A Few Words from Me. . . .
Wow! ~ Where do I begin? This project has been incredible!! I have been blessed by so many
I grew up, as many of you did, at the race track. My Great Uncle, Hoot Gibson, managed the track from the early 1950's until 1978 so my entire family including my mom and dad, Gene and Madaline Gregory, was involved in everything from running the ambulance to ticket taking. My girlfriends never really understood why I would want to spend my Saturday nights at such a "dirty", "smelly" racetrack with all those....."racecars", but I wouldn't have missed it for the world! I mean, what's a good race without your face covered in dirt afterwards? Dad taught me about the mechanics of cars and I found out that, as Al Unser, Jr. says, "It's just in your blood - it's hereditary!"
During the last 7 years the speedway was in operation, I was fortunate enough to have one of the greatest jobs around the track, PR Director. I loved writing the results articles and publishing all of the weekly ads for the Saturday night events. By doing this, I really felt like I knew every single driver out there and tried to get in as many names as the Times Union would allow. The perks were great too including free admission to many other Midwest racetracks and talking to Chris Economaki after hours at National Speed Sport News. In a sense, I guess I'm still promoting the speedway....
I have wanted to do a history of the Warsaw Speedway since before the track closed and somehow it finally seemed like the right time to do it. For the first several years after the speedway closed, I didn't want to go to any dirt races, attending only the Indy 500. But in the summer of 2000, I started thinking about the 10-year anniversary of the closing and talked to the Times-Union about writing the 10-year anniversary article, that's when I really, and I mean really, wanted to see some races in person and smell that sprint car methenol! In 2002, my cousin Danny Gregory purchased Montpelier Motor Speedway and I've maintained the tracks's website since then. It's been nice being back in the racing loop.
My plans for this project include adding as many photos, articles and comments to the web site as possible, but there is no way possible to include all of the information that I have. I still have so many people to call and see that it may take quite some time to really say that it's complete. Even the ongoing process has been wonderfully interesting though.
Since there's no way to put all of the photos, articles, and information on the site, I have been repeatedly encouraged to make the project into a publication, and although that seems like such a huge task at this point, it's becoming more and more of a reality. That has been a dream turned into a goal!
Please feel free to email me anytime with your stories, memories, or photos and I'll do my best to include them somewhere!
Me flagging a powder-puff race in 1983
As a teen - Driving my jeep (faster and faster) around the track while dad was hanging speakers or checking out the PA system. I'd always end up in trouble with dad grabbing the black flag and waving it furiously at me!
As a young adult - Watching and cheering on my friend, Steve Kline. Not just at Warsaw, but traveling to Ohio, Michigan, and other Indiana tracks too.
Also, diving into Winona Lake off of the backstretch area on a hot August Saturday afternoon. It was great!
Most Memorable Moments ~ When my dad got the phone call telling him that Jimmy Elliott had been killed in a motorcycle accident.
Watching Lacy Adams win his first street stock feature, take the checkered flag, and drive straight into the 3rd turn wall because of a fatal heart attack.
All of us fighting over who was going to go to the airport to pick up Kenny Jacobs for one of the Warsaw Invitationals. I didn't win.
The Last Night....... I'll never forget it. It was hard to hear the Star Spangled Banner for the last time. Terry Sroufe's wife and I stood there with tears streaming down our cheeks through the whole thing.
