"Wall Memories"

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Many of the visitors of the Vault have expressed an interest in posting some of their favorite memories of Wall Stadium, so please send yours in and we'll see to it that they are posted!


Click Here for a Few More Wall "Photo" Memories


Your "Wall Memories"


Skip T  06.17.19

Wonder who remembers the checkerboard #88. Skip ran a couple of years with Joe Liquori as crew chief. There were only 2 of us. Never won, but always put on a good show. Came in 5th one night, mainly because only 5 cars finished the race...


Cathie Shultz  07.18.15

Many thanks to you Charlie Lindmar, for adding a lot of information about my father, Richie Hall. I had no idea about any of what you posted. I can't wait to read it to him. He'll be touched to know he's remembered by a fan!


Charlie Lindmar  09.08.14

(Note to Cathy Shultz from post below):  
In 1953 Richie Hall was 37th in  Nascar National Modifed point standings, out of 547 competitors in that division.  He finished ahead of many of the big name racers that year including Wall stadium stars Al Pomponio, George Tet and 1954 Nascar mod champ Jack Choquette. Wall stadium records show Richie with 11 top ten finishes in the 1950 season.  He really knew his way around Walls treacherous high banks!


Cathie Shultz   09.04.14

I was less than a year old when my dad, Richie Hall, won the Mid-Season Championship 50-lap race at Wall Stadium in 1953. I have a few pictures, an article from a local Toms River paper, and, most importantly, his memories. His pictures, trophies and scrapbook were stolen many years ago. He and his brother Bill raced at local NJ stadiums, as well as Wilmington, DE and Langhorne, PA. From pictures I can tell that he drove cars #s 0-1 & 103, owned by Herschel Truex. Later on he also drove #600 which he co-owned with Milt Wortleman and was sponsored by Billings Brothers Auto Parts Shop on Water Street in Toms River. As for Uncle Bill, he drove #77.  There may have been others I'm unaware of.

 The best story for me is the fact that at one of the NJ tracks, Dad talked my mother, Joan, into driving in a women's race. She was terrified, but figured she'd rather face her fear than his disappointment if she didn't win. So she drove through her terror (car #o61) and did win. Needless to say, that was a one-time-only event as far as she was concerned!

I've been enjoying reading everyone's memories of Wall Stadium. They are filling in so much of the little I know. Thank you for your site and to all who participate!


Michael J. Conner   09.07.10

  • What a sad chain of events, the closing of Wall several years ago, then the surprise re-opening of wall in 2009. I remember going to wall with my brothers, spending a Saturday night with them and having a great time. How ironic in 2010 my brother Jim Conner was killed by a falling tree in front of his house, and now in 2010 Wall Stadium is killed as well. I know I can never bring my brother back but only hope that some thing, some how, some way will bring back Wall Stadium. Every evening that I spent at Wall this year was in a sense a tribute to my brother. Fond memories, clean fun, a family place to enjoy a night together.


Tony C  11.29.09

  • I just found your site and found it very interesting, especially reading letters form other fans. I was at Wall on opening night. I have no idea who won, however I had a great time and have continued to go ever since then. I remember two cars going over the wall in turn three one night, when this had never happened before. Such great races with such great drivers as Ray Evernham, Jamie Tomaino, the Truex's, and who could forget Parker Bohn among many others.
     

  • I did not see anything about the track in Long Branch in the NJ listings of tracks. I was also there on opening night.  I was about ten at the time. We were hanging on the fence when a cop came along and told us we could not hang on the fence. he said come along with me. We thought we were in trouble but we came to a hole under the fence and he let us go under the fence. He said he was told not to let anyone hang on the fence but was not told not to let anyone go under the fence. The track was dirt and after a few laps a dust cloud developed and obscured the back stretch. The wind was coming off the ocean and drove all the people hanging out their windows on the back stretch to close their windows and stay inside. The dust was going into the downtown area. After a few weeks racing, the city told the operators either pave the track or close. So the track got paved. I do nor recall when the track closed but we spent many summer nights at the Long Branch Stadium. I remember two drivers off hand . Schneider and Campbell.

