So Nostalgia Weekend was the big event this week. And as I told ya last week, Don Benvenuti would be chillin’ down at the track this week. Don’s family helped build the track back in the early ’50’s and were members of the Board of Directors until 1975 when Harvey Tattersall Jr bought the track. ‘The Donald’ is a young 78 years old, but seemingly had the time of his life back at the track tonite…
I wrapped up my pit hawkin’ duties early this week to meet up with him at the gate ’round 4pm. I saw his daughter come in, and then his grandson… but not The Donald as we debated whether we should go out to the parking lot n’ look for him, Dave Dykes told us he was already here and up in the booth. Homeboy was chillin’ V.I.P. style before I met up with him.
So during practice, I took him through the pits. He got a chance to see Jerry Pearl and Bob Gada – both of whom raced while Don ran the track – and the stories just came right outta this guy. God I love ol’ timer’s stories. He got a chance to meet Dennis too and The Donald keeps up on the goings on at the ‘bowl as he was well aware of Dennis’ successes at the ‘bowl and his chase for his 7th title. I also introduced him to current point leaders Rob Janovic Jr and Bruce Thomas Jr, who both took time to chat it up with DB. We also stopped by Ronnie U’s trailer as Don was familiar with Glynn Shafer, who spent a majority of his Speedbowl career driving for Ronnie’s dad. Don and his family really had a blast… I was glad I invited him…
…Ya know, Mr Benvenuti isn’t one of the drivers or car owners sprinkled through the track’s history that we might look back at like our childhood heroes – like I do when I think of Ronnie Bouchard, The Reg or my man CJ Frye. And for those who don’t know him personally, it might not have been a big deal to have him down there. In fact, I’ll admit… part of this idea was selfish. As I’ve spent the last couple of off-season’s all up in the track’s history, I just wanted him to see what was goin’ on nowadays. Don and his family got the ball rollin ya know…
It was funny – he kept thanking me for having him down there. His children and grandchildren came down as well and he was truly honored to be the track’s special guest for the evening. And although not necessary, the thanks was cool, but I kept wanting to thank him. I mean, this guy was there when his dad, uncle and a few others built the track. If it wasn’t for Don’s family, Waterford might never have had a track. Don’t need to know much more than that, do ya?? With all the uncertainty that surrounded us a few weeks back, it was easy to curse n’ moan ’bout how we might have lost the track. So being the reverse psychology type o’ guy I am, I thought it’d be even better – especially on Nostalgia Weekend – to appreciate those who brought the track to us after all the worries about who might take it away.
The Donald told me not much has changed over the years. He left the track in the mid ’70’s. He said the turn 4 pit gate wasn’t there before and the dirt pits used to be where the kept all the safety vehicles. The only thing that was noticebly different was the equipment on the cars. Like all of us, he too was worried about the cost of the cars vs. what is paid out – and stressed the importance of sponsorship $$.
I was impressed that at his age he was so out n’ about… homeboy even threw down a cold one. It was also cool to see him interact with Rob, Bruce & Ronnie. They all seemed honored to talk with Don, while Don had this fan-type vibe towards them. Like I mentioned earlier, he reads up on the track through the local papers and knew alot of the guys by name and was happy to have a chance to meet today’s drivers.
It was just nice… One of the things Bill Roth told me when I first met him was that he’d love to see people return to the track that haven’t been down in a while – and at least for this weekend, I helped bring one of the ‘bowl’s Founding Fathers back to the track his family helped create.
The one thing I learned this week is that we’re all part of this thing. No one person or family is responsible for the Waterford Speebowl’s success. The Benvenuti’s brought us through the track’s first 25 seasons – and it’s since been passed along a few times – and now it’s our turn. The R&R regime, today’s current drivers and us loyal supporters in the stands… and somewhere down the road they’ll hopefully be others who’ll continue to do the same.
Anyways, I gotta give a shout out to Matt Buckler as he once again helped out on the fly with one of my small ideas… and to Dave Dykes – a crafty veteran of Nostalgia Weekend festivities – who helped make the Benvenuti family feel right at home this week.
I’m out
Sid