I wonder if the people walking through the Home Depot in Pine Brook , New Jersey realize they are
actually walking on the Pine Brook Speedway known as the Home of Champions?! The 1/10 mile raceway opened in July of 1962 on the banks of the Passaic River. It lasted
for about 25 years.
My brother Fred and I found this “bull ring” sometime in
1963. Fred had a brand new Chevrolet Impala convertible complete with a 283 engine and a floor-mounted four speed
transmission.
It was only a matter of time before we took a ride in his
new wheels. We headed west on Route 46 and were soon pulling into the parking
lot of this little race track. That
Friday night was the first time in years that I attended a circular race track.
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| c. 1970 parade lap before an event Pine Brook Speedway |
The three quarter (TQ) midget race cars that raced there were
miniature versions of Indianapolis race cars, and they could really put on a
great, and exciting shows. The track
was so small there was only one groove to follow. This resulted in a lot of action as the
faster cars had a very difficult time trying to pass the slow cars.
It was not
until the Mini Coopers brought out good ten inch tires that the TQ guys jumped
on these rubbers. These tires provided the traction needed for the little racecars to pass on
the outside of the slower competition.
I witnessed many racecar improvements
filtering down to the local racetracks.
My brother and I both bought our first homes in the same
town that the Pine Brook Raceway was located. This enabled me to attend many of
the Friday night races. I started to hang out in the pits where I met a lot of
the racecar owners and drivers.
At one point in the Pine Brook Speedway tenure I had acquired the patterns for Crosley engine racing parts,
and made up Cam covers, and side water jackets. I was able to have them cast up
and sold them to the racers. Names like Nick Fornoro, Jack Bertling, and Tony Romit where just some of the local heroes.
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| c. 1972 Tony Romit being pushed off to compete in a Friday Night race at Pine Brook Speedway |
One evening I brought my restored Crosley Super Sport to Pine Brook Speedway in hopes of driving it on the track. No luck, they would not allow it on
the track.
A couple of years later Fred and I bought a Ford Model T board track race car that had raced at the
Altoona Board Track. This car they did allow to slowly tour the track. That was a
first for me to drive on an oval track!
Unfortunately, as land values increased this little race
track was closed down.
Before the track was destroyed I had an opportunity to
drive on the asphalt. I had been lucky to purchase a very special Crosley race
car. This car raced in the 1951 LeMans 24 hour race. I had it in a repair shop
where a new engine was being installed. A young man saw the car. He was making
a movie and this was the car he wanted as
its co-star. He somehow got permission
to use the defunct Pine Brook Speedway.
The movie crew set about making the Crosley look like an old Ferrari, and me like a racecar driver!
Make-up!
I drove around and around the Pine Brook track for what seemed to be an
hour. They shot film and recorded the engine sound.
It all came to a screeching
stop when the land developers showed up. I guess the movie maker never did get
permission to use the track!
That ended my very limited oval track racing career.
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