  • I believe they also raced at Wall. I do hope that the new owners of Wall will keep the track and not turn it in to another housing complex.


Karl Mondschein  03/16/08

  • How magical was it when we'd get there in line for the pits, we'd have to go to the stands with "ladies passes" but on the way walking over the sandy colored stone parking lot we'd stop at each trailer, car carrier, or tow barred car and study every inch. The shear size of the right rear was astonishing!

  • How magical was it when we'd go there as kids and sit down towards the first turn low...watch those "asphalt stocks" roll past.

  • It was so magic to us as kids that when we would play with our awesome Hot wheels collection (hand painted to match our hero's) that the drivers to beat were often names like Parker Bohn, or Tommy Elliot.

  • How magic was it when I actually got to race at that track and how I remember coming down the pit road and onto the banking for the very first time and knew I was living a dream.

Thanks for being such a wonderful part of my life.
RIP Wall .  We've lost an old friend.
Karl Mondschein


Glenn Robinson    06/04/07

  • I haven't lived in New Jersey since the mid '60s, but as kids we spent many hot summer nights in the '50s and early '60s at Wall Stadium. At one time, we lived in Carmerville and could hear the races from there, and it seems like we could even hear them from Allenwood when we moved there. I guess those places weren't as far away from each other as it seemed like they were at the time.

  • I'll never forget seeing the photographers selling 8X10 black and white glossies off the back walls of their booths at the base of the grandstands. Or the signs out by the highway with the flashing arrows pointing toward the parking lot. Or my father buying us a small plastic stock car with the wheels held on by the axle being melted slightly.

  • Parker Bohn was our favorite driver, with the GMC straight six. I know he drove the 659, but didn't he also drive the red, white, and blue #52 before that? If that wasn't Parker, who was it, anybody know? Man that was a long time ago!

  • My father worked for the county road department in the early '50s, and told us that he and his crew built the fence around the track. I remember it being built with thick wooden posts and rails, and being painted white.

  • My uncle was Roy Van Brunt, and I think he drove the 666 in the '50s. He had a trophy with the car upside down. I think he set a record for the most time spent in a car while upside-down.

    Thanks for the memories!
    Glenn Robinson
    Lagro, Indiana


BILLTO74    05/25/07

  • I used to live in manchester nj and now live in texas. from the time i was 4 in 1978 every friday and Saturday till 1993 was spent at new egypt or wall and racing go carts in 85.86 with john blewett III.one big thing at wall was going into the pits after the race and being a big gil hearne fan he would put me in the car.witch was fun for a 9 year old.looking at this sight brings back memories for me and my dad who was going in the 60s.  thanks for listening.


Jerry H    03/18/07

  • Lost my 1st hero at Wall over the weekend/Tommy Comerford/who that was there that nite could ever forget his win over gil hearne in the burge #57 firebird?


Ralph Jones  02/15/07 

  • Spent many a nite dodging cars in the infield at wall a very dangerous place for a photographer and I spent 15 years there. 

  • I have a set of photos that not tooo many have because I took them Good old Hollywood ray everham his first feature wins in modern stocks at the time sportsman now mad and finally modified when he won that race he ran away with the starters checkered flag and they had to run him down. I also saw him in what could have been the worst day of his life I shot all the photos at martinsville in the wreck with tony siscone his chances of dying in that accident were far worse than tonys the only thng that made tonys worse were he took his fireproof gloves off I had shots of ray getting out of the car with fire roaring off his back before aid arrived I was on the tower on the frontstreach and the wreck happened coming out of turn 2 and you could feel the heat from there. Ray is a very smart buisnesman but I still think he could outdrive some of his drivers now.

  • I saw some very earth shattering things at the wall it was always exciting to see racing there in any division Vinny green flipped twice in his cereer and I have both on film. One photo I took I always thought would be worth something someday never did happen

  • Wally Dallenbach jr I have his first and only win at wall it was a heat race and that was the best his oval career got going who would have known.

