Stock Car Racing
Modern man has apparently come by his thirst for speed very honestly. It would appear it traces back to time eternal ; when the old cave man tried to get a little more speed out of his hot rod by chipping off the corners of his stone wheels. That was the start. On down through the chariot races of Roman days and so forth there has always been that desire to get aboard something that goes fast. The faster the better.
Well stock cars are fast and the sport itself is probably the fastest growing sport in North America. In 1952 auto racing rated as the fourth most popular spectator sport in North America. It climbed up to third spot in the following year and last year it was right up there challenging the leaders. That’s a pretty fair sort of a record for a “Johnny Come Lately” on the sporting scene. The sport of stock car racing just got restarted about nine years ago after the war.
So, why the popularity?
Well, you can be sure it’s a sport typical of this age of speed. And it’s a sport that appeals to both the participant and the spectator. There are thrills for both of them, the kind of thrills that keep them coming back for more and more.
So it was nothing unusual to find the Bridgeport Speedway stock car races develop into one of the top sports attractions in the district. Starting in May 1952, when Bridgeport Speedway first opened their gates, this quarter mile dirt oval racing facility provided a weekly bill of entertainment which stock car racing fans will tell you was second to none.
Bridgeport Speedway fell silent back in 1953 as there were no races during that racing season but the stock car racing returned in 1954 when Bridgeport Speedway opened it’s gates as a quarter mile paved oval with a smooth racing surface, the track was well lit, good seating, new concessions and all the rest, Bridgeport Speedway was a fine stock car racing facility.
An array of good drivers, providing stiff competition, and an ever varying program has maintained interest from the start. Included in Bridgeport Speedway’s bill of fare besides the regular driver championships, there have been mechanics races, Australian pursuit races, parachute jumps, demolition derby’s, late model races, match races, midget races, the dare devils and even an exhibition of old cars dating back to 1903 by the Western Ontario Horseless Carriage Club.
The uninitiated are often under the impression that these stock cars are a bunch of old jalopies fastened together with metal patches and baling wire. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. The cars themselves may not stack up in the beauty show but you can be sure they are in the best of mechanical and have a smoothly running power plant. These stock cars have to be in top mechanical condition to be able to withstand the severe stresses and strains they are subjected to.
Hundreds of hours are often spent by the mechanics and drivers in rebuilding, adjusting and tuning up their racing machines. Both the body and the engine are often stripped right down and then rebuilt from start to finish so that more than likely, the stock cars are in better repair and handle easier than 90 percent of the cars on the road. These stock cars are safe too, they have to be.
You can be sure any driver taking his car into a race has checked beyond a doubt and his car is in good racing trim. When you are involved in a contest that might have a field of 20 or more cars going at speeds up to 70 miles per hour, well, only a fool would risk his life with a mechanically unsafe car.
What about the danger element of stock car racing?
Certainly it’s dangerous, But therein lies a lot of the attraction for a great deal of the drivers. It puts more premium on their skill as a driver.
However, these drivers are not flouting death, they take every possible step to provide themselves with a safe stock car. All cars are equipped with roll over bars to prevent the roof from caving in on the driver in case of a roll over. Crash bars prevent the engine from being pushed through the firewall and the frame is reinforced for barrel rolls and end over end rolls. Aircraft type bucket seats are used and heavy duty safety belts are installed. All glass is removed from the window frames except for the front windshield and this is shatterproof safety glass. The gas tanks are carried inside the car but must be seperated from the driver’s seat by a steel fire wall which is high enough to reach the driver’s shoulders when he is sitting in the car. Regulations also set forth that a driver must wear a suitable safety helmet and no driver is allowed to compete while any sign of sickness or disability is evident.
While all these precautions reduce the risk of a serious accident considerably, the race driver still has to be a tough, durable individual, capable of absorbing a lot of bumps. There are bound to be jarring collisions, glancing slams and with them comes the bruises and injuries to the drivers. Stock car drivers take their treatment and get right back at it, trying to go faster than ever.
So while you’re looking in on your next stock car race, just take note of how these drivers handle their cars. Notice how they recover after a spin or a skid, how they bank into their turns, how they guage their distance while passing or shooting through small openings. They are stock car drivers and they know how to handle their racing machines.
Maybe you can pick up some knowledge which will be helpful when you are driving down the highway in your own automobile. But don’t try to emulate any of their racing tactics, leave that for the track where it belongs.
Courtesy of Bridgeport Speedway Program 1955
