Speedway Folks
October 19, 2009 by The Catskill Chronicle
John Clark (right) used to race motorcycles and 4-cylinders, but these days helps out manning the gates.
Story and photos by Ted Waddell
KAUNEONGA LAKE – Bethel Motor Speedway attracts a diverse crowd ranging from doctors to auto mechanics, and from retired NYC detectives to young 15-year old up and coming drivers, all with a passion for speeding around a ¼ mile semi-banked oval asphalt track.
Dave Rocket makes a point at the driver’s meeting before the start of racing action.
John Clark was working one of the pit gates a couple of nights before the local speedway closed for the season.
He used to run Pop’s Cycle in Waldon, a natural for a guy who raced motorcycles for 18 years, all the way from his hometown to Daytona, Florida.
“It’s great, you ought to try it,” said the veteran of 4-cylinder racing at BMS. “It’s the best track around, nice and clean and run good.”
Les Quick of Jeffersonville used to race pure stock at the local speedway and has been a regular fixture there since 1971. The other day he was helping out in the pits as the crew readied Mark Silverstein’s car for an upcoming race.
The Checkered Flag!
“Once you get it in your blood it’s all the same,” he said of the heart-pounding excitement of wheel-to-wheel motor racing.
“The thrill is just going out there and seeing what you can do on the track, that’s the biggest thing.”
Steve Schmidt knows his way around motor speedways, and he summed up what he called “progressive type racing” by saying it’s all about being “down home…and you don’t have beer being sold so you don’t have to worry about the Budweiser idiots up in the stands yelling and screaming, and cursing and embarrassing your family.”
A track official lines up a legion of Legends for some hop laps.
“The $5 entrance fee is the cheapest in New York State.”
*This is the second story in a series on the Bethel Motor Speedway. Be sure to check back for future stories, both here, on our main page, and in the Chronicle’s Sullivan Sports Snapshots.
To view more photos or to purchase prints from Speedway Folks visit the Chronicle on Zenfolio.
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The Catskill Chronicle 
Speedway Folks
October 19, 2009 by The Catskill Chronicle
John Clark (right) used to race motorcycles and 4-cylinders, but these days helps out manning the gates.
Story and photos by Ted Waddell
KAUNEONGA LAKE – Bethel Motor Speedway attracts a diverse crowd ranging from doctors to auto mechanics, and from retired NYC detectives to young 15-year old up and coming drivers, all with a passion for speeding around a ¼ mile semi-banked oval asphalt track.
Dave Rocket makes a point at the driver’s meeting before the start of racing action.
John Clark was working one of the pit gates a couple of nights before the local speedway closed for the season.
He used to run Pop’s Cycle in Waldon, a natural for a guy who raced motorcycles for 18 years, all the way from his hometown to Daytona, Florida.
“It’s great, you ought to try it,” said the veteran of 4-cylinder racing at BMS. “It’s the best track around, nice and clean and run good.”
Les Quick of Jeffersonville used to race pure stock at the local speedway and has been a regular fixture there since 1971. The other day he was helping out in the pits as the crew readied Mark Silverstein’s car for an upcoming race.
The Checkered Flag!
“Once you get it in your blood it’s all the same,” he said of the heart-pounding excitement of wheel-to-wheel motor racing.
“The thrill is just going out there and seeing what you can do on the track, that’s the biggest thing.”
Steve Schmidt knows his way around motor speedways, and he summed up what he called “progressive type racing” by saying it’s all about being “down home…and you don’t have beer being sold so you don’t have to worry about the Budweiser idiots up in the stands yelling and screaming, and cursing and embarrassing your family.”
A track official lines up a legion of Legends for some hop laps.
“The $5 entrance fee is the cheapest in New York State.”
*This is the second story in a series on the Bethel Motor Speedway. Be sure to check back for future stories, both here, on our main page, and in the Chronicle’s Sullivan Sports Snapshots.
To view more photos or to purchase prints from Speedway Folks visit the Chronicle on Zenfolio.
Click any service in this box to share this post with your friends!
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