In August of 2003, we ventured out to the New Bremen Speedway located just north of town on old Rt 66, now known as 66A.  As you leave New Bremen, a reminder of the tracks big influence on the town is still in operation.  The town's bowling alley known as "Speedway Lanes"  lies within eyesight of the ominous 1/2 mile.

 

 

 

New Bremen Speedway's first official race was in 1926 in an area that had been used for the town's "farmer's picnic" for quite some time.  As "horseless carriages" became more common, it was only a matter of time before someone said, "My horseless carriage is faster than yours".  A makeshift race track was marked off in a field and the New Bremen Speedway was born.  The original opening race was scheduled for Saturday, August 14, 1926 but rain forced a cancellation.  One week later, the actual opener was held on the 21st and Lima, Ohio driver Herbert "Dusty" Farno took top honors. 

 

New Bremen was the first Ohio race track built specifically for race cars and is 3rd in the nation only behind the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Winchester Speedway both in Indiana.  Another first was on September 6, 1930 when the first night program was held.  Admission was raised from 75 cents to $1.00 to cover the cost of lighting, but bad weather hurt attendance and thus it was a financial disaster.

 

The track operated on a sporadic basis from 1926 up until 1931.  Famous names such as Al Miller, Joe Russo, Bill Cummings, Mauri Rose, Clay Corbitt, Bill Chittam and Howdy Wilcox made regular stops in those early years.  However, on September 31, 1931, a riot ensued that made the Talladega NASCAR fans look like Sunday schoolers.  It was the final event of the season and race promoters decided to cut the purse from the customary $800 down to only $550.  The drivers were informed of this right before the start of the main event while the cars were being lined up on the track.  The drivers swarmed the judges stand (then located in the infield) and someone forgot to turn the microphone off.  Race fans got to hear the ensuing argument over the loudspeakers, and then they too joined the swarm around the judges stand.  In the end, the stand with several people on it, came tumbling down and Shorty Wolfe was credited with igniting a blaze that burned the covered grandstands to the ground.

 

The 1/2 mile dirt oval saw sporadic racing for several years.   Dust was a persistent problem and track president Frank Dicke was one of the few promoters who succeeded in keeping the dust at a minimum.  Through the 50's and 60's USAC made several stops with both their sprint car and stock car divisions.  Names like Tommy Hinnershitz, Pat O'Connor, Eddie Sachs, Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Don Branson, and Mario Andretti delighted people with broadsliding sprint cars.  On September 9, 1962, Parnelli Jones toured the tacky half mile in 19.12 seconds aboard the famous Fike Plumbing Chevy. 

 

In 1966, only one race was held at New Bremen, and the place appeared to be on the verge of closing.  Frank Dicke entered the picture once again and took over.   Along with vice president John Kemper, the decision was made to pave the historic facility for the 1967 season.  Over $116,000 was spent to repair the covered grandstand and pay the paving contractor, Churchill Construction from nearby Lima, Ohio.  A first class effort was made including a pace car courtesy of Walker Motor Sales of Dayton, Ohio.  A general admission season pass to the "NEW" New Bremen Speedway was only $12.00 for 1967.

 

After 12 seasons of running on asphalt, new track owner Earl Baltes decided it was time to go back to dirt.  So in 1979, the sprint cars were once again slinging dirt.  Unfortunatley, this transition marked the beginning of the end.  Crowds grew slim over the course of the 1980 season and soaring gas prices made the outlook for 1981 even gloomier.  Baltes had another race track nearby known as Eldora that was proving much more successful, so the gates were closed for good after the 1980 season.  Steve Kinser went down in history as New Bremen's final race winner on September 1, 1980.  History proved that Baltes' decision for the Rossburg track was the right one.  However, the sleepy town of New Bremen lost one of it's greatest attractions.

 

The track claimed the lives of five drivers throughout it's existence.  On August 19, 1928 Eugene Pfeiffer was killed after flipping in the north turn.  1958 saw Jim Davis killed in a sprint car event on June 29th and Bud Bell killed in a stock car crash on October 5th.  On August 7, 1962, Indy 500 veteran Don Davis was killed and on June 21st of 1963 legendary Allan Crowe was killed.  Crowe, a Springfiled, IL native has a race run each year in his memory at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

 

In  my first visit there, we were lucky enough to find the gates to the place were unlocked.  So as we often do in our racing history research, we trespassed.  To our amazement, the racing facility is about 99 % intact.  It seemed almost like a ghost town.......as if just last weekend may have been its last race, not a quarter century ago!!!  Sure enough, nearly 25 years have come and gone, yet the covered grandstands, the concrete walls, the chain-link catch fencing, even the flagstand, has all stood the test of time.  Being an avid race fan, I couldn't resist the urge to climb up on the flagstand to get the a better view. 

 

With a grader and a few weeks time, the track could be ready for opening night 2005.  You could still make out the painting on the concrete wall stating, "New Bremen Speedway USA".  The beer stand still sported the price of beer at the last race in 1981.....a mere 45 cents.  The line-up board was still in the pit shack.  I began to venture up the stairs to the top of the covered grandstand, but the entire structure began making weird noises, so I decided that I didn't need to get up there that badly. 

 

While on the flagstand, I closed my eyes and off in the faint distance, I thought I could here the buzzing of old Offenhauser's screaming around the banking.  About that time, my girlfriend yelled at me to tell me there was a swarm of hornets circling my head!!!  After a dive off the flagstand, we snapped a few more pictures.  I hope you all enjoy looking at these pictures as much as I did taking them.  If you ever venture out to New Bremen, the gates are usually locked.  On another trip there this past fall, we climbed the fence and were met by police officers in the parking lot.  They were actually race fans as well and were very nice and informed me that they had worked at the track in its final days. 

 

The New Bremen police force now leases the back side of the property and uses it for a shooting range.  The owner of the Crown Forklift Company now owns the track.  While racing at the Mopar Million at Eldora I hear the rumor that someday the track may reopen.  One of the police officers made the same comment.  Apparently Earl Baltes sold the property in 1989 under the deal that it could not be a race track again for 25 years.  That 25 year period will be up in 2014 and rumors are out that the place may once again be paved and run a weekly NASCAR short track series. 

 

With all the tracks that have been shut down in recent years for development purposes, could New Bremen actually be one of the rare stories of old tracks returning to life?   I know this much, I never saw a race at New Bremen, but IF this place does re-open, I will be there opening night..........and hopefully in a race car!

 

 

By: Aaron Fry