  • Went last season and see now they paved the infield man that is a great thing when it was grass the cars would pick up speed and you could never keep your eyes off your back saw some great batttles from my spot in the turn Gil and Charlie, Tony and Jamie, and a friend Paul the Bear farrar winning street stock races with a mopar week after week and all the other guys crying.

  • Some of the things I would have loved to see would have been John blewitt jr run against his sons would be fun to see Jamie and Eddie bohn and johnny all run there kids the same nite and impossible but tom michals race his son dave in equal cars.

  • well could go on and on but enough for now see ya

    RALPH JONES The Caveman


Thom    10/01/06

  • Some of my memories are of Charlie Kremer's photo finish with Don Stives, his (Charlie's) vicious hit, in '82, with his three week old Troyer car, and his first win after that in the Whale's #28, that car was wicked fast.

  • Jimmy Spencer giving Jamie Tomaino a mirror driving lesson, and winning, the Garden State Classic.

  • Two certain wins for Richie Evans in the Turkey Derby being taken,one by a flat left rear after dominating, and being "dumped" by John Blewett in another.

  • Jim Hendrickson "cruising" around the high banks with one hand on the wheel.

  • Tom McCann winning more prize money than the "winner" in the Turkey Derby, I don't even remember who won, by leading all but five or six laps and having the battery go bad.

  • The immaculate cars of Tom Durkin, Dick Barney and Anthony Ferrante.

  • I haven't been to Wall in many years, John Blewett III drove an orange 61 to victory that night, but I'll always remember being there as a kid and the thrills I got from watching the LEGENDS of modified racing at one of the coolest tracks I've been to.

    Thom, Greensboro, NC


Josephine    09/22/06

  • My dad really enjoyed finishing his racing career at Wall.  He always though the fans treated him great for an out state driver.    My greatest memories was that my dad won two turkey in a row and almost a third won but a lap car held us up.

    (Josephine is the daughter in law of "Gentleman Jim" Hendrickson Sr., driver of the #X3.)


Eric Paris    09/12/06

  • For a kid born in New York and moved to Northern New Jersey, a Saturday night trip to Wall Stadium in the 1960s was a true adventure. The trip on the Garden State Parkway, where my father took his 1954 Lincoln to 120 only once and 90 many times, the illegal U turn after the exit off ramp, the entrance sign with the neon stock cars, the gravel parking lot and the run to the chicken coop style ticket window to catch as much of the action as possible, were all part of the experience.
  • There aren’t many things that would make a skinny kid forget about sitting on splintery planks passing as seats for four hours, but an evening of races was certainly one of them. We never seemed to see the qualifying, so we never knew who made the races. Instead, mechanical monsters would emerge from the shadows and drop down onto the track.
  • Short races on short tracks were great. You got a variety of divisions with heats for each division. While some people like one long race on a long track, seeing all the action is an experience that cannot be duplicated. You didn’t just see the races, you felt them. There were always spinouts and accidents, but fortunately, no one seemed to get hurt. We got excitement without guilt.
  • Some say corporate sponsorship has been great for racing. I don’t agree. We saw drivers who drove for the adventure of racing, not the big bucks. The cars were battle scarred veterans, not perfectly painted mobile billboards. You didn’t just root for the drivers, you rooted for the cars, whether it was Parker Bohn’s 659, Stan Van Brunt’s 261 or my favorite, the XL-1. If there were two cars with the same numbers an A or X was quickly painted on a door. We even saw cars without numbers, like the Chain Link -or the A-OK. Everything had character-the drivers, the cars and the tracks.
  • I regret the big money. A big race is now a three hour commercial. Drivers make sure to plug every one of their sponsors-or else. And drivers are so intent on making the big time, local tracks are dying from lack of entries.
  • While NASCAR fans get to go home after a race, we got to go into the pits, look at the cars close up and see the drivers. Sometimes, we would even see a driver or two at Howard Johnson’s on the way home. They were tired and many had a race the next day, but they always had a friendly word for the fans.
  • Millions of NASCAR fans enjoy what superspeedway racing has become. Personally, I will always prefer the local tracks. It was our racing.

