34 Raceways goes back in time to celebrate its 40th year with $1.50 admission price
By Dana Royer/34 Raceway

WEST BURLINGTON, IA. (July 24, 2006) - 34 Raceway, located 4 miles west of West Burlington, Iowa will celebrate its 40th year by going back in time to 1966. The 3/8 mile track is planning a special party for Saturday, July 29. Track owner Johnny Johnson and promoter, Terry Hoenig have announced that on July 29 instead of the regular weekly gate admission of $8.00, the grandstand admission price for that night will be what it was when the track first opened back in 1966 - $1.50. Yes, I said $1.50. Plus as usual kids 10 and under will be admitted free.

Special activities are planned for the evening including the appearance of the original cars of the track champions from 1966, 1967 and 1968. There will be free birthday cake, 34 Raceway gifts to all who enter the gates, free 40th anniversary koozies to the first 500 who enter the gate and a drawing for 2 soy candles for the adults. Not to forget the kids, the Junior Fan Club will be drawing numbers for added prizes this week as well as handing out freeze pops and giving away 2 bikes, 1 girls bike and 1 boys bike. A special display of 34 Memorabilia will be on display including the first trophy awarded. And don¹t forget why 34 Raceway is here.... the auto racing. Five classes of cars will be competing in their regular weekly program including IMCA Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, B-Mods, IMCA Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks. With the points races winding down and its all out racing for the drivers in search of the points championship.

If you haven¹t been to 34 Raceway or haven¹t been for a while we encourage you to come out during our celebration and join in on the fun. Bring your date, bring your kids, bring your parents, bring your friends. Where else can you get family entertainment like this for $1.50.

In the beginning... Back in 1965 five area men decided they wanted to build their own race track. The group, known as SamJac, Inc. included Al Samberg, Mel (Sox) Jackson and sons Gene and Kenny and Mels brother Richard. They located the appropriate site, they actually considered three sites. One was north of Burlington near the water treatment plant, the other was the current Spirit Hollow site. The group turned to local farmer and former racer, Don Gugeler who owned the land. Don was cultivating corn when they went out to talk to him about building a track, he agreed to show them a spot he had available that was currently home to his hogs. Samberg and the Jacksons looked it over and gave it some more thought. Soon they were back to discuss things further with Gugeler, eventually leasing 19 acres from him. Samberg was able to get a blueprint from Hugh Deery for a 1/2 mile USAC track, but when there wasn¹t enough room for the straightaways and turns it became a high-banked 3/8 mile oval. Al added that the unused blueprints were eventually used to construct I-70 Speedway, east of Kansas City.

With construction on the facility taking place in late summer and fall of 1965 - so the track surface could freeze over the winter- racing was
expected to begin in the spring of 1966, and it did. A meeting for prospective drivers had been held on October 17th of 1965, and there it was announced that two classes would compete at the 3/8 track, Cadets - which were 1944-1960 sedans or coupes with 6-cylinder motors and Modifieds - 1928-1948 model passenger car bodies that had been narrowed and shortened (hence the ³modified² name).

The season was set to open on the last Saturday night of April, but Mother Nature delayed it until May 21st. On that night, the first admission was sold for $1.50 to Jack Pearson of Burlington. Another 1057 paying race fans followed Pearson through the gates on that first night, along with many children who went uncounted since anyone 12 and under was admitted free. In 1969, its third year, the first nights attendance exceeded 3,000.

The first night¹s program included six Cadet entries and 11 Modifieds Feature winners that inaugural night were John Rodder in the Cadets and Dick McClure in the Modifieds. And now you know the rest of the story!

Racing has continued at 34 Raceway for 40 consecutive years drawing racers from near and far. The track also hosts several specials each year with its biggest being the Pepsi USA Late Model Nationals paying $10,000 to win in September.