This kind of action packed 'em into Dorney Park Speedway every Saturday night. Image courtesy Bob Snyder, from his archives
En route to Carlisle or Hershey, thousands of people pass an amusement park along Interstate 78 while driving through the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, and never give it a thought. Too bad, since amidst the rides once sat tiny Dorney Park Speedway, whose veterans will celebrate its memory with the help of America on Wheels, the transportation museum in neighboring Allentown.
For a small track, a paved fifth of a mile, Dorney Park dished up some big action. Opened in 1939, it hosted Midget action for years. Mario Andretti is a Dorney Park alumnus. So is Doug Hoffman, who scored a couple of hundred wins in Modifieds on dirt but began in Late Models on Dorney Park’s pavement. The biggest stars were local stock car heroes led by George Wambold, Freddy Hamm and Paul Bauscher. The reunion, organized by track photographers Bob Snyder and Henry Wilt, is Saturday, November 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at America on Wheels. Call 610-432-4200 or visit www.americaonwheels.org. By the way, the speedway was closed in 1986, so Dorney Park could put up a water attraction. Nice.