Originally Posted by
Dirt Clod
XRACER / CIRF,
Looks like we all have something in common - Central IL racing. Back in the day, it certainly gave us options. I was born and raised in Streator. Unfortunately, I was just behind the Bob Tattersall era. USAC midgets rarely raced in central IL (that I knew of) and I was too young for a license. When Bob got cancer, I do remember a benefit in Streator for him that included a parade of midget cars. That was pretty special.
Yes we could never forget the names Boom Boom Cannon and Bubby Jones. Nice to see you remember the rail cars. Not many do. I do remember the B-4 being towed by a Cadillac in the pits.
I did get to enjoy the Jack Tyne era. One of his mechanics owned a body shop next to our house and occasionally they brought the #89 and #189 cars to work on it. Got a close up look. Then came the Tom Reints era. Streator had some racers.
Regarding Mazon, that was quite the place. I imagine the banks were 20 degrees. Just a guess. With no walls, it was exciting to see the cars go up the banks and many times over. Loved to see the famous Chicagoland legends come to Mazon, then Morris. At least Morris paved the way for the ARTGO series.
XRACER, that is a great website. Chicagoland Auto Racing.com Plenty of old records, photos and stories.
One track I went to only once was the 1/2 mile Fisher Road Champaign Speedway. I think that is what it was called. I saw a daytime World of Outlaw show there in about 1978? Some guys on Facebook replied me the address and sometime this summer on the way to Fairbury, from Indy, I'm going to try to find it.
Nice connecting with Central IL race fans.