Eastern Museum of Motor Racing
Wing car owned by Karl Kinser and driven to a victory at the Knoxville Nationals in 1986 by Steve Kinser
Words-photos: Mike Blanchard
Just north of Gettysburg on Pennsylvania Highway 15, in York Springs, is the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.
The museum sits among trees on a hill overlooking a beautiful, old-time fairgrounds. The building sits on the side of the hill with a new display room and breezeway on the upper part leading down to two large, conjoined buildings housing the bulk of the collection. There are areas to display cars along the building and a large space to have outdoor swap meets.
The cars and memorabilia are displayed in three large rooms with the library and an event space (with a display of racing motorcycles) upstairs. Arguably one of the most significant aspects of the museum is its research library, which numbers thousands of books, photos and papers.
One of the museum’s proudest collections is the books, photos and papers of motor racing commentator and journalist Chris Economaki. Economaki, an editor at National Speed Sport News for 60 years, was a fan of the museum and had visited many times. After he died, Economaki left the museum a grant and added his trophies and racing memorabilia to the collection.
I sat down with Don Robinson, who has been associated with the museum for many years. “Pennsylvania is full of local fairs, and they had racetracks,” he said. “This particular fairgrounds … they raced horses and they raced Model Ts. When they built Williams Grove in 1939, this racetrack closed.
“It sat idle for 40 years. In 1979 the Williams Grove Old Timers and Lynn Paxton bought it and restored the racetrack. You could still see the outline of the track; it was actually a cow pasture, and some of the outbuildings.
“So the first thing they did was restore (the) old fairgrounds racetrack so they could run their old vintage race cars. Not really race but just get ’em out and run ’em and make a little noise and smoke, you know: an activity.
“Then in ’89 they bought more ground … which is where we are now, up the hill, and built this. The museum has expanded about four times. Now we are getting ready to build a storage building for vintage race cars as well.”
The museum collection contains an almost overwhelming array of memorabilia in addition to the cars. And the cars are fantastic: everything from early big cars and midgets to an ’80s Kinser wing car; to drag cars, stock cars and motorcycles. There are all the little things as well: tools, racing gear, signs, helmets, body panels, engines, etc. For the racing enthusiast, it is a real treasure trove.
The staff are very knowledgeable on the subject of motorsports. The ladies that work in the gift shop could give you an education.
The afternoon I visited there was a national sprint car race at The Grove with a $75,000 prize for the winner of the main. Many of the hottest drivers were out to take a run at the money. Most of the people at the museum were headed to the race. after a day at the museum.
The locals are passionate about racing. They take a great deal of pride in the racing heritage of Pennsylvania. As the afternoon wore on a fan headed out to the race commented: “Nothing against Knoxville and the Nationals, and sprint car racing in Iowa; they like to bill themselves as the sprint car racing capitol of the world. They are not; we are. Because we have Williams Grove, Lincoln Speedway, Selinsgrove, Port Royal, Hagerstown, BAPS Speedway. They’re all still going.
“We raced this year and we’re racing now. If you go to The Grove tonight it’ll be just packed, just packed. Sprint car racing is really big around here.”
Eastern Museum of Motor Racing, 100 Baltimore Road, York Springs PA 17372; (717) 528-8279.