30 Most Recent Information Updates

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Latest Information Updates

Tri-City Dragway
Entry Date: 7/7/2008 - Dave Katt: I started going to Tri-City in the late 60''s. After I graduated high school in 1970 I began racing my 67 Chevelle in Stock class, then in 1973 I hooked up with Greg Luneack of Tri-City Competion Service in Breckenridge. He helped several of us build cars for legal "stock eleminator" racing. I raced a 69 Camaro Convertible in J/S and sent a national record there at a NHRA points meet. We would race there on Saturday nights and after class and eliminator we would head to Milan for Sunday racing. Tons of fun, but a lot of work. I recall that if I got beat early in the evening, I could make it home in time too watch that new TV Show, Saturday Night Live. I usually did pretty good though and did''nt get home untill 1 or 2 in the morning. We always hoped to get "in the money", in elimations.
Tri City had big names just about every weekend, they put on a great show. I also saw a lot of local boys (and girls) that had great cars. The "preporatin H" modified production Maverick, the "sugar Rat" 57 chevy, and so on. I will have to dig out my old pictures. Does anyone know what happened to that 57 Chevy Sugar Rat car? I still think about the tine that race driver was killed there. I was in the staging lanes in my car and watched it happen. After that happed there was a long delay to take care of everything. I was the next car down the track after that accident. There were still parts in the grass. Bad deal.....
I am always looking for Tri-City Dragway stuff so if anyone still has anything they might part with, email me at racerkatt@hotmail.com .

Mt. Clemens Race Track
Entry Date: 7/7/2008 - MICHELE: Great to see JIMMY GULLETT back in a car a FLAT ROCK SPEEDWAY had a good run going till a blown tire took him out

Ubly Dragway
Entry Date: 7/7/2008 - Nicholas Janowiak: The winners for the budweiser challenge were on july 4th winner Ron Melink, runner up Dick Simpson, semis bob snow, quarters gary williams, paul racer brown, and dale mardin.

The winners for the budweiser challenge were on july 5th also and the winners are Dale Mardin, runner up Dick Simpson, semis Pat Ney and Gary Williams, Quarters Dale Bannick, John Johnroe, Sonny Moody and Mike odel.

We will be doing quater mile testing in two weeks. Any questions please call the ubly dragway at 989-658-8132.

Thanks.

Cinemark 20 at River Town
Entry Date: 7/7/2008 - Bill: This is now Celebration! Cinema RiverTown,
http://celebrationcinema.com/

Getty 4 Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/7/2008 - Bill: Getty Web Address:

http://celebrationcinema.com/?pid=30010

Onondaga Dragway
Entry Date: 7/7/2008 - Chris: Went by Onondaga Dragway today. There is a small section that is recieving new blacktop or sealer. I should have gotten a pic of the work. Why would they be repairing the pavement? Does anyone know more about this?

5-Mile Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/7/2008 - Joel: Great Experience! We watched Hancock and Sex in the City. Bring a radio with Batteries to save your car''s battery. Saw a few people who needed a jump. The last movie played till 2:30am! The experience was awesome. Will come back again with whole family.

Jefferson Beach
Entry Date: 7/7/2008 - Suzie Martin: 5th photo is indeed HARRY STAHL, general manager of Jefferson Beach in the 50''s.
http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/amuse.asp?id=310&type=2

Mt. Clemens Race Track
Entry Date: 7/5/2008 - Sean Fitzgerald: Jimmy I''ll try and make it out there. Iusually go to AC on sat, but it''s time for a raod trip.

Lake Lansing Amusement Park
Entry Date: 7/4/2008 - Michelle Alspaugh: What a great website! It too brings back many wonderful memories for me. My dad, Mel Alspaugh worked at the park part-time for years for Rolland Johnson. My grandparents Bob and Madeline Jones owned and operated the Outpost resturant across the street from the park. I spent just about every weekend at the park. The Johnsons always treated you like you were family.
The rides were so fun. I remember my favorite rides were the little boat ride,the bug, and of course the carousel. I remember the first time my dad took me on the rollercoaster I was so terrified. Or when I got to go on the ferris wheel they had to bring it back around to take me off because I was screaming so bad.
I sure miss the place and all the good family fun we used to have.

