Hialeah Speedway reunion #2 is history, and boy was it well attended! Yeah, there was a great crowd, and so many of the guests were the Hall of Fame quality, high-profie drivers who put on the shows year in and year out.
There was plenty of other friendly faces there too. Thanks to the name tags, I had the opportunity to meet (for the first time) some drivers who I had only watched from the stands. I think they were surprised to find someone who remembered them after so long!
Its great to see how so many just can’t shake racing and remain active in it. Jim Flateau is the starter at Ellisville, Steven “H” Dielman is the starter at Hendry, and quite a few others are still car owners and drivers: Daryl Shelnut, Mario Maresca, Danny Maddox, David and Steve Weaver, and of course the newest Hialeah Hall of Famer, Joe Winchell.
In a way, the party was a victim of its own success. There were so many guests there, that it was hard to get around and mix. There were lots of folks I didn’t get to see, or spent too little time with, I should have tried harder to get through the mob…
Ha, I did get a big friendly hug from a girl who had my head spinning 30 years ago. Naturally, she didn’t know I existed, but tonight we were old racetrack friends again. Reunions are great.
Mrs. Randy Tissot gave a very touching address to the party, and had an unusual observation. Her favorite memories were from some of the rain-out nights where the drivers and their wives would go out dancing and partying until morning. These are the same guys who would go at in on the track, so for her at least, it was the friendships that were even more important than the racing.
An event this successful will have to be repeated. It was 2 years since the first edition, and that seemed about right. My thanks to Ronnie Bacelo, Bruce Griffin, Marty Little and the volunteers who put the party on.