 Born in Ohio, on January 6, 1921,
Ray Rogers moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1946.His race track
photography provided a service to auto racing for the next
twenty-five years.Ray's interest in taking photos of all the
drivers at each track he visited would be a valuable asset to auto
racing historians in the future. Although his photos were primaraly
posed shots, each was taken with care to accent the driver and his
machine. These were the type of photos the compititors and fans
alike came to expect from this gentle giant of a man.
Ray Rogers was truly a generous
man. His wilingnes to give of himself for auto racing's
sake...
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 There were two drivers in the 1950’s
who came from around the same area of the small Michigan town of
Breckenridge, Michigan. Both were champion drivers with very
different styles. Johnny Roberts and Dick Carter burst on the
racing scene at approximately the same time. Roberts was a smooth
driver who coolly and patiently waited for perfect opportunities to
pass the field and claim the win. Carter was a driver who stood on
the gas and drove as hard as he could.
Born on August 17, 1934, Dick Carter
was raised on the family farm, attended Breckinridge High School,
and was well liked by his classmates for his quick wit and great
sense of humor. After graduation, Dick began...
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Bob Marz saw his
first auto race at the age of 10 when his dad took him to the now
defunct Delaney speedway that was located at M-45 and
8th Avenue just West of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Delaney
Speedway was one of a dozen dirt tracks that sprung up after World
War II.
Marz explained,
“Delaney speedway was a very low key race track. Some of the guys
drove their stock cars to the track from home. Once the races
started, the dust and dirt was so thick it was hard to see
anything.”
Like many guys his
age, Bob was fascinated with cars, specifically the engines. When
he began his...
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 In 1950, a new race
track opened: the Grand Rapids Speedrome. Bill Wiltse dominated the
track in his 1932 Ford Coupe, winning the opening night feature.
The crowd was in awe at the sheer perfection of Wiltse’s
driving.
Born on June 17,
1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bill’s interest in racing began
with running jalopies in the early 1940’s at Kamp’s Speedway, which
was also known as the Grand Rapids Speedway. After World War II, he
won his first feature at Delany Speedway in Grand Rapids.
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 In 1957, Chet Mysliwiec was running the modified stock cars on his
fifth-mile dirt track at Berlin Raceway. The modifieds, growing in
popularity, had evolved from the jalopy stock cars that had been
running there since 1951. When Johnny Roberts from Wheeler, MI
showed up with a bright yellow #1 car, things were never the same.
Robert’s car was built from a Crosley body, which had been narrowed
and chopped down. The engine was a Studebaker V-8, which was
different than the other cars, which were running flat heads and
overhead, valve V-8’s. The whole car was radically different from
any other car seen at Berlin Raceway.
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 Grand Rapids, Michigan...Up until the middle thirties, auto
racing news and race results were carried strictly by local daily
newspapers, if they were carried at all. The dailies sports editors
were pretty much stick and ball sports writers. Auto racing was
carried out on county and state fairgrounds by drivers who were all
from out of town and were pretty much unknown to the local sports
editors.
So for racing fans there was little or no coverage of the results.
The only way a fan would even know of an upcoming race in his area
was if the race track promoter shelled out some money and bought an
ad in the local area papers.
Racing was made up of what were called Big Cars. These were open
wheel special built...
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