SARANAC LAKE SPEEDWAY

Wes Moody Collection
This photo is the best choice to highlight the Saranac Lake Speedway page. 1.) It has, in the background,
the Aaron Hoyt barn, which is associated with the track. 2.) Wes Moody may be its most famous export.

          When Aaron Hoyt got his inspiration to start a race track on his land near Lake Colby, NY, it may have been as much to keep his adventurous son, Jimmy, out of trouble with his pals like Wes "Slugger" Moody, as it was to establish a big - name New York race track. Although known as Saranac Lake, the track was located on the Hoyt family farm [which was in Lake Colby]. Hoyt, the Chrysler dealer in Saranac Lake, was able to scratch out a track with a minimum of equipment and expense. The facility always struggled t o make ends meet because its bucolic location made it too easy for folks to sneak in and watch the races for free.
      The diminutive Hoyt was always concerned that turns three and four were too close to his beloved barn;, so he had the habit of leaving his full manure spreader in such a location as to serve as a buffer for the barn against errant stock cars. It did buffer once - when Paul Whitmarsh went off #3 and ended up with a mouth and a car full of nature's fertilizer. The best driver in the track's main division, the NASCAR limited sportsman cars, was Bob Bruno, with the legendary Vic Wolfe #66. He was made out to be the track villain by the local paper.
      The best hobby class entry, by far, was the Mac Bushey #43 - a 1955 Chevy driven by Lake Colby's John "Rebel" Rushlaw. Rushlaw, just as beloved as Bruno was disliked, won almost every race he was in at the track. The oval was strange. It went uphill in one place and downhill in another. The Hoyts dealt with the dust problem with used oil. While the Hoyt son, Jim, showed great promise in the NASCAR sportsman ranks, his career was shortened, early on, by a bad crash at Fonda. Jim's friend, Wes Moody, would probably be the most famous [or infamous, as the case may be] graduate of Saranac Lake Speedway.
       The track began around 1959. No one can agree on when he closed, but most agree it was not operating in 1968.

This clearly shows what must be the old Saranac Lake Speedway. It is actually closer
to the town of Lake Colby than it is to greater Saranac Lake.

The old Saranac Lake Speedway is located halfway between the left side of that diagonal line running from lower right to upper left and the short street of the trailer park that points straight out to the right and stops. I am not sure what the diagonal line is - it isn't a road.

Track owner and promoter, Aaron Hoyt [left] and another man pose at Daytona with the
Saranac Lake pace car - around 1964.

John Grady Photo Wes Moody, Saranac Lake, NY First man to go 100 M.P.H. at Syracuse	Courtesy of Wes Moody Wes Moody, Saranac Lake, NY A former Don House XL-1.	Courtesy of Mike Watts John Rushlaw, Lake Colby, NY Owner Mac Bushey, Vermontville, NY	Courtesy of Norm Vadnais Charlie Draper, Wilmington, NY The Shirley Wallace #1, Jay, NY	Courtesy of Wes Moody Jim Hoyt, Saranac Lake, NY The Fonda crash car that ended his career.
Courtesy of Mike Watts Bernie Kentile, Saranac Lake, NY In Dick Nephew's car	Courtesy of Wes Moody Bernie Kentile, Saranac Lake, NY The ex-Tucker 14 VT	Courtesy of Mike Watts Andre Smith, Canadian Driver	Courtesy of Mike Watts Vince Quenneville, Whiting, VT First actual Saranac Lake photo I had.	Courtesy of Mike Watts The infamous shared Studebaker, of Nephew and Ritchie. Fran Kane in the background.

Courtesy of Mike Watts Graham Trudo, Fair Haven, VT Car is supposed to be a hobby class entry.	Courtesy of Ardyce Blohm Rod Ritchie, Wilmington, NY One of the best to come out of the region in the earlier sportsman era.	Bob Mackey Courtesy of John Rock Bob Bruno, Morrisonville, NY Vic Wolfe's 66. The team was so good here they were portrayed as track villains by local papers.	Photo from 8 mm DVD by Dan Ody This grainy old 8 mm film capture shows Jim Hoyt with his 1st car at his dad's track.	Photo from 8 mm DVD by Dan Ody This grainy old 8 mm film capture shows Jim Hoyt with his 1st car at his dad's track - at the first races.

Photo from 8 mm DVD by Dan Ody 8 mm film capture shows Malletts Bay star and Airborne feature record wins holder, Bob Bushey at Saranac Lake.	Photo from 8 mm DVD by Dan Ody 8 mm film capture shows a heat start on the 1st race program.	Photo from 8 mm DVD by Dan Ody 8 mm film capture shows Jr. Bruno 11 and local driver Sonny Sawyer, 21.	Photo from 8 mm DVD by Dan Ody 8 mm film capture shows "Moody's Goose", the sketchy 1st race car of Wes Moody.	Photo from 8 mm DVD by Dan Ody 8 mm film capture shows car 169 with checkers. Very poor quality shot.

Bob Mackey Photo Courtesy of John Rock
NASCAR Chief Pit Steward Kay Hanson smiles as his wife, Mrs. Hoyt, and
others work at the simple registration table near the pit entrance.

Jackie Peterson Collection
This is one of the rare shots of a Shirley Wallace car. Jackie Peterson, perhaps the first Wallace driver, is seen
with Saranac Lake starter Art Prairie after winning a feature at the track in the Adirondacks.

Ladabouche Photo Cement retaining wall off backstretch.	Ladabouche Photo ARMCO barrier.	Ladabouche Photo The Aaron Hoyt barn, used for registrations. Courtesy of Wes Moody Wes Moody and Crewman. Note barn in background.
Ladabouche Photo Looking back at the backstretch.	Ladabouche Photo Cement retaining wall with steel cable.	Ladabouche Photo Front stretch retaining wall with accumulated debris.

Ladabouche Photo Looking down the front stretch.	Ladabouche Photo Into Turn 3.	Ladabouche Photo Turn 3