Hartford Speedway Park
Entry Date: 7/3/2008 - Rich Nyari: Can anyone give info on how many races denny nyari won at hartford-dirt and asphalt? Any articles or pics would be appreciated. Rich..

Mt. Clemens Race Track
Entry Date: 7/3/2008 - Rich Nyari: Can anyone give me info on if denny nyari won any races at mt.clemens.If so any articles or pics would be appreciated. Rich.

Mt. Clemens Race Track
Entry Date: 7/3/2008 - Jimmy Tucker: sean,

i just wanted to let everyone know that i won 2 out of the last 3 features at springport in the hiloguy.com #50

Tri-City Dragway
Entry Date: 7/3/2008 - Greg Kidd: My Dad used to run 0s/a i believe it was a 1957 chevy sedan delivery, His name was Ken Kidd from Otisville The car was named instant replay, if i remember correctly. At the time he ran around with Al provost, And Vic sunquist from the best of my memory. I would love to hear anything about it wether it be pictures or memories....

He raced Lapeer, tri-city and detriot dragway

Greg

Owosso Speedway
Entry Date: 7/3/2008 - Sean Fitzgerald: Owosso is changing hands. They should go to Sundays as AC and Dixie do Fridays and saturdays. I just wanna say thanks to dave and Ron for giving it a try. I had some good times there and it is truly a great two groove track.

From the Owosso website.As of July 1, 2008 Owosso Speedway will have new owners. Jeff & Pam Parish and Rick & Jennie Miracle have purchased the speedway, from Bighause, Inc. They will take over ownership responsibilities on July 1, 2008.

Ron and I want to say Thank You to everyone for there support over the last 5 years. We strongly feel this transfer of ownership will be Great for Owosso Speedway, and for each of our own personal lives.

It’s been a fun ride and we don’t regret one day as owner’s of the speedway. We have learned much and developed a lot of great relationships, with many good people. For that, and all of our many Blessings from God, we are extremely Thankful. Please welcome and continue to support our new owners of this track we love.

We invite everyone to come out this Saturday, June 28th, 2008 for Bighause, Inc. Last Show. It will be an awesome 75 Lap Super Late Model Show, MCR Dwarf Cars, Pure Stocks, and Mini Stocks.

Sincerely,

Dave & Ron
Bighause, Inc

Cherry Bowl Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/3/2008 - cCWinnieWiWnnieW: In 1982 I moved from the Detroit area to Sanford Lake. I noticed your Drive=in and decided to take it in one night. So I packed my Mom and my dog Sassy in the car along with a nephew. When we went through the line the gal taking our money handed me a package and inside the package was a few dog bones. My nephew, who was 5 at the time, asked where his goodies were and I told him if he liked dog bones he was welcomed to one. Needless to say I had to go to the canteen and get something for him. From that day on when I wanted to go to the show you had my business. Thank you for being so kind to animals. You have my permission to post my comment. It is well deserved!

Ubly Dragway
Entry Date: 7/3/2008 - Nicholas Janowiak: Again ladies and gentelmen July 5th and 6th is the Budweiser classic with test and tune on Friday july 4th with the weekend being sponsored by smith distributing out of bad axe Michigan. $1500 to win on Saturday and $1500 to win on Sunday. Hope to see you all there. Thanks

The Ubly Dragway

Wayne Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Unknown: When I was a kid my parents use to take me here. I was really upset with fords for destroying the drive in . So many of us tried to save it but it wasn''t enough. All fords could think of is a parking lot

Ecorse Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: When I was growing up my Cousin lived in a small house off Ecorse Rd. On the way to her house, I would pass this theater on a regular basis. I attended the theater a few times. I seem to remember going to see "Back To School" in the middle 80''s and, if memory serves, it played with "Howard the Duck". I have the memory of the feature behind us being "Friday the 13th, Part 6" with "Maximum Overdrive" since I remember watching that movie when the features were changing (It was the scene where Jason blows through the door and chases the kids). I don''t remember, but I may have seen "Back to the Future" here too, but that is very sketchy since I was very, very young at the time (I may have seen it at the Dearborn). I think the last time I went to the Ecorse was around 1986 and I saw "Ferris Bueller''s Day Off". Since we didn''t have the internet and I couldn''t drive, I to take word of mouth and found out, via my Cousin, that the theater had been torn down. I didn''t believe it until a few years later when I saw it first hand. It was replaced by a Farmer Jack (which is gone), a video store (which is gone), an Applebee''s and a Sec. of State office, plus a few other assorted stores. Perhaps if I find time, I will snap a picture or two in the future. Wish I had a pic from the past .

