Wall Stadium '75-'85  

    Great post, Kevin! And great memories! 1975, I'm 10 yrs old, my dad and uncles are running in the modern stock division. It's saturday afternoon, about 3 o'clock. I already had my sub, ordered from my aunt's store, and I'm waiting for my dad to get home. Him, Uncle Charlie, and Uncle Walt probably started roofing someone's house about 6 or 7 am. Around 3:00 they would get back home and start loading up the trucks and trailers, ready to roll at 4:00 with half of Port Monmouth in tow -- the Rutts, Beridinos, John Vetterl, friends and family -- heading to Wall.

    I would ride in the truck with Dad so when we got there and he went up to get his pit pass I could walk up and down the line of cars and trailers waiting to go into the pits, Back then everything had its own unique look  race cars, trailers and haulers had character. The Springsteel brothers and Charlie Koijza always built great looking modern stock cars. Of course, the modifieds were the coolest looking cars -- big blocks, small blocks, Fords, and Chevys. Durkin, Hearn, Kremer, Ferante, and Barney always had great looking cars, most home built.

   I had a great idea to sneak into the pits one afternoon after warm ups were over. Made it about half-way thru the pits and got caught by Tom O'Rourke. He pulled up in his blue van and asked me where I thought I was going. I was scared. I really didn't think about what would happen if I got caught.

   Anyhow, he told me to hop in. I'm thinking he's going to take me over to security. Riding thru the pits, he asked me my name and then he started driving towards where my dad was parked. I thought for sure he was going to bring me over to my dad. Instead, he gave me a quick lecture about why they can't let kids into the pits. Then he says, have you ever been out on the track? and starts heading over to the pit gate, down the ramp, and out onto the track. We make a lap, then he drives me over to the gate to go into the stands tells me i can get into the pits when im 18. Tom and his wife Marion were super people a big part of Wall Stadium over the years.

     Back over to the stands, The Rogers gang normally sat up top near the first turn, time to break out that soggy sub. the sub that was made 4 hours ago. I would catch up with all the cousins, start roaming around the stands, walk down to see what pictures Ace Lane jr had for sale, and then swing by and talk to the Evernham family -- they sat about half-way up in turn 4.

    We'd get back to our seats for the modified heat races, and I'd start timing cars so I can make my picks for the Wall Game. I had it all figured out before the modified feature (never won it). The Sportsman feature was called by Lee Greenwood. We watched the line up slide down the wire from the tower to the starter stand with Sammy Eslow or Pete La vance looking it over getting cars in line. 

    The modern stock feature was always last. There were always friends and family to root for when they threw the green. Sometimes the trophy went to the Town and Surf dinner with us that night. Sometimes we sat at the diner wondering what time Bobby Howard was going to open up H&H Auto Wrecker in the am.

  A trip to Bobby Howard's was an education like no other. Guaranteed, you were going to leave with the parts you needed and some great jokes to tell your freinds at school the next day. Even if you really didn't understand them, you knew they were still going to be  funny. Great times, being a kid growing up at Wall. Wouldn't trade it for anything.