T'was the week before Christmas -
And all through the State

The Speedways were suffering -
A terrible fate

Flemington's gone, and Windsor, boo hoo -
And Old Bridge and Vineland, and Alcyon, too

The Coupes and the coaches -
All nestled in scrap

The whole Modified scene -
Has turned into crap

In the 60s you got -
A Thousand to win

In a car that you had -
Maybe five thousand in

Now car, backup car, truck - trailer, equipment too -
A hundred grand is easy for a guy to go through

Today, if you win the feature, you win three grand -
In the sixties your five grand investment put a thousand in hand

Back then we used to run three nights a week -
Now all tracks run Saturday, you can't make ends meet

And what about drivers?  Where are the new stars?
Are there actually people inside of those cars?

Where are McLaughlin, and Olsen, and Tas?
And Schneider, and Opperman, the guys on the gas

Sure we've got Horton, Pouch, and Brightbill -
But when they retire who'll be stars? tell me, who will?

I watched Mel Kenyon and Sleepy Tripp battle to win -
In USAC Midgets , I'll see nothing like that again.

I hope Santa has loaded in the back of his sleigh -
The racing we loved so much, back in the day

Uniforms weren't needed, just handling and speed -
Things were simple, a seat belt was all you would need

You climbed in your chariot, in T-Shirt and jeans -
and drove your heart out, that's what racing means

Fly down the straights, tachometer pinned -
Pump the brakes at the corner , set the car, throw it in

Ahhh those were the days, my friend -
We thought they'd never end.

But, end they have, I am sorry to say -
Time and rules have taken them away.

Garages all around were scratch building cars for next year -
Now they're putting together Bicknell kits , oh dear

Well, a lot of the magic, and fun may be missing from history -
But when those Big Blocks fly around Bridgeport it's still a great sight to see!

Cemeteryjim