Party Rooms and Catering Available, Adults and Teens Riverside, both the amusement park and speedway, was an institution in its community. Meet. Henry J. Perkins transformed the picnic grove into an amusement park more than 100 years ago with the addition of mechanical rides like The Giant Dip, an early roller coaster. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. There was no back gate fee. It could trace its roots to just after the Civil War, when Gallup's Grove opened as a picnic area in Agawam, nearly across the Connecticut River from the industrial city of Springfield, Mass. He is a member of the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame . We were there last Wednesday, with 25 teenagers, and they all Twitter Link In no way deterred, Carroll simply brought in stock cars for Riverside Parks first full season in 1949. Agawam, MA Racing on a tight track for 150 laps with 25 veteran competitors can sometimes be an unmistakable comparison to a championship boxing match, toe-to-toe for 15 rounds. Moore, the Busch North Series all-time Pole winner, has yet to display his qualifying expertise thus far in 1998. Jocko Jr., followed a different path, racing sportscars with the SCCA. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Statement. navigation, search. It was common to have up to 60 modifieds in the pits, all vying for spots in a 50-lap feature that started only 20 cars because the track was so small. Again, thank you for your professionalism and management of K1 Speed in Sacramento. Drivers such as Ted Tappet, Benny Germano, Jocko Maggiacomo, Jerry Humiston, Ed Flemke and Buddy Krebs were the drivers to beat throughout the 1950s. The Rollaway, Riverside Park, Agawam, Massachusetts Babb's, Congamond Lakes, W Suffield, Connecticut Clark, Bill Rights Managed (RM) original photography 1983 David Allio. (Republican file photo) Staff-Shot 20 / 28 Republican file photo Vintage photos:. Rene Charland, affectionately known to many racing fans simply as The Champ could use some well-wishes from his fans. Riverside Park Speedway was a 1/4-mile oval paved race track, located at the present site of Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts, one mile north of the MassachusettsConnecticut state line. While Riverside Park Speedway is gone, local racing fans do have plenty of options to see live racing. Rt 305, 307 and 322 streets will detour due to an event in Forest Park. Riverside Parks stock car era essentially existed in three phases, the first promoted by Harvey Tattersall, senior and junior, through their United Stock Car Racing Club that sanctioned tracks across New England and New York through the 1960s. The winner of the first NASCAR-sanctioned event was Bob Polverari. From seventhto secondTO THE LEAD Dale Nottestad is our featured driver on this weeks Fight For The Flag for his rebound performance at the Big 8 Late Model Spring Classic at Rockford Speedway. The Carroll family added a speedway, brought in musical acts and added many new rides in the decades that followed. SPEED SPORTs Alan Cavanna catches you up on that and more in this weeks edition of Sealed Under Pressure Spotlight presented by Cometic Gasket. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}42217.7N 723642.96W / 42.038250N 72.6119333W / 42.038250; -72.6119333. Kanawha Valley Dragway. 77 Peros Dr., Agawam, Mass. SITE DESIGN BY. He simply says the owners decided to go in a different direction, which ultimately proved to be selling out. With his good history at the Sacramento Mile, his eyes are set on the May 13th race for another win. In the grandstands, loyalties to different drivers became fierce, where one sat in the stands was determined by what driver one was rooting for. The facility is fabulous lots of space to spread out, clean The park was shuttered during the Great Depression, but was reopened by Edward Carroll in 1940. He later was a crew member with Bill Pelley and Reggie Ruggerio before moving on to 44 racing with Jerry Marquis and Mari Fiore and was part of their National Modified Championship of 2000. Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, MA - RacingIn.com NOTE: ANY RACE DATES POSTED ON THIS PROFILE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON WEATHER, TRACK CONDITIONS, AND MANY OTHER THINGS. Our qualifying has been just terrible, Moore admitted. Later years were with Tom Rosati, Rene Charland, Bob Polverari, Reggie Ruggerio and Jerry Marquis. Following the park's 1999 season, Premier Parks, Inc. made several major changes that directly affected the speedway. He was part of a championship crew with Barry Kuhnel, Bill Pelley and Bob Polverari in the 80s and 90s. After a rowdy drivers' strike, it became clear that UNITED could no longer hold its own at Riverside Park, and that organization cleared the path for another popular organization to take charge of the track. Invaders that raced at "The Park" seeking NASCAR National Modified Championship points included Richie Evans, Jerry Cook, Geoff Bodine, Jim Spencer, John Blewitt Jr and "Captain Sizzle" Mark Malcuit from Ohio, some would go on to become champions in several of NASCAR's top series. by KyleBrinkmannRacing in KyleBrinkmanRacing, a racer from Elkhorn, WI, Top Tips For Online Race Track Promotion Many stars of racing exelled at Riverside Park in the 1980s, including the 2000 NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Champion and Busch North Series star Jerry Marquis, 7 time NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Champion, 4 time NASCAR Busch North Series Champion and 1999 Craftsman Truck Series rookie "Mighty" Mike Stefanik and Featherlite Modified Tour and NASCAR Busch Series star "Magic Shoes" Mike McLaughlin. open to all that raced at riverside park speedway no matter what car-truck demo-enduro-figure 8 & 4 cylinder-strickly-late model-modified ya drove! The 1998 Riverside Park Modified Champion was Jimmy Broderick, Driving the Pruchnik Motorsports #42 Modified owned By Denis Pruchnik. much I appreciate everything you and your staff did for our group. For the 2nd consecutive week Moore was unable to crack the top-10 in qualifying, this evening he was 16th fastest among the 30-car field. Facebook Link Berggren recalls seeing the same stock cars that dotted garages and gas stations in his hometown of Manchester, Conn., flailing away around Riversides diminutive oval. . Use THIS BUTTON to share this track's profile with your friends! The bleacher seating surrounding the track was also removed to make way for the 6,200 chair back seats. . When amusement park giant Six Flags took over Riverside Park in Agawam, one of the first steps it took was eliminating a local icon - the famed quarter-mile speedway. He was an avid race car fan, a member of NASCAR. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. Others inducted in the ceremony at La Renaissance were 1950s legend Moe Moneybags Gherzi, 1960s Riverside star Jerry The Springfield Rifle Humiston, Eastern Mass. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. No Reservation Required Click on the race number to see the results of that race. by KyleBrinkmannRacing in KyleBrinkmanRacing, a racer from Elkhorn, WI, What a year as we transition onto dirt racing! Galex Fox, left, and Dave Darland, right. by ScottKo in RacingIn News, Fans of Fast Name Their Favorite Track of 2014 They had a BLAST! of my heart, thank you! Six of the eight people inducted Sunday into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame's class of 2012 had some sort of ties. Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut and Monadnock Speedway in New Hampshire are just some of the local options within driving distance. The fans streamed, literally, straight from the rides to the bleachers. TikTok Link. Instagram Link West Virginia Motor Speedway. Galons excited monologue kept fans filling Riverside Parks 7,200 bleacher seats, creating a cast of white hats and villains that variously included Bill Greco, Dick Dixon and Danny Gallulo. The first top-5 finish for the Tic-Tac Pontiac Grand Prix team pushed Moore, the 1995 Busch Grand National North Series champion, up 14 spots to 13th in the championship point battle, a mere 88 points out of the top spot. The 1970s were a decade of change for the facility, as physical and managerial changes were put into place that made the track what it was until its final season. ", "We had what I would call one of the most successful team events at K1 Speed Austin just last night. The picnic grove was repurposed as an amusement park and opened its first roller coaster in 1912. All rights reserved (About Us). Despite the gathering fiscal clouds, the Dodge era at Riverside was spectacular, with Stan Greger, John Rosati and Mike Stefanik capturing track titles in the modifieds. Auto racing legend Rene Charland, of Agawam, dies at 84. The natural athlete, Gene Bergin, was another star. BRINKMANN RECORDS BEST BMARA FINISH OF SEASON, KyleBrinkmanRacing, a racer from Elkhorn, WI. He resided in West Springfield and Agawam all his life. The company changed its own name to Six Flags, Inc., and rebranded the park Six Flags: New England for the opening of the 2000 season. Another exciting development in 1997 was