60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Larry Mendelson never owned Islip Speedway (nor did Ed Hawkins, as some have said) . Islip was owned by Lou Figuari (and after he died, his lovely wife Flora) who leased it to Larry Mendelson, etc..

One thing that was very unusual about that operation was that the Figuari's retained the operation of the concession stands. That's unusual because there is real good profit in the food & beverage end of it. Billy Hogan (a GREAT GUY) managed the concession operation for the Figuari's. I probably knew once & have forgotten, BUT they probably worked a percentage deal with Larry's "SPECTACULAR PROMOTIONS" operation, re the food, and such.

Lou & Larry (as a team) were involved in the promotion & food at MANY other tracks too. Folks like Dot Lee (formerly Dot Jakel) Larry's secretary & Ray Morturano .. who was a starter at Islip & some sort of official at some of the others .. could compose a surprisingly long list of them. Harry Hebenstreet (a former stock car driver) managed some of those operations for them.

Lou even operated the food concessions (only) at such tracks as Flemington and others.

Again, it was the Figuari's son who wanted no part in the headaches of ownership of a speedway (even if leased to someone else) and after his Mom (Flora) passed on and sold the property .. hense the cookie factory.

Here's something that's may be interesting to some .. in the early years of the Islip Speedway there was such very little development in the area and many who traveled to it nick named it "The Speedway In The Woods!!".

 

Ken, thanks for the info. Know Larry was a great promotor but thought he owned the track. Or at least, I think I thought so.

Now Ed Hawkins, I always thought he owned Riverhead. Live and learn or realize how much you have forgoten after you gotten out of the lift.

 

"Or at least, I think I thought so."

I know the feeling-LOL

 

Ed Hawkins did own Riverhead.

Where some people get confused is that he also leased & operated / promoted Islip before Larry did.

"500 lap" midget races and midgets under NASCAR sanction for awhile were among the things Hawkins did at Islip.

 

Anyone remember Tropical Wonderland (I Think that was the name) Larry's pet store in Bay Shore?

 

Ken,

Any chance you remember where the ISLIP SPEEDWAY pizza came from??

I havent had pizza that good since they closed LOL

 

Yeah, I remember that place. Didn't Mendelson also have an interest in Nippe's Nursery Furniture?

Here's an interesting website for you: www.Historicaerials.com

Islip Speedway circa 1956

An again in 1966. Looks like the dragstrip was added in the late 50's early 60's. Makes sense.

Another cool area on Long Island was the old Deer Park Speedway. It's earlier than this thread covers but if you check out the Historic Aerials site and go to Deer Park they have USGS photos that clearly show the old 1 mile dirt track with the paved 1/4 mile track inside, This was just East of what is now Route 231.

Rumors were in the 70's Ferrante went there with the X3 to test for Islip. The 1/4 mile was long closed but it still existed in the woods.

Rich, you and I stopped by there when they started putting in a housing development in the mid 80's.

 

Deer Park LI Speedway in 1953 and again in 1980. Route 231 is just off the left side of the map

 

Here are shots from 1966 at Saline Co., MO, Speedway, Marshall, MO. The supermod/sprinter is a CAE car with a bolt on cage and supermod tail. To run sprint car races, the cage is unbolted and a sprint tail is installed. Bill Utz (pictured) was the owner driver. He went on to win the Knoxville Nationals and the IMCA sprint car championship (in another car). This car changed super mod racing in MO forever. He broke the track record in qualifying the first night out.
I was there to see him as he went down the back straight and pumped frantically on the weight jack lever. Into turn 3 the car went up on 2 wheels, came down and shot over the banking (no fences in those days, and into the pits. Moments later he came back onto the track, still running of course, covered in dust, googles half off, still pumping on the lever. He was still on the clock for lap one and he floored it taking the white flag. The car flew around the track and got the record!
It ran a Ford 289 as it was sponsored by a Ford dealer. Utz later put in a Chevy.

The other photo is a Class B super modified at the same track, also 1966. The class A cars looked much like this one, so you can see what effect Utz's car must have had. The six cylinder car was owned and driven by George Lasoski....yes, THAT Lasoski. That's Danny the Dude in the car. The engine is a 302 GMC with Hilborn injection and Vertex mag.

