A View from the Bleachers
by Tomm Scalera
It’s the day after Thanksgiving and the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny. Perfect weather for racing. My oldest friend and I headed down the Garden State Parkway to Wall, NJ, to watch auto racing at Wall Stadium. And Wall Stadium did not disappoint.
The occasion was Day 1 of the 42nd annual Turkey Derby, a three-day event of oval-track racing headlined by Modifieds and supported by more than half a dozen additional classes of cars. Parking was easy and we quickly found room in the bleachers with a great view of the track. Today’s events consisted of qualifying, as well as racing in Sportsman, Factory Stock, and Legends classes.
Because of the relatively small but high-banked track, and the close proximity of the bleachers, race fans really feel like they’re part of the action. From the sound of the engines, to the wild-looking cars, and the smell of burning exhaust, tires and clutch pads, this is feast for the senses.
The drivers raced hard, jockeying for position and getting tangled up with each other quite a bit. Each of the classes adds it’s own form of excitement, but the class that we enjoyed most was the Legends Series. Legend cars have bodyshells that are 5/8-scale replicas of cars from the 1930s and 1940s, each powered by a Yamaha motorcycle engine. These cars are not only quick and nimble, but a lot of fun to watch, delivering plenty of competitive action as well as their share of spins and spills.
All in all, it was a fantastic day and a great way for friends to get together and enjoy an exciting, action-packed day of auto racing.
A View from the Tower
by Bob Marlow
Day 2 of the three-day Turkey Derby of 2015 found me in a familiar place, the tower at Wall Stadium where, at the invitation of announcer Earl Krause, I joined him to call the action for the TQ Midgets. The TQs are single-seat open-cockpit racers which for the first time were racing on the track’s flat “inner oval” instead of the high banks.
The tower is a chaotic place. In addition to Earl, myself, and fellow announcer Gary Larson, there are scorekeepers, the race director, and the comings and goings of various track personnel. From the moment the first car rolls onto the track until the last checked flag is displayed, the staff is running at full throttle to keep the on-track action moving. It resembles the floor of the stock exchange.
Wall Stadium was built in 1949 and today the husband-and-wife management team of Cliff and Diane Krause — no relation to Earl — has the operation down to a science. From the fans’ perspective everything goes smoothly. Everything, that is, except the weather, which, in mid-afternoon, delivers rain, perhaps the only thing beyond the control of the staff. The rain causes a three-hour delay and later, after racing resumes, returns later to cause a postponement of the balance of the day’s events to Sunday.
But no matter. Turkey Derby is a tradition, an annual pilgrimage for racing fans and track workers alike. 
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Photo credits: Mike & John Calla, https://www.wheelsofspeed.com