Misplaced Pages

#35964

24-533: Selinsgrove Speedway was built in 1945 under the supervision of Joie Chitwood , a Hollywood stunt man and race car driver from Denison, Texas . The land had previously been a family farm owned by the Allison and Davis families of Snyder County. They sold it to the Dauntless Hook and Ladder Volunteer Fire Department of Selinsgrove in 1941 as a permanent home for the fire company's annual carnival . The first race

48-650: A character known as 'Chief Wahoo.' Audiences found the act believable on account of Chitwood having a darker skin tone. He also performed a ramp-to-ramp jump, using a car that devised by Teter. Later on he and his son, Joie Jr., perfected driving a car on two wheels. Chitwood's show was so popular that in January 1967, their performance at the Islip Speedway in New York was broadcast on ABC television's Wide World of Sports . Chitwood's sons, Joie Jr. and Tim, both joined

72-578: A dancer; she quit dancing after their marriage. The couple had two sons, Timmy and Joie Jr., born 1944. Joie Jr. had a son Joie Chitwood III (born 1971). After Chitwood retired, his sons took over the business. Joie Chitwood died on January 3, 1988, in Tampa Bay, Florida. Chitwood was named the President of the 100 Mile An Hour Club at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1967. The Eastern Auto Racing Club Old Timers Club inducted him in 1979, and he received

96-634: A guest challenger on the TV game show To Tell The Truth . Joie Jr. worked in over 60 feature films and national commercials. In 1983 Chitwood's show was featured in the movie Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 , where Sheriff Justice ends up the star of the show during his pursuit of The Bandit. Chitwood's show was credited by Evel Knievel as being his inspiration to become a daredevil when his show appeared in his home town of Butte, Montana. World-champion auto dive bomber Dusty Russell began his 50+ year career as

120-515: A stunt driver in 1951, when he performed at the age of 15 for Joie Chitwood's Auto Daredevils show in Idaho. Chitwood was frequently hired by Hollywood film studios to either do stunt driving for films or to act as auto-stunt coordinator. Chitwood was one of the stunt drivers in the Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck 1950 film about auto racing, To Please a Lady . Chitwood's wife, Marie, worked as

144-551: A trade by helping at a welding shop. Chitwood built his first race car from an Essex , driving the car after the driver failed to appear; he finished second. He started his racing career in 1934 at a dirt track in Winfield, Kansas . From there, he began racing big cars . In 1937 and 1938, he finished second in the Central States Racing Association (CSRA) season points standings. In 1939 and 1940 he switched to

168-482: Is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema , amusement park , zoo , aquarium , circus , fair , stadium , beach , swimming pool , concert , sporting event , or other entertainment venue. Some events or venues contract the right to sell food to third parties. Those contracts are often referred to as a concession , hence the name for a stand where food is sold. Usually prices for goods at concession stands are greater than elsewhere for

192-709: Is best known as a daredevil in the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show. Chitwood was born in Denison, Texas . He was orphaned as a 14-year-old and he ended school after eighth grade. He lived in Topeka, Kansas during the Dust Bowl -era, and was seeking employment during the Great Depression . His main job was a shoe shiner ; he also worked as a candy butcher for a burlesque show to earn additional income. He started learning

216-447: The AAA / USAC National Championship . Chitwood participated in one World Drivers' Championship race at Indianapolis. He finished in fifth place, scoring one World Drivers' Championship point. Chitwood was dubbed "Joie" during his racing career, after a newspaper reporter misheard and misspelled Chitwood's name in an article. The writer confused St. Joe, Missouri (where Chitwood's race car

240-585: The American Automobile Association (AAA) East Coast Sprint car championship. He switched back to the CSRA and won its title in 1942, winning 14 consecutive CSRA features that season. Between 1940 and 1950, Chitwood raced in the Indianapolis 500 seven times, finishing fifth on three occasions. He was the first man ever to wear a safety belt, beginning at the 1941 Indianapolis 500 . Chitwood took

264-477: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series . The grandstand at Selinsgrove Speedway was constructed in 1948. Still standing as of 2022, the grandstands were built from 175,000 board feet (400 m³) of lumber with a capacity of 5,500 spectators. Lights for night racing were added in 1953 with the first night race held on June 19, 1953. Selinsgrove Speedway began hosting weekly events in 1950, under

SECTION 10

#1732848488036

288-424: The convenience of being close to an attraction and thus often contribute significant revenue to the venue operator (especially in the case of movie theaters ). Additionally, outside food and drink is often prohibited to incentivise spending at the concession stands. Concession stands were not originally operated by the movie theaters, and food was often sold by people attending the film or by vendors outside of