Dearborn Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: I am almost 100% sure this theater closed in 1985, not 1984. I remember my Mom saying she was going to take me here see "Godzilla 1985" around Halloween of 1985 (I looked this up and that film was in it''s theatrical run at that time), plus I have the memory of the picture "D.A.R.Y.L" (which was released in June 1985) playing here on the 2nd screen when I went to see something here as a kid (because instead of watching the movie on our screen, we tuned into that one). That is one of the things I remember most about this theater: ONE screen was speaker sound and the other was radio, so you could tune into the feature that played behind you if you choose. More evidence that the close date may be correct is that shortly before this theater closed, I remember being in the snack bar and seeing a poster for "Fright Night" (released August 1985) along side a poster for "Weird Science" (released in August 1985 as well). I can also remember going to see "the Goonies" along with "Gremlins" as the second feature (another 1985 release) and recall that "Pee-Wee''s Big Adventure" played behind at the main theater. So, I don''t think this theater closed in 1984, rather 1985 and was torn down within a matter of months of it''s final showing. I may look into using Detroit News microfilm to find this out, if somebody else does not.

Pontiac Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: My Dad lived about five minutes from this theater and, sadly, he never took me there when I was growing up and went to visit him. However, I used to pass this theater on the way to his house. I seem to have a memory of this being one of the "survivor" theaters that stuck around until they really started coming down. There was a real epidemic of the multi-screen theaters (Wayne, Grand River, Bel-Air) lasting longer than the one screeners, but this one hung in there with all of them or beyond them with a few other of the single screen ones (Commerce, Jolly Roger, Fort George). I can recall seeing the marquee from the road a number of times and it must have stuck around for at least a year from when I first saw it since I remember seeing the large boards on it in winter (like it looks in the photo) and I didn''t often visit my Father. I''m guessing my viewing of this theater must have been around the tail end of the theaters life. The last memory I have of this place was around the time "Batman" and "Twins" were playing in theaters (1989 ish) since I recall them on a bill together around the time those movies were popular. My Father moved up north a few months after he remarried in 1990, so I didn''t hear much about this place until now. It looks like it sat around in shambles for years after it was closed and I''m sorry I never got the chance to go there. Thank you for posting the photos. It really was a trip back to that car ride up to my Dad''s.

Jolly Roger Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: I used to live pretty close to the Jolly Roger. Not as close as I did to a couple of the other area Drive In''s (Michigan/Fort George), but close enough to attend in the theater''s "twilight". I believe the last pictures I remember going there to see were "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" and "Total Recall" in, what must have been, the JR''s final season, if I have my dates right. I used to work in Taylor, Michigan and would pass this lot as a short cut to work. For YEARS the lot has stood overgrown. There is now a forest growing there. It''s rather sad to be honest. It has been for sale for many moons and yet remains nothing more than an empty, wooded lot. I sometimes used see semi-trucks parked in the drive there with shades drawn (like somebody pulled off into the lot to sleep), but the last I went by it just looked like a wooded, empty lot that nobody cared about. I have never toured the lot since I''m pretty sure it wouldn''t be appreciated by the owners, but somebody I may get up the nerve.

