Local track may be gone but memories still linger (cont'd)

There were special nights when the track owner would schedule a demolition derby or a visit by 700-horsepower, methanol-powered sprint cars, anything to generate a little publicity, and everybody would pray for rain to stay away. There were the days ages ago when some of the biggest names in NASCAR would appear at the track on a weekend that coincided with the closest Cup race, and the likes of Davey Allison and Rusty Wallace would thrill the crowd by taking spins in local cars. Local drivers would ask their superstar brethren for tips on car setup or handling. Legend has it that Dale Earnhardt once spent two hours in the pits chatting and signing autographs. Like the track itself, those days are gone. But no one who was there has forgotten them.

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You could see the end coming, with fewer and fewer people in the grandstands, and fewer and fewer cars in the pit area. Many of the track's former champions were in attendance on the night the place finally shut down; others couldn't bear to be there. Yes, it was only a race track, and an old and rickety one at that. But it was also something of a community touchstone, a place where tactics and passions had been handed down from one grease-stained generation to the next, where plumbers or construction workers or concrete mixers could revel in a little glory every once in a while. Some of the drivers kept on going, packing up their cars like always, but driving two or three hours to find someplace to race. Others just gave it up.

It's a story that, unfortunately, is far from unique. No question there are places where local racing still thrives, hotbeds where thousands pack the grandstands and the competition is strong enough to produce a select few who just might have a chance of getting to the top. And then there's Hialeah Speedway, a facility that had been the breeding ground for Bobby Allison and been in operation since 1954, shutting down a few years ago and leaving South Florida a short-track wasteland. There's historic Stockton 99 Speedway in California, the oldest paved quarter-mile oval west of the Mississippi River until it shut down in 2007. There are those old Truck Series stops, Mesa Marin in Bakersfield, Calif., and Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park, one being turned into a development and the other sitting idle.

And now, it's Manzanita's turn. Phoenix International Raceway, site of Saturday night's Sprint Cup event, might not be the most famous race track in its own city. That title could belong to Manzanita Speedway, a legendary and beloved dirt track that opened in 1951 and saw drivers like Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt grace its Victory Lane. Kurt Busch remembers being there as a kid, watching his dad compete in the dirt nationals. During NASCAR weekends, Tony Stewart would make regular side trips to Manzanita to watch his U.S. Auto Club cars race. It would be difficult to find a NASCAR driver who came from the USAC ranks who doesn't have a soft spot in his heart for Manzanita. Few dirt tracks in America are more revered.

Earlier this month, Manzanita held its final race. The property is being sold, reportedly because of drops in attendance and car count linked to the economy. There are rumors that one day, the owners might build a new facility somewhere else. If so, that would be a better fate than the one that befell my city's local track, whose asphalt was dug up and recycled. The only thing passing over it today are passenger cars.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.