Bob Krollage 67 Modified 5/22/06

  • I used to tow down to wall from Queens N.Y.  I ran the #67, a 37 Chevy coupe modified.  We were from the same area of Queens as Frank Ariano owner of the 8x that Don Stives was driving at the time.  We were good friends with Frank and the crew of the 8x.  One night I bet Frank that I could get around the 8x during the heat race.  About 6 laps into the race, after starting last I was able to pull alongside the 8x going into turn 3.  Just as I got next to Don, a car came out of the infield (Bill Brice?) and into the left side of the 8x sending him into me.  I rode up over his right rear and went about 20 feet up in the air and cliped a pole that was between 3& 4.   Almost made it over the fence.   When the car finally stopped, I was on the exit of turn 4.  The car was so bent only 1 wheel was on the ground!!!  A bunch of guys in the pits actually picked the car up and put it on my truck!!!  I lost the bet with Frank also.  I was on the track about 5 cars behind Vinney Green's accident also. That was one to remember!!!


Rob Finger  Westminster, Colorado  12/6/05

  • Hello - I just discovered your site on Saturday. Great stuff. I was just a little kid the last time I saw a race on the east coast, but many of the names were recognizable to me from reading aarn and hearing my dads stories growing up. Before I even finished looking at your site I called my dad and asked him to bring over his photos. There isn't much left, but I have a few pictures that I would love to see added to your site. My dads name is Bob Finger, and Wall Stadium was his home track. He raced there starting in late 1962 through the mid seventies. A couple of the photos are 'official' photos from a wreck at Wall that nearly killed him.

  • As an interesting side note, on Saturday my dad told me about one of his most memorable nights at Wall Stadium. It was the Wednesday night before the big race in Trenton when Bobby Allison was in town. I was browsing your site again later on Saturday and came across the Allison photo from that night at Wall and read the attached stories. My dad remembers giving Allison a good race that night, and he thinks he finished fourth behind Allison. I'm wondering if someone might have stats available somewhere to confirm this. Also, my dad thought that a guy named Bill McCarthy won that race, but the notes on your site list someone else as the winner. This is all probably more than you want to know, but I thought I would ask on the off chance that there is an easy way to reclaim some of my dads history that has been lost to time.

  • My dad doesn't use the internet, and we didn't have time to look at your site together yet, but I know he will really enjoy it when he sees it.

        Rob Finger


Jerry Hart   09/08/05 

  • (To bob stives)/great recollection of racing memories!  met your dad a cpl of times at what useded to be kieffers? just up the track in in mid-late 70s/saw him about 3yrs ago at what now is mulligans-recognized him sitting next to lenny boyd! the guys/even though he was your dad appriciate the fact you remember certain details/racing/etc-bent your dads ears for about 2hrs-he got a kick when i rememberd him driving the 8x w/the bent pony wheel almost holding the (dreaded) only kidding gil hearne off for a while/ps i guess that was your mom w/him-told him about this site!