312-748: The Walt Ader Memorial Award in 1986. He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993. Chitwood was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2010. Among his contributions to the sport was the supervision of the construction of Pennsylvania's Selinsgrove Speedway in 1945. * shared drive with Tony Bettenhausen ( key ) Concession stand A concession stand , or refreshment stand ( American English , Canadian English ), snack kiosk or snack bar ( British English , Irish English )

336-435: The belt out of his dirt car because he liked how he was jostled around less, and could keep his foot on the throttle easier. Chitwood promised AAA officials Rex Mays and Wilbur Shaw that he would release the belt in the event of a crash, because drivers thought that it was safer to be thrown from a car during an accident. He won six major sprint car races in 1946. Chitwood won nine AAA East Coast features in 1947, including

360-468: The first race at Williams Grove Speedway . He retired from racing in 1950. The AAA / USAC -sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship participation, and were eligible to score WDC points alongside those which they may have scored towards

384-455: The national championship winning Funny Car crew chief for 1989 NHRA driver Bruce Larson . Several national sprint car drivers have won the event, including Dave Blaney , Sammy Swindell , and Greg Hodnett . The following racing series have run events at Selinsgrove Speedway since 1946. Joie Chitwood George Rice "Joie" Chitwood (April 14, 1912 – January 3, 1988) was an American stuntman , racing driver and businessman. He

408-667: The promotion of George "Buster" Keller. Weekly racing continued until 1959, when the action at the track slowed to occasional races. In 1963, weekly racing resumed once again. Chris Economaki , a pioneer of motorsports writing, served as the track announcer during the early 1950s. The track continued to expand its operation over the years and was managed by several promoters including Hall of Fame promoter Jack Gunn(ne John Gunnels), and from 2001 thru 2015 Charlie Paige who directed vast improvements and expansion at Selinsgrove Speedway. New concession stands were built along with new restrooms and V.I.P. facilities. The smaller Selinsgrove Raceway Park

432-408: The theater. Movie theaters were at first hostile to food being brought into their facilities, but during the Great Depression , theaters added concession stands as a way to increase revenue in the economically stagnant times. By the 1930s, concession stands were a main fixture in many theaters. During World War II , candy was scarce at concession stands because of the sugar rationing going on at

456-444: The thrill show, and continued to run it after their father's retirement. The Chitwood show toured the U.S. from 1945 until 1998. On May 13, 1978, Joie Jr. set a world record when he drove a Chevrolet Chevette for 5.6 miles (9.0 km) on just two wheels. Chitwood's show was featured during season 3 of CHiPs in an episode entitled "Thrill Show". Joie Jr. did stunts for Miami Vice on several occasions. Joie Jr. also appeared as

480-562: The track for spectators. In 2020, the United States Auto Club held its first Silvercrown race at the track. It was named the Bill Holland Classic after the track's first winner and it was 74 laps in length as it was the 74th anniversary since his win. The track started the sprint car racing special event in 1983. The event was won by 1984 track champion Maynard Yingst . Yingst won the event in 1984 and 1985 before becoming

504-408: Was an exhibition of auto stunt driving, and became so successful Chitwood cut back his racing endeavors significantly. Often called "Hell Drivers," Chitwood had five units that for more than forty years toured across North America , thrilling audiences in large and small towns alike with death-defying automobile stunts. Although not claiming to be of Native American descent, Chitwood often portrayed

SECTION 20

#1732848488036

528-531: Was built in the infield in 2001 and the backstretch and turns 1 and 3 were widened in 2006. As of 2020 the property is still owned by the Selinsgrove Fair Association with racing conducted under the ERS Promotions LLC banner. With the advent of larger race car haulers, the pit area, formerly located in the infield, was moved to the outside of turn 4 for the 2018 season, improving the view of

552-462: Was built) with "George", and when typesetting the article, added an "i" by mistake to spell "Joie." The nickname stuck for life. In 1942, stuntman Lucky Teter died, and Chitwood took over the show after being asked by Teter's widow to sell the equipment. Chitwood was unable to find a buyer during World War II . Chitwood was deemed 4-F , and taught welding at factories. He began operating what he called "the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show." The show

576-550: Was held on July 20, 1946, as an American Automobile Association -sanctioned event promoted by Sam Nunis. The winner was Bill Holland , who would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 in 1949. Placing second was Red Byron , who won the first NASCAR -sanctioned race ever, held on February 15, 1948, at the Daytona Beach Road Course and would go on to become the first champion of the NASCAR's Strictly Stock division, now known as

#35964