Comment:

We all have those iconic cars of our childhood, for many of the visitors to this website, it's an old coupe or a sedan, maybe a falcon or a pinto.  It probably has a 19, a 707, a 76, or maybe even a 292 on the sides.  I wasn't even a thought in my parents' minds during those years.  Being born in 1987, my memories of dirt racing in the northeast are limited at best.  I have been coming to these sites on here for years learning about how great the old tracks were and how awesome the racing of yesteryear was.  My dad took me to our local racetracks at a young age.  I have a picture of a trip to Penn National, sitting atop our old Ford minivan.  I wish I could remember what it was like; unfortunately, I was too young.  What I know of it comes from old Bill Bush racing tapes and pictures on sites like these. 

Most of my childhood was spent at Grandview, watching my uncle, John Durling, wheel a late model on the high banks.  I didn't pay much attention to the "sportsman-modified" class at the time unless my uncle was on the track, but, there was one time that I can recall, when a white #15 modified showed up at the Hill.  The crowd was beside themselves with emotion.  Loud boos or roars, everyone voiced their thoughts when the car pulled around the track during warm-ups.  I asked my dad what was going on and he related to me that the white #15 car out there was Billy "the Kid" Pauch, one of the best drivers in the area. 

I would learn later that Billy would generally only journey to Grandview for special shows or the weeks leading up to shake down the car and prime his setup for the Forrest Rogers or Freedom 76er.  That moment made that car my iconic racecar of my childhood.  Every time I see a photo of it, I am immediately taken back to that moment.-