Bob Stives 8/28/05 

  • Wall Stadium always had an atmosphere of its own. It must have had something to do with being in such close proximity to the Jersey shore. From the 50’s to early 70’s most of the drivers and cars came from the many small towns close by like Neptune, Howell, Red Bank, Freehold, and so on. Jack Hart was practically from a foreign country, Conshohocken, PA!
  • I bought toy stockcars there as a boy, and later got to race real ones in the Sportsman Division. As a result, I have many memories of Wall Stadium. It looks like yet another piece of my childhood will become a victim of the bulldozer blade this fall.
  • 1963 season. My dad was driving the Johnny Norcia/George Shron(sp?) 81. The last of the flatheads were running then in the Novice Division.
  • The 81 was a Sportsman car powered by a 292 Ford. The car was light and simple. The rules then were that the Sportsman cars were limited to 330 cubic inches and one carburetor. They would run with the modifieds, but start in the front since they were "disadvantaged."
  • The 81 would jump ahead of the rest of the Sportsman cars early in the feature. By the time the big heavy modifieds got through the Sportsman cars and caught up to the 81, the checkered flag was waving. Even when they pulled alongside, the 81 would out handle them in the turns. The rules were subsequently changed the following year.
  • Sometimes my grandparents would come to watch the races. My grandmother would pack a picnic basket. Eating Grandmother’s homemade apple pie while watching your dad win races, it doesn’t get much better than that for a nine-year-old boy.
  • I also saw one of the worst wrecks my dad ever had that year. The 81 had broken something in the driveline coming off turn four. Stuck on the outside by some other cars, dad had no choice but to coast up near the fence. Jim Hoffman came off the fourth turn wide open in the #11. By the time he realized the 81 was almost stopped, it was too late. Jim had nowhere to go. He slammed into the back of the 81, leaving his front wheels and axle right on the track where they stopped. The 11 flipped over the 81 skidding backwards and on its roof into the infield.
  • The ambulance was called for, but later waived off. Both drivers were OK, but it was a very sobering few moments.
  • Who could forget the car-length flame that the #659 of Parker Bohn would belch out when he backed off to go into the turns? The #659 coupe was a one-of-a-kind racecar. The Tom Skinner GMC was the only inline six cylinder in the field, but it was very competitive. I always thought Parker was going to set the other cars in fire if they got too close behind him.
  • 1964 season. Dad was still in the 81, but rule changes made the year tougher. The car was painted solid gold instead of the trademark gold and black Black Horse Racing made legendary.
  • There was one race that year where the 81 still had an advantage, The Garden State Classic. It was a non-stop, 300-lap race then. The 81 made the 100-mile distance on the required 22 gallons of gas easily. Most of the modifieds could not. Dad won the Classic that year for the first time. For some reason, I didn’t go to that race. I found out about it the following Sunday morning from my friend’s father who read about it the newspaper. I was sorry I missed that one.
  • 1971 season. Driving the Dick Barney #14 Dad won the modified track championship.
  • 1974 season. What a year! Dad drove the #66 Pinto for Don Cramner(sp?). The car was built by Freeman Treadway, and the engine was built by Ron Buck. Freeman was a little behind schedule, so they had to wait for the car to get finished. This was several weeks after the season had already started.
  • The first night the car ever touched the track, the first time dad ever saw or drove the car, he finished third in the feature. New cars had to start in the back for three weeks, too!
  • When it came time for the 1974 Garden State Classic, the track was open the Wednesday before for practice. The crew wanted to try a "race gear" that was 10 points higher ratio than the gear they were going to use to qualify. The car ran faster with the higher gear, so they left it in.
  • The night of the race the 66 crew never lifted the hood of the car. Dad took his time trial, and bent the gas pedal setting a new one-lap track record. He led the race from flag to flag even though he lost the brakes around lap 140. It was his finest single-night performance ever!
  • As far as I know this was the last year the Classic was a non-stop, 300 lap, event at Wall. In that case, my Dad will forever remain the only driver to ever win it twice. Corrections gladly accepted.
  • 1975 Turkey Derby. I had been driving the old Siscone/Ruberti sedan for Steve Martin on dirt at East Windsor the end of the 1975 season. Steve wanted to run the car at the Turkey Derby that year at Wall.
  • The dilemma we had was that the car was set up to run on alcohol which was not permitted at Wall Stadium. We were afraid the car would run hot on gasoline. We decided to take our chances running alcohol. Another driver complained the fumes were burning his eyes, and Tom O’Rourk caught us. Somebody loaned us a gas carburetor, but the car overheated almost immediately.
