Len Kasper first attended a race at Spencer Speedway in 1957. For a 20-year period he was a regular at the track as a spectator and a race team crew member who later raced his own Sportsman stock car. Spencer Speedway opened during the summer of 1955 and still operates today with thousands of Rochester area fans attending faithfully throughout its rich history.
During that 20-year period he was at the track, Kasper kept a highly detailed journal of each racing event, as well as Lancaster Speedway, beginning with the 1965 racing season there. Throughout the years, Kasper also made many friends and acquaintances with many of the legendary drivers, car owners, builders, and race car team crew members as well as race promoters and track officials. His time with them during and in off season provided him with much behind the scenes documentation noted in his book Spencer Speedway Legends 1957-1977 published by Dorrance Publishing Rosedog Books. At the urging of many of the legendary drivers, Kasper was told repeatedly that he would be the best qualified to write a book on the tracks rich history. After a three-year period and countless hours of continued research to fill in the gaps, the book was finally published along with 83 rare photographs, many taken by the author himself. Maynard Troyer, Dale Merz, Dave Pinkney, Gary Mason and other top drivers of the era were very instrumental in adding information that would become text in the book, which has received rave reviews from countless readers. Since the book’s release, it has sold several thousand copies and is being sold in all 50 states as well as Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Kasper has been busy traveling the northeast to various book signings, encountering long lines of race fans who are obtaining signed and dedicated copies. One of the notable factors that make the book popular, in addition to is documentation, is the chronology as to the track’s beginnings as a jalopy track and how it evolved into a nationally-respected, professional racing facility with many of the weekly competitors such as Richie Evans, Maynard Troyer, Geoff Bodine, Billy Wimble, Billy Rafter, Chuck Mahoney, Jimmy Lerkins, Jerry Cook, Dutch Hoag, Jimmy Spencer and others graduating to NASCAR’s senior ranks with Evans and Cook being inducted into the National NASCAR Hall of Fame. They are all covered in the book.
Spencer Speedway Legends 1957-1977 by Len Kasper sells for $29.95 and copies can be ordered direct from the publisher by calling 1-800-834-1803. Len Kasper is a former resident of Hamlin, Kendall, Greece and Hilton.
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