St. Louis, MO - There is an old saying about old racers never dying. Lake Hill Speedway, unused and under water for over 25 years, was alive with old "racers", old race cars, and Lake Hill fans old and new on Saturday, November 24. The first asphalt track in St. Louis, Lake Hill sits between two sets of railroad tracks and was THE place to be on Sunday nights. It was again THE place to be on Saturday with over 2000 racers and fans showing up for the Lake Hill Speedway Reunion, hosted by the St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club.
Legendary names like Russ Wallace, Jerry Sifford, Dale Roper, "Dandy" Don Klein, Kenny Schrum, and Ray Eby (who, while he's been very ill, still made certain he didn't miss the reunion). Sponsors John Childs and Hank Sieveking, who helped Rusty Wallace and Kenny Schrader on their way up the racing ladder, were also on hand. People came from as far as Bloomington, IL and Alpharetta, GA to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. It was an amazing sight to behold and often described over the last week as auto racing's "Field of Dreams", along with the somewhat modified phrase "drain it and they will come".
Kenny Wallace, who was a major player in putting the reunion together, arranged for a classic street car reminiscent of his dad's 1970 Camaro stock car to be decaled in Russ' #6 and O.K. Vacuum sponsorship. The car was kept hidden until it was time for the first lap around the third-mile track. Seeing the car brought tears to Russ' eyes. Along with Jerry Sifford in the passenger seat, Russ kicked off several hours worth of race cars, old and current racers, and fans (in two-seat race cars) taking slow laps of this Valley Park, MO gem. Kenny Wallace even climbed in a miniature sprint car and "raced" against his mom, Judy.
This event blended a trip through nostalgia with a little sprucing up and modern technology. A gigantic banner hung over the entrance to "the tunnel" that led to the track, saying "Welcome to Lake Hill Speedway" with the old track logo. On the other side of the tunnel was the refurbished ticket booth with the old sign on top stating the admission price for the Reunion. After paying your admission you received a commemorative ticket with an aerial photo of the track combined with the classic picture of Allen Potter crashing into a light pole 15 feet off the ground and, for the first 1000 fans, a photo of Russ Wallace's #6. Next you found a restored concession stand, souvenir t-shirts, a program book, a Jumbotron-style video screen playing a DVD with old photos and old racing footage, a display by Tom Utley, and Kenny Wallace's autograph tent.
The St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club sold a DVD with over 400 still photos from the track's glory days, and could not produce and sell them fast enough. The original Lake Hill blueprints, microphone and the track's checkered flag from 1948 were also on display.
The Reunion brought together the racers and race fans from ever form of racing in St. Louis in a remarkable and indescribable way. From Mother Nature's cooperation to all the people who helped restore the property and attended, the Lake Hill Speedway Reunion was THE coolest, best-attended and most successful event in the 53-year history of the St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club.
The DVD that was on sale, plus two additional DVDs (one of racing footage and one from the Reunion) are available from the Fan Club. Visit www.stlfanclub.com for all the details.
The next major event for the Fan Club is their 41st Annual Banquet of Champions, Saturday, January 26, 2008 at the Royale Orleans Banquet Center on Telegraph Road.
Legendary names like Russ Wallace, Jerry Sifford, Dale Roper, "Dandy" Don Klein, Kenny Schrum, and Ray Eby (who, while he's been very ill, still made certain he didn't miss the reunion). Sponsors John Childs and Hank Sieveking, who helped Rusty Wallace and Kenny Schrader on their way up the racing ladder, were also on hand. People came from as far as Bloomington, IL and Alpharetta, GA to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. It was an amazing sight to behold and often described over the last week as auto racing's "Field of Dreams", along with the somewhat modified phrase "drain it and they will come".
Kenny Wallace, who was a major player in putting the reunion together, arranged for a classic street car reminiscent of his dad's 1970 Camaro stock car to be decaled in Russ' #6 and O.K. Vacuum sponsorship. The car was kept hidden until it was time for the first lap around the third-mile track. Seeing the car brought tears to Russ' eyes. Along with Jerry Sifford in the passenger seat, Russ kicked off several hours worth of race cars, old and current racers, and fans (in two-seat race cars) taking slow laps of this Valley Park, MO gem. Kenny Wallace even climbed in a miniature sprint car and "raced" against his mom, Judy.
This event blended a trip through nostalgia with a little sprucing up and modern technology. A gigantic banner hung over the entrance to "the tunnel" that led to the track, saying "Welcome to Lake Hill Speedway" with the old track logo. On the other side of the tunnel was the refurbished ticket booth with the old sign on top stating the admission price for the Reunion. After paying your admission you received a commemorative ticket with an aerial photo of the track combined with the classic picture of Allen Potter crashing into a light pole 15 feet off the ground and, for the first 1000 fans, a photo of Russ Wallace's #6. Next you found a restored concession stand, souvenir t-shirts, a program book, a Jumbotron-style video screen playing a DVD with old photos and old racing footage, a display by Tom Utley, and Kenny Wallace's autograph tent.
The St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club sold a DVD with over 400 still photos from the track's glory days, and could not produce and sell them fast enough. The original Lake Hill blueprints, microphone and the track's checkered flag from 1948 were also on display.
The Reunion brought together the racers and race fans from ever form of racing in St. Louis in a remarkable and indescribable way. From Mother Nature's cooperation to all the people who helped restore the property and attended, the Lake Hill Speedway Reunion was THE coolest, best-attended and most successful event in the 53-year history of the St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club.
The DVD that was on sale, plus two additional DVDs (one of racing footage and one from the Reunion) are available from the Fan Club. Visit www.stlfanclub.com for all the details.
The next major event for the Fan Club is their 41st Annual Banquet of Champions, Saturday, January 26, 2008 at the Royale Orleans Banquet Center on Telegraph Road.