  • 1976 season. No more dreaming! I was doing it! I had landed a steady ride driving the former Pete Cobb Gremlin sportsman car for Steve Martin.
  • My father was a master of two things at Wall Stadium. One was a fast lap time. The other was how to avoid a lot of wrecks. He gave instructions to me on both of those things in a few short paragraphs.
  • Racing at the same place and time with my dad was a lifetime ambition. I enjoyed using what I learned from him, and talking about racing as teacher and student. As father and son things went, it was our finest hour.
  • Gil Hearne pulled me aside one night, and told me they were ribbing my dad about my driving. It was the highest compliment I ever received from another driver.
  • After two heat race wins, one with veteran Parker Bohn banging on the back bumper, I thought a Sportsman feature win was just around the corner. I was wrong.
  • Steve Martin was a good guy and a good friend. He was also a bachelor with a full-time job. That left little time to work on the racecar. I helped out some, and many nights we were up to 2:00 AM with both of us having to go to work the next day.
  • The car was plagued with mechanical problems. One of those was that it would not idle after it got hot. This caused serious problems on restarts. Steve thought it was vapor lock, so he installed a steel fuel line with cooling fins on it.
  • The line popped loose during the feature. Gasoline was pumping out directly onto the top of the hot engine. I first noticed the fire under the hood just about the time we crossed in front of the flag stand. Thank God I was on the inside!
  • I knew from years of watching races at Wall Stadium there were fire extinguishers in each corner of the infield. I figured if I could get the car near one, somebody would be able to grab an extinguisher to help me. That was the last rational thought I would have for the next few minutes.
  • I got the car down on the grass midway through turn four, but the flames were licking my right side. It was getting real hot. I tried to get out first without undoing the belts. It didn’t take long to figure out that wasn’t going to work. I flipped the seat belt lever, climbed up on the side window, and pushed off as hard as I could to clear the car which was still chug-a-lugging in high gear from the gas left in the carburetor. I rolled on the grass in case I was on fire, but a guy from the track crew grabbed me, and told me I was not.
  • They stood me up in the infield, and had me hold up my hands to signal I was basically OK. The cheer from the thousands of Wall Stadium fans was the greatest sound I had ever heard in my life.
  • Years later I realized something. The vantage point my dad was watching from, the Wall Stadium pit area, did not allow him to see me bail out.
  • I took a week off to let my right leg heal up a bit while Steve worked on getting the car back together. He swapped the leaf springs for coils. The next time I drove the car, I couldn’t hang on to it. After a string of DNF’s, we now had a DNQ. I decided to look for another ride.
  • Harry and Johnny Megill let me drive the #83 sportsman sedan. It was one of the best looking sportsman cars to ever run at Wall. It was an honor to drive the car, especially since Johnny did such good job driving himself.
  • I wasn’t used to the car, and I was afraid of bending it up (even though I did scratch it a little). As a result, I didn’t qualify for the feature. The next weekend, I was 900 miles away to be back in school at Murray State University.
  • 1977 to 1979. I drove one more sportsman car at Wall after the 1976 season. The car was heavy, and handled terribly. When I had trouble getting around a Modern Stock in the warm-ups (probably Ray Evernham), I knew this car wasn’t going to work either.
  • The owners asked me for suggestions. I gave them some recommendations, but none of the work had been done when they brought the car back the next week. I needed a better ride.
  • Finally, I decided the only way to get into the kind of car I wanted was to have my own. My dad was driving the 8X for Frank Ariano at the time, and I knew Frank had a mostly completed car they decided not to use. I made a deal with Frank to buy the unfinished Pinto without an engine for $2,500.00.
  • Not only did the problems continue, they were about to become insurmountable. First of all, $2,500.00 was about all the money I had. There was no place to work on a car, nothing to tow it on or with, and of course, no engine.
  • When it became apparent I was not going to be able to overcome the obstacles, I gave up. The dream was over!
  • Soon after, Eddie Bohn, with the help of his dad and Tom Skinner, made his debut in the sportsman ranks at Wall Stadium in his own car. The quality of the car and the desire to drive that comes from being a driver’s son made him successful right away. Later that same year, Parker and Eddie shared feature wins in the Modified and Sportsman divisions on the same Saturday night.
  • I know they will remember that night all their lives. It was a glimpse of what I had wanted for my dad and me, but that would never come to pass.
  • After this year, there will be no souvenir stand for little boys to buy toy racecars and no track for big boys to drive real ones as we say goodbye to Wall Stadium forever.