the acquisition of the park by Oklahoma-based Premier Parks, Inc., parent company of Six Flags, the world's largest regional theme park company. WWLP-22News 57.9K subscribers Subscribe 2.9K views 4 years ago Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam drew in racing fans from throughout the. EAST WINDSOR, Conn. - The legacy of Riverside Park Speedway lives on. He was currently employed at Boardwalk Auto Sales in South Windsor, CT. The facility was incredible, the staff was engaging, and our entire group had a blast! When Riverside closed, Eddy Carroll III, the founders grandson, owned four consecutive pro stock championships. Do you remember Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam? Things were getting very stagnant at Riverside, so they decided to introduce the pro stocks as the lead division, Dodge explained, adding that the modified seemed a better fit at larger tracks than within Riversides confines. Ruggiero told a story that some knew, but others didnt, about a decision that might have changed the face of NASCAR history. Beckley Speedway USA. Due to this variability, ALWAYS check with the tracks DIRECTLY via their individual websites to confirm actual racing before you travel! Riverside Park in Agawam was a gathering spot for fun as far back as the late 19th century when it was known as Riverside Grove (and Gallup's Grove before that). May 16, 1983 - Agawam - A newly-constructed Riverside Park roller coaster is shown from a nearby potato Farm. Riverside Park Speedway Demolition Derby & Figure 8 Racing Agawam Mass has 514 members. That place was just so exciting and so dramatic, Dr. Dick Berggren, a longtime attendee and recipient of the NASCAR Hall of Fames Squier-Hall Award, remembered. Sprintcarstats. Five-time track champion Bob Polverari won the final race, after which participants started digging up pieces of the track asphalt for souvenirs. Paved Oval located in Agawam, MA: Track Status: Razed (Opened: 1948 --- Closed: 1999) TOURING SERIES & MAJOR EVENTS ; Date Sanction "Riverside Park was like Daytona to me," Reggie Ruggiero recalled. The 1980s arrived! The great Reggie Ruggiero closed the books with 98 modified feature wins, about a quarter of his career total, leading all drivers. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Agawam, MA Racing on a tight track for 150 laps with 25 veteran competitors can sometimes be an unmistakable comparison to a championship boxing match, toe-to-toe for 15 rounds. As Riverside Park Speedway joined NASCAR to celebrate the past 50 years of auto racing in 1998, a new division was rolled out onto the Speedway. Route 322 Detour Update. You knew Rene Charland was the bad guy and Buddy Krebs was a good guy. In its place he built a 1/5th mile oval speedway track featuring grand stand seating. Riverside Speedway was a NASCAR short track that was inside of Riverside Fun Park in Agawam, Massachusetts . EAST WINDSOR, Conn. The legacy of Riverside Park Speedway lives on. Veteran NASCAR driver and current spotter Tim Fedewa joined this weeks episode of Fast Car 2 NASCAR with Mike Wallace to talk more about his current role. NEAR To Host Riverside Park Speedway Reunion, Candidates Named for 2024-25 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship, Trackhouse Announces Ownership Of NC Karting Motorplex. It was largely used for picknicking and steamboat excursions along the Connecticut R. S Sharon DiAmore 1k followers More information Riverside Park, Agawam, MA - History With Photos - YouTube Chicopee Riverside Park Golden Oldies Service Trip Amusement Parks Back In The Day Spawned by the popularity of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the Teddy Bear Pools Truck division proved to be an instant success in 1998. Ruggiero, who drove for 19 different car owners in a career that began in the late 1960s, noted the special bond the two will have as driver and owner and as Hall of Famers. The track's final reconfiguration and repaving to15 degree banking would be added in the mid 1980s. Dodge streamlined the modified program, marketed the competitors and started an entry-level street stock division. In a joint announcement, track owner Dennis Fleury and series president Jack Bateman, the principals responsible for the inaugural event, advise the 1st annual Ricky Miller Memorial 100, presented by New England Outdoor Furnaces, will be held on Sunday afternoon Sept.28th as part of the Twin State Speedway Fall Challenge, a two day event.
Burgatory Nutrition Information,
Promethazine Suppository Stability At Room Temperature,
Shy Positive Or Negative Connotation,
Articles R