 

No,Brian! Larry didn't have an interest in Nippes! They were our sponsor for several seasons. You remember this car, I'm sure....

 

I most certainly DO remember that car! I always thought it was the perfect example of what a coupe modified should look like. Classic lines...........

With some of the Nippe's signage at the track I thought Larry was involved with them as well. Thanks for the correction, and the great pic.

I remember seeing Bobby Homberg one time at Islip when I was the photographer and he was sitting in Al Worth's "00" at the time. I went to take his picture and with a big laugh he said " Oh God NO, please don't get a picture of ME in THIS shitbox!" He was kidding but I don't know if Al was reallly sure of that.

 

I'd swear that I have that hood. Its too late to take a picture, but the hood pin washers are in the same place and the 'fold' at the front corner is the same. The original (donor car) color was blue, would anyone know who the builder was?. I've been thinking of cutting it up to fit my 41 Willys coach. It came with my #20 Czarnecki car that raced at Islip as "Triple Nickel" driven by Junior Dilmore (anybody have any info on him?), and another driver, that I can't idenify. I'll try to post pics tomorrow. Thanks, Barry

 

I ran into him and two other fellows at Parr Meadow one day. They were there with two midget. One of the guy's name started wit a P and had a J in it. Big midget car owner is all I know.

They had one midget out on the track but it couldn't run well, way too sandy. I said I was running a concrete plant in Old Bethpage, the Old JJ White Plant of Charlie Z fame. And there was a brick making pland down in the hole. The whole area was all a clay pit years ago and maybe I could get some clay trucked in.

They said they would let me know. They were already having problems with the Horse Owners Assoc there who were boarding their horses in the old stables. This had to have been back in 1980, give or take.

Never heard from them, Stands stable and track all dozered away and nada there. The Mall plans died too as far as I know.

 

Right before Rte 109 on the north side of Sunrise Highway.

 

GREAT finds Brian!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Funny you should ask .. It wasn't too long ago that Dot (Jakel) Lee (Larry's secretary) and I were trying to remember the woman's (Marie's) last name .. who ran the pizza concession at Islip.

For awhile, our pizza at Riverhead was not near as good.

One night I was having a slice or two of Marie's Islip pizza & I mentioned this to her and said .. 'I wish I knew how you did it?'

She very graciously invited me into her stand and said ... "I'll teach you how!!"

We bought the very same frozen pizza shells (pre-formed partially cooked crusts) from DeCarlo Distributors I "think" .. the same sauce & cheese from (Freeport Speedway's) Don Campi and his Cremosa Cheese business ... but Marie added 2 or 3 spices to the sauce (she showed me what & how much) .. showed me "exactly" how much sauce & cheese to use and how long to cook the pie, etc..

As soon as I taught our people at Riverhead .. we had the very same pizza.

Marie was a very nice, gracious & generous lady!!!

BTW .. Dot (Jakel) Lee .. was married to the late Bob Lee .. my starter at Riverhead .. later the starter at Islip and also some of the Race of Champions Races on the Pocono big track. .. He was my very good friend too. I miss him.

 

I don't know how much truth there is (or isn't) to this .. but a few people that were fairly close to Larry suspected that it was both depression and deep financial problems caused by this business that led to his demise.

Still other felt that both depression & serious health problems .. that he didn't want to face .. was the cause.

 

Hey Brian!

That place was cool. My uncle (Joe Murdock), who owned midgets and sprints back in the day used tell me about the place, as did my mom, they said the crowds were so big that they helped contribute to the tracks ultimate demise.

I think the Hendrickson warm up thing was in the days before he drove for Ferrante, when he lived accross the street from my Uncle Joe in Deer Park. I'm not 100 percent sure, but Marty Himes would know.

 

Emil, Emil, Emil...That's Farmingdale.

Bay Shore, in the Gimbles shopping center at the corner of Main and Saxon Avenue.

 

Probably, but Bruce will only have pics of the black and blue gang!

 

I always figured the Islip pizza was linoleum from Ed Hawkins' carpet store.

