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The friend suggested that I put together a list of the top winners who were actually from York County. I thought that was a neat idea, but decided it would have to have two sections -- one for native York County drivers and one for those who weren't natives, but at some point decided to make York County their home. I'll stick to what is now the sprint-car division. So here goes.
York County natives: Smokey Snellbaker leads all York County natives in sprint-car wins. Smoke now resides in Dover, but his hometown was listed as Emigsville when he got started. Over the years, he's won 152 sprint features. The "Ageless Wonder" is still racing, and hopes for a full season of super-sportsman competition in 2010.
Wrightsville's Bobby Abel ranks second on the list of York County natives. Abel's career ended about the time the sprint cars were taking over in the area. Before that time, he was at the forefront of the switch from the stock cars to the bugs, and he put together 134 wins that I can find.
During his racing career, they called Johnny Mackison Sr., the "Delta Dart." In just nine short years, Mackison won 132 features that I've been able to document. He also found time during those nine years to serve his country and to race with the NASCAR stock cars that we now call Cup cars. While he never won with NASCAR, Mackison did record several top-five finishes, including a fifth when the stockers visited Lincoln. Like Abel, Mackison didn't really race a sprint car.
During Mackison's time at the top, his biggest rival was a chicken farmer from Seven Valleys named Bobby Hersh. In a span of little more than a year, Mackison and Hersh almost single handedly changed the class from stock cars to bugs, and the wins were frequent. Before suffering career-ending injuries at the end of the 1963 season, Hersh won 99 times on the local ovals.
After more than 40 years behind the wheel Hellam's Bobby Weaver is still going strong. Weaver has driven just about everything that has competed on the local circuit, and his 48 wins in the sprint cars match his 48 wins in super-sportsman competition. Weaver raced a bug-type car with the sportsmen when he started racing, but when he moved to the sprint-car class the sprint cars were already here.
Loganville's Paul Pitzer was one of the most exciting drivers I've ever watched race. During his career, Pitzer certainly earned his nickname of "Captain Crunch" for his take-no-prisoners driving style. Pitzer was a win-it or wear-it driver who amassed 46 documented sprint wins.
Like some of the others on this list, Stoverstown's Gene Goodling didn't race long enough to join the actual sprint ranks. A smooth, consistent driver, Goodling won a documented 36 features on his way to many track titles. At the time of his career-ending injury at the end of the 1964 season, Goodling was riding a wave of track titles around the area.
Eighth on the list is a driver who did span all three phases of what are now the local sprint cars. Ed Zirkle has lived in the same house for close to 50 years, and his hometown was listed as York, Mount Wolf and Manchester during that time. His home is really in Manchester. Zirkle started in the stock cars, won his first races in a bug and ended his career as a winner and champion in sprint cars. During that time frame he won 34 races.
Right behind Zirkle is York New Salem's Steve Stambaugh. The bugs were long gone by the time Stambaugh started his career and he raced sprint cars exclusively. His career included 33 wins and a track title at Williams Grove.
Rounding out the top 10 is Bud Folkenroth. Folkenroth called Seven Valleys his home, and for a time drove one of the area's most unique cars. No one who was around in those days can forget the ground-shaking noise of Folkenroth's supercharged Oldsmobile engine. I've found 31 wins over Folkenroth's career, which just barely touched on the sprint-car era.
Those who moved to York County: Now, how about those guys who moved to York County?
Most came here for the racing.
At the top of the list is Bobby Allen. Allen moved north from Miami in the early 1960s. After bouncing around the area for a while, Allen first established a base in Zions View. At the time, his car owner, Roy Emrich, owned some property there that included a shop that worked for building race cars. Eventually Allen moved to Hanover, where he still lives. Allen based himself locally while barnstorming the country on his way to 276 sprint-car wins.
Like Allen, Kenny Weld moved to the area to race. Weld came east from Kansas City, Mo., and bounced around a bit before ending up in Loganville. From his shop there he produced some of the area's biggest winners, and ended his career with a documented 215 sprint-car wins.
This year's Speed Dawg champion, Greg Hodnett, is one of the latest drivers to relocate to the area for racing. Hodnett toured with the Outlaws for a few seasons before moving from Memphis to Thomasville to be a part of the local racing scene. I've found 142 career wins during Hodnett's time behind the wheel of a sprinter.
Cris Eash came north from Columbia, Md., because a division of his family's business was located in Hanover. It also made things closer for his racing. So far Eash has won 109 sprint races in his career.
Bobbie Adamson followed the sprint cars east from his Pittsburgh-area home. The first year of sprint-car racing in the area was one of Adamson's best, and gave him all the reason he needed to relocate to Wrightsville. Over the years Adamson won 84 car features.
Bryan Householder writes about dirt-track racing for The York Dispatch. He can be reached at sports@yorkdispatch.com.
