Toolin’ Around Town: A quick, fast-paced history of the Petaluma Speedway

Harlan Osborne’s look at the people and places that make Petaluma special|

You may have noticed Shawn “Ironman” McCoy’s beige Chevy Blazer around town, the one his late father, Bob McCoy, used to push racecars with at Petaluma Speedway. Or, you may have seen his white pickup truck, the one he uses to tow his racecar to the Speedway. Both vehicles are easy to spot. They’re the ones with the fading “Save Our Speedway” bumper stickers, a reminder of the time when outside interests wanted to tear out the racetrack and replace it with a minor league baseball field.

Fortunately for race fans, those plans didn’t materialize. But with the fairgrounds’ current lease nearing expiration, changes may be on the horizon.

There may not be a stronger advocate for preserving the storied adobe oval than McCoy, who holds the distinction of never having missed a race in his 38-year career.

But he’s not alone.

Automobile racing is deeply woven into the fabric of Petaluma’s blue-collar heritage, and has been a popular sport in Petaluma for more than 80 years. For McCoy, whose consecutive race streak recently reached 808, it all began when his father took him to the Speedway as a child. His enthusiasm blossomed after he began driving his own race car, when he was 18, and grew into a family affair that included his father overseeing the push trucks, his sister Marlene working as track photographer, his wife Becky - who began as a mud scraper and now drives the push truck - and his mother Marye, a diehard fan and owner of McCoy Poultry, a primary sponsor of the races, and the company responsible for loading and delivering every chicken processed at the Petaluma Poultry plant over the past 50 years.

“I love to watch the faces of kids light up when they come into the pits after the races,” said McCoy, who’s won more than 50 main events and captured two track championships. “Racing is a lot more expensive these days, but there are still lots of folks who love the thrill of it. If I had it to do all over again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

When the city created Kenilworth Park in 1910, on the site of Harry Stover’s horse ranch, it was acknowledged that auto racing could be in its future. But it wasn’t until 1936 that the first official race was held at the old one-mile horseracing track that extended nearly to East Washington Street. According to the Argus-Courier, the event was sponsored by “Petaluma Post, American Legion,” and was attended by, “More than a thousand speed-minded Petalumans, who jammed the grandstand and lined the track.”

Reaching speeds of 90 miles per hour, the 30-lap race was won by Petaluma’s Ed Normi, who later gained racing fame and was inducted into the Bay Cities Racing Association’s Hall of Fame.

Hardtop racing began in Petaluma around 1951 on a quarter-mile flat track. Bob Barkheimer Associates is believed to be the first promoter, with John Soares joining him in 1961. Soares was a racing legend competing in roadsters, midgets and stock cars. A former BCRA champion and an early day NASCAR driver, he is a member of the Halls of Fame of the BCRA, Motor Sports Press Association and West Coast Stock Cars.

Over the years, John Soares and his wife Gladys made major improvements to the facility, including converting the track into a three-eighths mile banked oval, after taking over sole ownership in 1976. Soares retired in 2002, leaving the track to his son and daughter-in-law Jim and Karen Soares. They operated the track until 2011, when former BCRA racer and Shasta Speedway promoter Rick Faeth took charge.

“Racing is an escape valve from everyday life,” said Faeth, of the allure of the emotionally charged sport. “It’s like living a dream.”

On race nights, a minimum of 35 track personnel are required to keep the action and concession stands running smoothly. That’s on top of the many hours of track preparation performed during the week. Faeth’s job is to coordinate the qualifying and heat races and main events for four racing classes, to see that racing concludes before 10 p.m. on the 22 nights a year the speedway is open.

Petaluma Speedway has been featured in four locally filmed movies and two episodes of “MythBusters,” adding millions of dollars to the local economy. The only regular weekly outdoor sports venue in Sonoma County, the speedway has been a mainstay of sports entertainment since the Truman administration.

While racers from throughout northern California compete at the track each summer, most of the support is local, with sponsorship always a driving factor in the speedway’s longevity. Longtime racing enthusiasts M. Maselli & Sons, with 38 years of ongoing support, leads the pack, along with Petaluma race car builder Joe Carr, the all-time leader in dirt modified victories. Other sponsors include Petaluma-based general engineering contractor Michael Paul Company, whose owner Michael Paul and his son, Michael Paul Jr., are ranked second and third in all-time dirt modified wins.

“This is recreation,” said Paul Senior. “You’re supposed to go out there and have fun. It’s all about doing the best you can.”

(‘Toolin’ Around Town,’ by Harlan Osborne, runs every other week. Contact him at Harlan@comcast.com)

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