 

Marty Himes went to the Deer Park Speedway site long after Ferrante (possibly) did and picked up some memorabilia that he found 1/2 buried, etc..

The was a great picture from Deer Park on the wall of the office of Pete Vitucci's .. Boulevard Auto Parts (salvage / junk yard) on Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn. .. A driver named Wimpy Irving sitting in the middle of the track with a very stunned look of amazement on his face .. as the midget he had JUST been driving was STILL FLIPPING down the track (without him) behind him.

Different track .. When Johnny (Karklin) Action owned the former Joe Ciscki Falcon midget .. he & I used to go to the long abandoned Atco (NJ) 1/4 mile asphalt oval to fire it up & test it. .. Others use to do the same at the long closed Old Bridge, NJ 1/2 mile.

I think the Atco Drag Strip is still operating.

Both Deer Park (NY) and Old Bridge (NJ) are now condo or apartment developments.

 

Might that midget owner have been Ray Plactis (Plaktis maybe)? Most of Plaktis's "fleet" was new, top notch equipment .. but poorly maintained & more often than not ran poorly .. if at all.

Ole' Russ Klar tested the sandy horse track for someone who had interest & FLEW around the bumpy, sandy track in a midget .. the difference being a car that "ran well" and a REAL GOOD chauffer driving it!!!

The Cromarty's later ran some Taxi Cab Demolition Derby's & some similar stuff at Parr Meadows.

With the mall proposed .. the property was cleared .. but it became a political football .. thus nothing ever happened.

Other tracks have been proposed out here since .. in Manorville (a mile) and more than one proposal for part of the old Grumman property in Calverton (three different ones that the I personally know of) and another at a sand mine in Calverton. I hate to say it, but when Riverhead eventually goes, I think that will be it for oval track racing on Long Island.

Marty Himes has a list of over 40 (maybe over 50 by now) oval speedways that once existed on this island .. and pictures from most too!!! ...

Just for one example .. the Riverhead Raceway is NOT the first oval that existed in that town .. the other goes back to the days of the Big Cars and the era of Barney Oldfield who DID race there.

Anyone know where in Riverhead it was?

 

LOL!!!!!

The Coram Rug Works .. I worked there for years too.

 

Uh! No! He wasn't kidding! LOL!

 

OK! A quick history lesson. We bought the white 9A coupe from Fred Tosti! It was the beautiful blue #18, driven by Freddy Harbach. Before that it was the white #4 (V4?) driven by Leo Cleary for Bob Garbarino from Connecticut! Yes! The famous "Mystic Missile"! Not sure who built it, probably Garbarino himself. I'm don't know if he built his own cars. I'll have to ask him the next time I see him.

 

Here's a couple pics of the hood, they did a nice job of rolling the edge for the air cleaner. Also some pics of the triple nickle. Is that Jack Lecuyer next to the car in white? Who is that sitting in the car? I presume the guy next to the car in orange to be Junior Dilmore, but what does that big decal have on it? Any histories on these drivers or the car would be appreciated.

Thanks, Barry

 

Then I was thinking of another exotic animal shop, or was it a strip club? Nah. Wasn't that. Wasn't the shop just before a turnoff on Sunrise?

Don't forget, I was a Suffolk County Boy. Though I did get around. Ok got you now. Doh.


Ken you are a wealth of information. Pete should sit down with you and do an interview for his site. Might already be in the works for all I know. Big boy, doesn't tell the old man diddly anymore, afraind I'll stick my nose in there and make suggestions. LOL

Yes it was Platkis that day. I know Russ some from old tomers day and we talk then. I don't know if he was running that day though, I didn't hang around long enough to talk to the driver. Had work to attend to.

 

I would post those pics but they are for the most part O/T and later than the seventies. As you all know I'm much younger than y'all.

I will post some stuff as I dig it out of my basement as soon as I can. We just picked up Golden Retriever pup about 4 mos. old a rescue and she's taking alot of my time. I did just find the Program for the '69 Langhorne race. The entry list was classic. I'll try and get that stuff up also some Freeport programs.

Bruce

 

Hey I'm the youngster here! I'm just not the FNG! Thank God! lol Keep posting away Bruce, you'll become Grenade Inspector in no time!!!