Tom Ormsby's, RacingRemembrances-Riverside Park Speedway

With SpeedwayEXPO holding a Riverside Park Speedway Reunion February 27th through March 1st, this week is all Riverside Park Speedway. Hard to believe it has been a decade since "The Park" closed it's doors. It is my understanding the main portion of the Riverside Reunion will take place on Friday from 5:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.

Noted Racing Journalist Pete Zanardi, then a Staff Reporter for the Hartford Times, wrote this article as a preview to the 1976 Riverside 500 Team Race.
Of course, the photos weren't included in the article.

By Pete Zanardi

The lineup for the 1976 Riverside 500 with John Anderson on the pole and Ronnie Wyckoff in the Czarnecki #20 on the outside pole. On the starters stand is Bill Long, now the IndyCar VP of Marketing.

Granddaddy Of Stock Car Races

Hartford Times-Friday July 9, 1976
It is, without question, the granddaddy of New England’s stock car events. The Riverside 500 dates back to 1951 and over that span it has, no doubt, been the leader in contributions to New England auto racing history.

Pete Fiandaca of Fitchburg Mass. And John Anderson of Waterbury will be on the pole Saturday night for the 26^th running of the race at Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass.

The green flag drops at 7:30.

It is a team race, two cars “teaming” to go 500 laps, 125-miles, around the quarter-mile Riverside oval.

When Harvey Tattersall brought the race to Riverside 26 years ago, the prospects for a racer going that distance were indeed dim. Still, Tattersall, president of the United Stock Car Racing Club, and Riverside wanted that magic 500 association.

The answer was, let two cars do it.

Today’s modifieds would have no trouble going the distance but Riverside has stayed with the idea.

The ideal, of course, is for each “teammate” to run 250 laps. It doesn’t always work that way and that just increases the magic. Often mechanical problems will plague a car after far less than 250 laps, meaning the other car must go much farther.

Gene Bergin, for instance, once drove over 425 laps in the race. Often there are three or even four changes for a team.

The Polverari/Wyckoff team celebrate their 1976 500 win. Polverari's 2nd straight and Wyckoff's third.

The favorite Saturday night is the defending champion team of Bob Polverari, who has won five features so far this season, and Ronnie Wyckoff of Southington. Wyckoff is actually shooting for three straight 500 wins. He teamed with Bobby Bard of Manchester to win in 1974.

Should the Polverari-Wyckoff team take the $3,000 first prize, Wyckoff will equal a race record for consecutive wins currently held by Buddy Krebs.

Bergin…Krebs…Ed Flemke…Jocko Maggiacomo…Jerry Humiston…Gordon Casey…Dick Dixon, all magic names in New England auto racing history and all vital parts of the Riverside 500 story.

Indeed, part of the magic in going to the race is listening to veteran watchers tell and tell again stories from the past.

Other than Polverari, a two-time winner, and Wyckoff, Bob Stefanik of Enfield and Jim Cash of Prospect are the only other former winners in the field.

Stefanik won in 1969 and in 1972, each time teaming with another legend, Billy Greco. Cash won with Greco in 1973 and with Bobby Bard in 1970.

The second place team will split $1800. Third place earns $1250. Riverside will pay out $10,000.

The 1976 Riverside 500 Starting Line-up

First Row	Pete Fiandaca/John Anderson	Bob Polverari/Ronnie Wyckoff
Second Row	Jack Cirillo/Sonny O'Sullivan	Lou Tabone/Johnny Lobo
Third Row	Marty Radewick/John Fisher	Jim Cash/Roger Westbrook
Fourth Row	Bob Stefanik/Charlie Glazier	Jap Membrino/Dan Rocke
Fifth Row	George Fitz/Gig Smith	Steve Hoppi/Frank Moulton
Sixth Row	Bobby Bard, Jr./Bruce Gallant	Joe Rzeszutek/Dan Derochers
Seventh Row	Bill Doyle/Dick Taylor	Roland Bombadier/Bobby Kelty
Eighth Row	Woody Gutt/Charlie Oldman-King	Gary Barnes/Willy Malette

History of Riverside Park Speedway

Riverside Park Speedway was built in 1948, replacing an open air bandstand at Western Massachusetts' most popular vacation destination - Riverside Amusement Park. Edward Carroll, Sr., the founder of the facility, took a liking to a sport that was gaining popularity in the Northeast after World War II, and added auto racing to his slate of attractions in Agawam. FULL STORY

Dick Dixon	Stan Disbrow
Danny Galullo	Bob Tausher
Ed Patnode	Walt Czepiel
Buddy Krebs	Bobby Bard
Steady Eddie Flemke	Tony Mordino
Benny Germano	George Lombardo
Wild Bill Greco	Johnny Lobo
Jocko Maggiacomo	Rene Charland, Jerry Humiston, Dick Dixon

THEN & NOW
Ronnie Wyckoff & Starter Chris Hopkins

Bob Polverari

Last 3 Photos Courtesy of Larry Larivee