RACE TRACK TOWERS

From Lost Trotting Tracks.com
Stock car racing judges' and announcers' stands came from the old fairgrounds tracks. This one at the Topsham, ME track was particularly super.

Courtesy of Ed Gould
The absolute crudest deal I ever saw - at Ge-Jo-Clin Speedway, Boltonville,VT

Howard White Photo via Bob Simons
The Waterford Speedbowl, at it's 1951 opening. Lots of bleacher space; very modest announcer booth.

Courtesy of Steve Pecor
The final configuration of the tower and luxury boxes at Catamount Stadium, Milton,VT

Ladabouche Collection The construction of the original announcer's tower at Catamount in 1965.	Source Unknown The tower at Sanair. The Canadians do it up big.	Leb. Valley Classics Site Even the older Lebanon Valley tower was pretty impressive.	Steve McKnight Photo Airborne promoter Mike Perrotte watches the action from that track's elaborate tower.	Pascal Cote's Website The entire [abandoned] Autodrome Ste-Damien sits, like a ghost, intact. Note the tower is freestanding, much like Catamount's was originally.
Courtesy of Pascal Cote The Montreal area Fury Speedway in Fabreville apparently set the tower between its two separate bleacher sections.	Courtesy of Lyndon Fair Site The old judges' tower next to the small stage may or may not have \been there when this fair site in Lyndon, VT served briefly as the East Lyndon Jalopy Track in 1950.	Delameter Photo Courtesy of Ken MacIsaac In 1986, Oxford Plains decided it was time to get serious about the Announcer and VIP accomodations.	Courtesy of Gerard Major via Paacal Cote. Another look at the tower at Riverside Speedway, Laval, QC. Pretty good for 1959.	Courtesy of Chuck Brownell. NY State Fairgrounds, Syracuse 1962,
Courtesy of Kevin Durgin This shows what Beech Ridge did later to improve the lot of announcer and VIPS alike.	Courtesy of Allen Brann One of Oxford Plains' towers looms in the background of the Dale Shaw photo.	Courtesy of Richard LaGrange When Fonda removed its iconic announcer's tower the facility moved to above the famed covered stands..	Courtesy of Chris Hussey This is whacha call yer racin' tower !.	Courtesy of Dave Loeffler Barefoot Bob McCreadie havin' uh awful accident in front of a Fonda tower enlarged from the original.

