The Beginning of the End for the Pines Speedway

            Why did the Pines Speedway close in 1976? There were many reasons that I won't try to explain here, but the beginning of the end came in the summer of 1965. The Pines was getting tremendous crowds. If you were not at the track by 6 pm., there was no room to park. Tickets were for standing room only. 

            The Pines had more than their share of big stars and villains. Even with the huge crowds, the payoff for the drivers and car owners did not improve. A plan was formed by the drivers, owners, wives, girlfriends and volunteers to count the people coming into the track. When these numbers were presented to the owner of the track, he would not raise the payments to meet the demands of the drivers and car owners. The following 1969 article tells about the results of what happened next in 1965 and beyond.

            The Pines Speedway continued to operate until 1976. They had many new competitors with wonderful looking cars, many of which can be seen on this site. But, never again did the Pines have the huge crowds and the intense excitement that existed in the early 1960's. An interesting fact is that the long-time Pines and Hudson Speedway competitor Brice Haskell, won the last track championship in 1976.

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