The Eastern Museum of Motor Racing
Craig Singhaus

Auto racing has roots almost as long as the car itself. In the early days, rough and ready dirt tracks dotted the landscape in every region of the country. Now keeping those local memories of vintage racing alive is an important part of the automotive culture. So let's tag along with our own vintage reporter Craig Singhaus to a place that does just that, out on the High Road. – John Davis

The drivers were the superstars of their day. Guys like Joie Chitwood, Tommy Hinnershitz, and Ted Horn were brave men who wrestled powerful machines through dust and dirt - sometimes to racing glory - often to tragic defeat. And the venues were just as famous. Langhorne, Williams Grove and Syracuse were mega-tracks where tens of thousands thrilled to the thunder of the engines. And while many of the great drivers and tracks are gone, the history remains, preserved by the volunteer efforts of the men and women of the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.

Located in Latimore Valley, Pennsylvania, just south of Harrisburg, the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing celebrates the rich racing heritage that continues to this day in the Mid-Atlantic States.

We met up with two of the museums board members, "Dizzy" Dean Renfro and Lynn Paxton, who told us all about the museum.

LYNN PAXTON, EASTERN MUSEUM OF MOTOR RACING: "We started as the Williams Grove Old Timers, which was started by Jack Gunn and a group of people in 1975 from Williams Grove Speedway, and it was such a success that when Jack passed away in 1980 that a group of us got together and expanded to the eastern United States, therefore we became the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing. You have to remember that the eastern United States was a hotbed of auto racing. Pennsylvania into New Jersey and Maryland, there were so many racetracks that operated around here from the '20s, the '30s even now, probably more race tracks per capita in that area than anywhere in the country and that's why the history is so strong. We're working generation and generation of people here."

And generation of race cars too! Some of the cars are pristine restorations that look, well, brand new! But others are original veterans, that like the racers that drove them carry the scars of competition.

PAXTON: "This is a very good example of an original race car, this is a sprint car. This is the Ellis Brothers car. It's got a Red Ram Dodge in it. As you see the cowling on the car is all beat up. That comes from a season of racing. This car was parked in 1964 and sat for 25, 30 years in a barn. It's exactly the way it would have raced the last time."

And because the cars are arranged chronologically, you can see racing progress right before your eyes.

PAXTON: "We come up from the open wheel cars to the winged sprint cars. This is a perfect example right here. You've got Steve Kinser's 1988 Syracuse winning sprint car, just the way it rolled of the race track. It still got the bugs, the marks and everything on it."

Now here's a car that was owned and built for Briggs Cunningham, raced by Tommy Heinershitz and Joie Chitwood. I gotta tell ya, it's a thrill just to see this car. Now a museum of this quality takes a tremendous amount of effort. So, just what is it that keeps this all volunteer organization going?

"DIZZY" DEAN RENFRO, EASTERN MUSEUM OF MOTOR RACING, RACE DIRECTOR: "I'm comfortable here because I drove for 50 years. I retired 3 years ago and it's just been my life. And some of my kids say "Dad, why are you so involved?" I want people to know what we did."

And what they did was drive. Retired drivers like Lynn and Dizzy, like the generation of drivers that came before them have one thing that sets them apart. They had the courage to grab the steering wheel of a racecar and hurtle around a track at breakneck speed. And the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing celebrates that courage.