by half a lap or so....

There were several times when I lived in Glen Carbon, going to Farmer City on Fridays as normal, staying there until they turned out the lights on us, leaving there heading back home and stopping at White City if the lights were still on, and walking in past nobody at the gates and watching the feature there also....and it's a two hour 15 minute drive between the two tracks....lol

I'm still gonna check on pictures from there one of these days, not sure I have any from on the track, probably none at all from that first day.....:cool:
 
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