Ford-Wyoming 1-5 Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: I went to the Ford Wyoming a couple weeks back to check out "The Happening" and "Street Kings". It was, as I expected, pretty packed with people of all ages. I see nearly all my movies at this theater and the business you see is astounding for all types of pictures. Last year I saw "The Simpsons Movie" and the "Fantastic Four" and you couldn''t find a place to park. I had the same problem a few years ago when I went to see "Martin Lawrence:Runtelldat" and "Undisputed" (a man had to physically try to squeeze between two cars to park!). Point is: this place is a MUST and I thank my lucky stars people seem to love and appreciate it! It''s a place I hope they keep around for a LONG time. I have to admit that it''s always rather special seeing the teenagers playing catch, the little kids running around in their PJ''s, the lawn chairs and the smell of somebody having a BBQ (even though it''s posted not to!), the little intermission cartoons and hearing that sound through the little box (even though you can get better sound with the radio). That''s what American summer is supposed to be about and The Ford-Wyoming remains the best way to see a movie and get the real Drive In experience. If you can go, GO! It will really bring back the best memories of being a kid.

Fort George Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: A DRIVE-IN ONCE AGAIN STANDS ON THE SITE OF THE FORT GEORGE! However, it''s not the type that would make us DIT lovers happy. A Sonic Drive In, the first in this area, was erected on the former site of the Fort George and opened about three months ago. Also, a Meijer gas station and TCF bank stand on the site with the Meijer store now. I have heard that the Meijer store, one of four in the area, could be closing. However, I can''t confirm this. As for my memories of this theater: Well, the last movies I remember going to see here were "K9" and "Midnight Run" in around 1988. I also remember going to the now closed Southgate theater next door to the Fort to see "Parenthood" and around this time when the Fort was still standing, but believe that theater closed shortly before or after ths one did (so, that too was the late ''80''s). My Mother bought her Saturn from the dealership that has replaced the indoor theater. Kind of an ironic twist that the theater closed, the drive in closed, yet they built a car dealership and Sonic Drive In on the sites. Seems that little area can''t get away from cars!

Ford-Wyoming 6-9 Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: I am lucky enough to live about ten minutes from this theater. I visit this place about twice a month, if not more. Right now, I plan to go to check out the "Love Guru" at the main theater, but went here about six weeks ago to see "Prom Night" and "The Ruins". It was empty (on a Sunday night), but the theater was in beautiful shape and the people were great. I did not see the for sale sign any more, but perhaps it''s too late and it''s been sold or whatever. I will be certain to keep checking around to find if this is the theater''s last season, but I should hope it isn''t since it''s still a young drive in that''s in near perfect shape!

Michigan Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: I am somewhat sad to report this, but I went by the site of the former Michigan Drive In last week and found that all but one business that sits on the site is shut down. The Best Buy has moved to a local mall, the Builders Square that used to sit there has been vacant for over a decade, there was a Lone Star Steakhouse that has closed and a few other assorted shops (a dollar store, a clothing store) are now for rent. What a sad, sad thing that not only did we lose a theater like the Michigan, but now it''s replacement shops are gone out of business too.

Wayne Drive-In Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Jake Nelson: The poster below who mentioned "Another 48 Hours" and "Harlem Nights" is dead on about this place and how it closed. I used to head down here about 2 times a month as a kid. I went to see "Die Hard" and "Coming to America" one year and a few months later went back and saw "Weekend at Bernies" and "The Karate Kid III". The funny thing was this theater was just packed to the max at that time. In fact, the only reason I went to see "Weekend at Bernies" was because "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "The Burbs" was already totally sold out WITH a line of cars waiting, at least an hour before showtime. To find that they shut it down was a surprise. I remember one day just looking in the paper and there was a small ad listed that said "This Theater Has Closed, Please Visit the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In". I often miss that place, it was my favorite of all the Detroit Drive In''s.

Dixie Motor Speedway
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Sean Fitzgerald: Dixie back to Fridays July 11th from saturdays. As full as Auto City''s lot was on saturday i can see why. I was propbably the only person that got anything posative out of the saturday night thing cause I actually went to both tracks. But this is better for the fans, car counts and drivers. Now the tracks need to learn to work together.

Capitol Theater
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Sean Fitzgerald: sad but true in a culture where a dollar comes before everything.

Edgewater Park
Entry Date: 7/2/2008 - Sean Fitzgerald: I think you might mean "saw" couples there I think. I wish I could have gone, missed it by a few years.

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