            Bob Stives 8/28/05 


Dale & Fred Verga    03/31/05

My wife and I were regulars at Wall from the 60's well into the late 70's. We were and still live in North Jersey and we made the trip every Saturday night. To us every Saturday night was " Wall Night". Back in those day's it was good clean fun and excitement. The fans, drivers, and all the people of Wall Stadium gave it there best to have a good old time Saturday Night. We brought many of our friends there and there friends in turn brought there friends.

A few years ago I took a ride there during the winter and went to look at the track. It was like I was brought back in time. I looked at the track and could hear the roar of the engine, smell of the rubber burning, the gas fumes burning my eyes and even hear the cheers of the crowd as our favorite drivers came down the chute on turn 4 coming out on the track. Wow what memories it brought back that December day. As I turned away I could remember the all the cars speeding out to get to the Parkway to get back home.

I must admit my favorite driver was Parker Bohn with Charlie Kremer a close second. That great white 659 of Parker Bohn and the 77 of Charlie Kremer. We all waited for Pete La Vance to drop the flag to get it all going. One had to admire Pete's patience with the Novice Division at times when they would not get lined up or when they did and then on the next lap there would be an accident and he would have to go through it all again.

Please except this note not only of memories that I have but also a " Thank You" to all the drivers and pit crews along with the management at Wall that gave us the Greatest Saturday night's of all time.

So in closing I would like to say to Parker Bohn, Charlie Kremer, Dave Hulse, Joe Kelly, Pete La Vance, Jim Hoffman, Pete Frazee, Gil Hearne, Joe Severage, Tommie Elliot and all the other drivers, many thanks guy's for all the fun that you gave to us. You guy's were a "class show of sportsmanship never to be forgotten.

PS- I still have a program from 1971 that was 35 cents at the time


Mark Walling   01/12/04   High Point, NC

  • Jim Hoffman finishing second to Jim Hendrickson at an All-Star race in the 70's.

  • Jim Hoffman winning the 300 lap Garden State Classic in his Chevy coupe.

  • The night Sandy Riddle jumped the first turn wall in his qualifying race.

  • I think it was the same night that Dave Hulse?? tumbled down the entire back stretch.

  • ANY night in the fall when Richie Evans or Charlie Jarzombeck showed up. Now you can discuss my least favorite Martinsville memories.   


Jerry H    12/27/04

Hey Markie Mopar/was there then!   Almost every feature that car was strong for the 1st few laps - always wondered what that car might have done just once w/new tires (instead of buying 6 week old take offs)


Markie Mopar    12/24/04

How about all the nights Rick Sendzick would keep that old #6 in front of all those Troyer cars for 5 or 6 laps in the modified feature?


Donald Worth    12/11/04

  • Gil Hearne winning the Garden State Classic 300 after John Blewett Jr loses a transmission with a few laps to go.

  • Sandy Riddles turn 1 accident

  • The pristine GMC 659 of Parker Bohn

  • Charlie Kremer Jr did an appearance with his sedan at I believe the Monmouth Mall prior to a race in the 70's.   Remember visiting his shop in Toms River as a child.

  • Gil Hearne's wire to wire win in the Garden State Classic.  Started outside pole of Drew Dalva.

  • Gil Hearne driving the black Jim Soucie #17.    No wins that season broke his consecutive season win streak.

  • The nicknames, Hollywood Ray Evernham,   Galloping Gil Hearne, Jungle John Blewett Jr, Tony "The Tiger" Siscone "The Racing School Teacher", Chargin' Charlie Kremer Jr., Jamie "The Jet" Tomaino.

