ALTAMONT - SCHENECTADY FAIRGROUNDS - ALTAMONT NY
If you wanted to see live sports in the ’30s, you were kind of limited to baseball, auto racing, or whatever you can see at the county fair. Around this time, the Altamont fairgrounds; a 1/2 mile dirt track; would hold races on Memorial Day weekend, around July 4, and the last day of the county fair. In those days, racing in the United States was sanctioned by the American Automobile Association, the same AAA that, today, will tow your car if it breaks down. If you wanted to hold a race that would attract a lot of drivers, big-time drivers, and wanted to run it in a sort of professional manner, a race promoter would have to pay AAA to get the race sanctioned, which acted as a guard against “so-called outlaw promoters,” who had a reputation for taking the money and splitting town, leaving drivers without a payday. To be a sanctioned race, a promoter
would pay AAA a $50fee and another $35 for an official observer to come to the race. Some drivers who came to Altamont to race, would stay in the homes of local residents. Racing at the Altamont fairgrounds “more or less came to an end in 1955." That year, in Le Mans, France, a major crash killed 83 people . AAA got out of the business of racing and stopped sanctioning races. The year between 1955 and 1956 became a pivotal moment in Big car racing history. In this period, “You saw the creation United States Auto Club; they were the ones who then took over the sanction for Indianapolis 500 and some of the other big races.” Couple this with the rise of NASCAR; and it's easy to see why the AAA decision to get out of racing came about. Two NASCAR Cup races were help at the fairgrounds. The first was in 1951, and both were 200 lap distance. Records are spotty; but what is known for sure is that Fonty Flock started on the pole and led all 200 laps on his way to the win. He was followed by Herb Thomas, Lee Petty, Perry Smith and Jerry Morese. The next, and final, NASCAR race wouldn't be held until 1955. Tim Flock would start on the pole, with Buck Baker along side. Baker jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green, but his day was short as he fell out with a burned piston after only eight laps. Junior Johnson was there to assume the lead when Baker fell out and led the next 62 laps. Jim Paschal would lead the next 19 laps before Johnson powered by to retake the lead. He would lead the final 88 laps beating Paschal by over a lap. Lee Petty finished third followed by Jimmie Lewallen and Gene Simpson.
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