Courtesy of Bob Bushey Family Walter Barcomb, the bigger man in the hat, didn't spend much on his stand at Malletts Bay Raceway Colchester, VT Below - from the rear. Courtesy of Bob Bushey Family	Wolfe Aerial Photo Courtesy of The Wilson Family The announcer's stand at Mettawee Speedway, as seen from the air.	Rutland Hist. Society Pico Raceway's stand on opening day in 1951. Not really much shelter for Red Wildey. Below - A blurry front view. Courtesy of Bud Brooks	Courtesy of Pete Racine The Dog River Speedway Northfield, VT	Source Unknown Monroe County fairgrounds Rochester, NY had a very simple stand for such a big venue.
Ladabouche Collection The familiar stand at Fonda Speedway	Ron Clark Photo Exeter, ME fairgrounds	Courtesy of Dan Ody Whites Beach Spdwy Ballston Lake, NY	Courtesy of Dan Ody Whites Beach Spdwy Ballston Lake, NY	Courtesy of Wayne Boyce Plymouth, NH fairgrounds
Ladabouche Photo Otter Creek Spdwy Waltham, VT	Courtesy of Dan Ody Ashland Park Spdwy Warrensburgh, NY	Courtesy of Mark LeFrancois Fairmont Speedway, Fair Haven, VT Tower in Infield, '50's Courtesy of Chris Companion Tower by Stands, '60's	Courtesy of Dan Ody Fairgrounds, Altamont, NY	Courtesy of Norm Vadnais VT State Fairgrounds Rutland, VT Full Tower, 1962 Some gone 1964
Maine Vintage Site Armand Sirois, in front of the very minimal stand at Norridgewock, ME	Courtesy of Bob Bushey Family The tower at Harvey Moody's Green Mt. Raceway, Colchester, Vermont.	Courtesy of Bob Bushey Family The infield tower for Ivanhoe Smith's Colchester Raceway.	Courtesy of Rick Parry The stand at the fairgrounds in Canton, NY - St Lawrence Valley Speedway.	Source Uncertain The minimal announcer's tower at Lower Waterford, Vt's Northeastern Speedway.
Courtesy of Troy and Bob Dodge Family The tower at T Road has changed little since 1960.	Courtesy of Cho Lee The tower in the infield at Safford park, Cheshire County Fairgrounds, Keene, NH was simpler than the announcer's stand shown at right.	Ladabouche Collection The announcer's area at Cheshire.	Courtesy of Alexander Family The tower at Can-Am Speedway, Newport, VT was built this simply in 1979.	Sirois Photo Another simple tower at Autodrome Ste-Monique is seen behind the stunt drivers.
Dan Ody's 8MM DVD Lebanon Valley first had a Judges' Stand in the infield. Below - The next one was built in into the grandstand structure. Apparently, now there's another. Lebanon Valley Classics	Courtesy of Danish Family Steve Danish meets admirers in front of a simple announcer's stand at an unknown venue.	Racers Bored Site The tower at Stateline Speedway, Bennington was very small.	Courtesy of Jackie Peterson Harold "Cannonball" Baker, an early Vermont driver, performs in front of the tower at Sheldon, VT - tracks Green MT. Farms Raceway. He had lost a bet to Jackie Peterson.	Courtesy of Phil Miller Route 66 Speedway had a small, simple stand on the back stretch, opposite the spectators.
Maine Memories.com This 1915 postcard shows a typical judges' stand at Bass Park, near Bangor, ME. The tower may or may not have been still there when they ran races there in 1950.	Courtesy of Steve Pellerin At least in the earlier days, Beech Ridge Speedway had a very small announcer's stand.	Courtesy of RIch Benway This gives a better look at the Beech Ridge earlier tower. In the lower section is a newer shot.	Courtesy of Pascal Cote This Montreal area Quebec track [likely Riverside in Laval] not only had an announcer stand but it looks like a VIP section - not bad for the 1960's.	Courtesy of J.G. Chartand The announcer's booth at St. Jerome, Quebec's Bouvrette Speedway was on the roof of its grand old covered stands.
Courtesy of Tammy C orbett Ray Newly - built at the time of this shot, the announcers' area at Albany - Saratoga Speedway built in 1965 was relatively simple.	Courtesy of Scott Bracy Sr. As seen in the upper portion of the upper photo, the first tower at Oxford Plains Speedway was small and in between bleacher sections. It didn't stay that way - see below.	Courtesy of Staan Kawalsinski. Look hard and you may make out the announcer's shack at Pine Bowl Speedway. It can't be dignified by calling it a tower.	Courtesy of the Gevry Family Piste de Danville [Danville Speedway] in Quebec had that classic judges' stand,	Courtesy of John Chris Grady Pete Corey and some fans in front of the tower at Richfield Springs, NY in 1955.
Courtesy of Phil Whipple The announcer's area at Northeastern Speedway was none too spacious.	Courtesy of Sandra Goodwin Fontana The stand at West Lebanon, NH's Twin State Jalopy Track was a honey.	Courtesy of Elton Ashley Elton Ashley, one of the guardian angels of Lakeville Speedway, takes a victory lap at his beloved Lakeville. The shot shows the spartan facilities the track had. Check out that elaborate judges' stand.	Courtesy of Troy Day The earlier version of Wiscasset's tower [or booth].	Courtesy of Steve Conklin The stand at little knonw Tir - Valley Speedway was a shack in the center of WHat passed as stands. [Boards set into the side of a hill].
Courtesy of Bill Kaigle and The Milton Historical Society The checkerboard tower at Milton, VT's drag strip ended up at Catamount Stadium as the handicapper's building in the pit area when the strip finally closed.	Courtesy of Shawn Byrne Devil's Bowl's tower in 1967, its first year.	Courtesy of Big Bigelow The iconic judges' at The Vermont State Fair in Rutland. Lebanon, Valley's flagger flags the end of a heat in 1961.	Courtesy of Al Hauver via Scott Wheeler The judges' stand at Newport, VT's Veterans' Park was well inside the original horse track, inside which the stock cars ran..	Courtesy of Big Bigelow The judges' stand at Midstate Speedway, Morris, NY.
Courtesy of Ernie Bodreau The old aannouncer's tower at Claremont Speedway [Twin State].	Courtesy of Joe Grossetti Coxsackie Speedway- small stands; even smaller announcer's tower.	Courtesy of John Wolgenmuth The judges' stand at Flemington was in that classic fairgrounds style.	Courtesy of Dan Ayotte The announcer's booth at Unity Raceway, Maine looked small but workable.	Courtesy of Vicki Sorrentino Prior to 1957, the stand at Lebanon Valley was in the infield.
Courtesy of Bob Puckett The mighty Martinsville once had humbler infrastrucure.	Courtesy of Joe Batil Not as old as some but still having that vintage flavor, Cape Cod's Chatham Speedway had a very simple tower.	Courtesy of Jim Kelly The Victoria Speedway judges' stand was attacked by Mel Austin.	Courtesy of Joe Cryan via Flemke.com The announcer's booth at Nazareth was perched rather precariously.	Courtesy of Barre Rocks.com Many years before the start of Thunder Road, Barre, VT had its trotting track, which did feature some open wheel racing before the site became Spaulding High School. Cute little judges' stand
Courtesy of David Topham This is Smokey Boutwell, at either Hudson or Dover Speedway.	Courtesy of Lost Dirt Tracks Site The announcer's stand at Newport, VT's Can-Am Speedway was simple and understated, like the track itself, newly built in 1979.	Courtesy of Michael Friel The announcer's stand at the newly - built Wall Stadium.	Courtesy of Tom Schmeh This shot got most of the rear of the announcer's booth at the old Brewerton Speedway.	Shany Lorenzet Photo via Ray Luce Thompson, CT. Early photos shows big stands and little announcers' area.
Courtesy of R.A. Silvia via Steve Pellerin Driver Rudy Guliani [yup, a different Rudy] at the Old Orchard Beach mile "kite track" in 1937. SOme sort of officials' stand behind.	Courtesy of Walter Newell Pete Silva and crew, beside Stan Merserve in Maine. A classic race track tower in background.	Courtesy of Greg Veinote The officials' booth at Spud Speedway, Caribou, ME during a period of down time and disrepair.	Courtesy of Scott Englund The same officials' booth at Spud Speedway, Caribou, ME during better days.	Courtesy of Marcel Bosse Maybe a different officials' booth at Spud Speedway, Caribou, ME during better days.