For Immediate Release

Media inquiries contact: Emily Higgins, Publicist  

843.853.2070 x 113

ehiggins@arcadiapublishing.com

 

Take a Drive Down Memory Lane of Raceway Park

Local race enthusiasts complete pictorial history book

 

 

The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Blue Island’s Raceway Park. Raceway fans Stan Kalwasinski and Samuel Beck teamed up to compile more than 200 vintage photographs telling the history of the “World Famous Motordrome.”

 

On September 24, 1938, Raceway Park officially opened its doors, and the track remained open for over 60 years. The first race was won by Harry McQuinn, who went on to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and become the chief pit steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

 

In 1948, Raceway Park added stock car races to its regular program, and the track became a popular entertainment venue throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s as thousands of Chicagoans filled the stands. The track held its last race in 2000 and was torn down the following year.

 

Although Raceway Park is now a part of history, the "World's Busiest Track" is still in the hearts and minds of many Chicagoland race fans. The authors hope that the book will “continue to preserve the legacy of Raceway Park, one of Chicago’s premier entertainment facilities, and also reunite long-lost fans and drivers of the racetrack.”

 

Highlights of Blue Island’s Raceway Park:

·    The introduction is written by long-time track announcer Wayne Adams.

·    During the 1960s and 1970s, Raceway Park drew more fans than the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls, often times having crowds near five digits large.

·    Known for its Fourth of July fireworks display, motorists on I-57 would pull onto the shoulder to watch the show presented by Raceway Park.

·    The book features photographs of future NASCAR stars, such as Mark Martin, Dick Trickle and Bobby Dotter.

 

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or

(888)-313-2665. 

 

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.

 

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Text Box: Stan Kalwasinski and Samuel Beck, although a generation apart, have been lifetime race fans and began attending races at Raceway Park when they were kids. Kalwasinski covers Chicago-area auto racing for multiple publications and was also the track announcer for Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville for over 15 years. Kalwasinski and Beck have selected the best images from their photograph collections, as well as from others, to tell the story of the "World Famous Motordrome."

 

Blue Island’s Raceway Park

by Stan Kalwasinski, Samuel Beck

Images of America Series

Price: $21.99

128 pages/ softcover

Available: February 15, 2010

 

 

For Immediate Release

Media inquiries contact: Emily Higgins, Publicist  

843.853.2070 x 113

ehiggins@arcadiapublishing.com

 

 

 

 

 
   

 

About the Authors of Blue Island’s Raceway Park

 

 

Stan Kalwasinski was born and raised in Chicago.  He and his wife, Karen, reside in Munster, IN.  Kalwasinski attended his first stock car races as a youngster with his parents at Raceway Park and Chicago’s 87th Street Speedway.  He began taking pictures at the races around 1967.  He was part of track photography team at Raceway Park in 1970.  Kalwasinski was also involved in track photography and public relations at Illiana Motor Speedway from 1971 through 1977; media coordinator/photographer and yearbook editor for traveling ARTGO Racing stock car series from 1979 through 1985; track announcer at Illiana Motor Speedway from 1988 through 2000; and track announcer at Grundy County Speedway from 1990 through 1999.

 

Stan has a large collection of Chicago and Midwest area stock car racing photographs and negatives, and also has extensive files on Chicago area racing information and history.  He has been a contributor for over 30 years to a variety of racing publications, including National Speed Sport News.  Stan is the local auto racing correspondent for The Times newspaper. Several years ago he developed a website, www.chicagolandautoracing.com, for the purpose of preserving and promoting Chicago area auto racing history.

 

Samuel Beck was born in November of 1991 to Paul and Barbara Beck of Hammond, IN.  His father took him to his first stock car race the following year at Raceway Park.  This father and son moment continued nearly every weekend during racing season until the track’s final season in 2000. Cars and racing have been in Beck’s blood, with him racing go-karts beginning at the age of eight. 

 

Although he has outgrown the go-kart, Beck is still a “motor head” maintaining his father’s vintage cars, a 1960 Chevrolet Impala convertible and a 1964 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport.  These cars are driven to local shows on a regular basis and have won various awards across the Chicagoland area.  Beck and his father are key organizers in Raceway Park reunions, which are held on a regular basis.  Beck plans on studying Mechanical Engineering upon entering college in 2010.