The track was a tight 1/3-mile asphalt oval. The Southern New York Racing Association (remember Danbury was in Connecticut!) crowned their first Danbury Racearena champion in 1950. Names like Chick Stockwell, Jimmy Smith and Don LaJoie (above) were the primary champions over the years at Danbury. In 1980 I went to the OCFS four times and returned again in 2011. I prefer dirt tracks over paved tracks….most of the time. The Orange County Fair Speedway was 59.5 miles from our place in Ridgefield. However, the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York was considered our “home” track during our brief period of Connecticut residence. You would have thought I would have driven my brand new fire engine red Cadillac Sedan Deville to the Danbury oval more than three times when the track was just ten miles from our house. Our home in Ridgefield was just 10.4 miles from the Danbury Racearena. Despite living on the east coast for 18 months I never joined the “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers”. Following the 1979 Knoxville Nationals (won my Ronnie Shuman – above) we moved from Mission Viejo, California to Ridgefield, Connecticut. Lots of folks don’t know that we were transferred around a good bit as I climbed the rungs of the corporate ladder. Most people think of me as a “West Coast” trackchaser. My limited notes remind me “the crowds were huge and the racing was fair”. During my only visit in 1981 Bob Riley in the #66 won again. The second time I was rained out after the heat races. I saw Bob Riley win the first time I went there. I did go to Danbury twice in 1980 and once in 1981. With the Danbury Racearena being just track #76 (that’s more than 2,200 tracks ago as this is written!) my memory is somewhat foggy on this one. I didn’t begin writing my famous Trackchaser Reports until about track #430. My second lifetime Connecticut track visit – 1980.

Jimmy simth racearena snyra