7/22/2022
Postman 68
BLOG: Thank You Five Mile Point Speedway
“Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Dusty Doyle welcoming you once again to Five Mile Point Speedway – Your HOME Speedway in the Southern Tier.” -- and with those words my childhood happiness began.
I grew up going to Five Mile Point Speedway, it is where I fell in love – with racing that is.
I wonder how one could not fall in love with racing at Five Mile Point in that era, the gold standard of modified tracks back in the day.
When other Saturday night tracks rained out it was common to see their top drivers roll into the pits at Five Mile Point. Oh, and then there were the big 100-lap races at the end of the year – The Southern Tier 100 and the National Quarter Mile Dirt Track Championships.
The winners list tells the story. From the south: Gerald Chamberlin, Stan Ploski, Sammy Beavers, and Kenny Brightbill. From the North: Ivan Little, Chuck Ciprich, Jack Johnson, and Alan Johnson. Oh, don’t forget our hometown heroes: Don Beagle, Frank Mears, Chuck Akulis and Carl Edwards. What a wide-range of winners in our annual year-enders.
Then there were weekly Saturday nights, with Larry Catlin, Dave Kneisel, Frankie Mears, Kenny Moore, Carl Nagel, and Chuck Akulis, who won nine straight championships from 1977 to 1985….in a pink car.
Five Mile Point is where I made a hero – Pete Cordes, number 68. The reason this site is named “Postman68”, my reminder of being that child falling in love with motorsports.
Looking at this history, it is easy to see that the reason my life-long passion, and career, for racing started at my “Home Speedway” of the Southern Tier.
However, the one constant in life is that times change.
Binghamton, N.Y. was a thriving city with two racetracks, it is now a struggling city with four area tracks. Management changed, racing changed, the public changed and sadly Five Mile Point Speedway has struggled.
I was sad, but not shocked, this spring when rumors of a pending sale surfaced.
In chatting with owner (and friend) Andrew Harpell I learned that indeed that was going to happen. And the track would cease operations.
For my friend Andrew, the decision is the right one…but that selfishly it leaves me sad. And it leaves him sad as well, his grandfather Irv Heath built the family track.
Five Mile Point Speedway: 1950-2022.
Seventy-two years – what a run!
What percentage of American businesses last 72 years?
What percentage of American businesses give hundreds and thousands for racers and race fans hours of pleasure.
I am not sure the answer to those questions other than a generic very few.
Saturday night I returned “home” to Five Mile Point, in a way it was a chance to pay my respects to a place that is very near and dear to me.
Renewing acquaintances with friends was great, getting to walk around and savor the memories was cherished…and we were rewarded with a solid modified feature and another memorable moment.
The winner – P.J. Goodwin – using a steering wheel from a family friend, mentor and Five Mile Point icon, the late Mike Colsten.
Goodwin stopped on the backstretch at a tribute sign to Colsten, to pay proper respect.
Proper respect – Five Mile Point Speedway, the storied gold standard of dirt tracks in the past, still creating moments it’s final season.
The sign leaving the track says, “Thank You Race Fans.”
My thoughts are: No, Thank You Five Mile Point Speedway.
-Postman
Submitted By: Steve Post