  • My greatest memory, (as a fan of Gil Hearne, my childhood idol), I would walk outside the pits along the fence line.   In hand Iwould have pics I drew and notes I had written.  I would ask any available person to get Gil Hearne to come to the fence.  When he did, as he always did, I would give him my drawings and notes.   I was about 8 yrs old.   Many years later I met MaryLou Gravatt at a show at the Seaview Square Mall.   I spoke with her in length about my memories of Gil.  I was contacted by MaryLou not long after.    She had spoke to Gil and he remembered me.   Gil also supplied her with a copy of a note of a drawing I had given to him.   He had saved them for a scrapbook over the years.   This was nearly 25 years after I had given them to him.   Imagine the feeling I had that this local track driver saved these from a kid he didn't even know but a kid who was and to this day is his biggest fan.    Nobody was better than Gil Hearne.


Charlie Santilli Jr.  (long time Crew member #659)    11/17/04

  • August 11th, 1967: Skinner's 659 Coupe won the Trenton Qualifier at Wall Stadium beating Don House's XL-1 with Tommy Elliot behind the wheel. Parker Bohn was incredible at passing from the rear of the field.

  • 1984- Tony Siscone's return to Wall Stadium after severe burns at Martinsville, VA the fall before.

  • 1973- 5th Sportsman's Championship for Parker Bohn/Tom Skinner in the 659.

  • 1992- How about Charlie Kremer Jr. in Skinner's 659 Cavalier. Charlie started the feature in the rear, and in 10 laps was going for the lead in a brand new back up car for Eddie Bohn. Unfortunately an inline fuel filter caused the new 659 to drop out of the race.

  • 1961-present- The continued marriage between Parker Bohn and Tom Skinner, first as a driver/car owner, and now still working together as a team changing tires at Wall Stadium.


Jerry H

  • Remember Dick Dunn from CT flipping a capri in the 75/76? turkey derby (#3)?  Also Jim Tyler who ran Freeport and islip in the mid-late 70sin the #08. 

  • How about Bob Shultz who ran at Wall in the early 70's in a blue #9 Vega.

  • Hank (Deadly) Dudley ran ran wall early 70s orange vega


Sandy and Audrey

WOULD LIKE MORE INFO & POSSIBLE PICTURE OF, "SANDY RIDDLE'S CORVAIR HIT THE FIRST TURN FENCE", ETC THAT IS POSTED ON YOUR WEB SITE, OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU MAY HAVE ON HIS RACING CAREER.  If anyone has info or pictures, please email us at the Vault  3wide@optonline.net erry    04/07/04

1975/Joe Severage and Jack Buck winning the mod and sportsman championships  at Wall in coupes/the last ones to do it!/end of an era!   It will never be the same!    Keep the memories alive 3-wide!


Mike Kosmalski    04/04/04

  • I forget what race and year but It was what Gallopping Gil Hearne said after winning a big race at wall, He said and I quote " You got too have the car".  I think that had a big meaning to someone but I never found out too whom.  A spectator from years back, Mike Kosmalski

  • The worst wreck i ever saw at Wall (was Vinnie Green).  Anybody remember his engine almost in the infield? also rod cunliff impaling his car on the pit entance fence/blew his gauges out of the dash! 
     

  • The nite an underdog won.  I believe the year was 1976 - Ed Geibel in the #97 Coupe held off the great Charlie J in what I think was a 50 lapper  


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The Announcement From March 14th, 2008:

...Let's never forget how close we came to losing Wall Stadium...  Here is the release that came out on March 14th, 2008 announcing the closing of Wall.  Because of the work of Jim Morton and others including Sue Simpson, Mike Clayton, Kevin Eyres and many more volunteers, this was not to be the end of Wall as the team pulled together and organized the running of Turkey Derby 2008.  The event would prove to be such a spectator success that Jim Morton was able to work out an agreement with track ownership to open the track back up for the 2009 season.


As mentioned above, fortunately the release did not indicate the end for the great speedway.


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