South Mountain Raceway – When you go to any track, there’s always interesting people there, always a lot of stories to be heard. What follows is a conversation I had with Walter, friend of Mountain Mike, who was at one time the golden voice from the tower at Englishtown, but on this day was displaying his announcing talents at South Mountain Raceway. We were sort of interviewing each other and chatted on several subjects, most notably South Mountain Raceway and Vintage Eliminator.

Walter: I saw an article you wrote, what was the website that was on?

DFMM: dfmotormag.com

Walter: dfmotormag.com…you wrote a nice little story about South Mountain Raceway. It was nice to see. I was many, many hundreds of miles away from here when I saw it and I thought that was kind of cool. You are a motorsports writer. Tells us about the website a bit.

DFMM: Well, what could I say?

Walter: Where can we find it again? What was the address?

DFMM: dfmotormag.com

Walter: I think it was one of those things that just came up on Google, you know like up in the banner, it was kind of cool, it’s like making the big time, you know, when you appear on a Google banner.

DFMM: Well, my thing is little tracks like this…this place is great. It’s unique, you don’t have a setting like this anywhere else.

Walter: Yeah, that’s why I like it. We got the stream right next door, we got the mountains on the other side, the railroad tracks right over there. It’s a neat little place. You know I like it. You’ve got to remember I worked at Raceway Park in Englishtown for 17 years, which is a big national event track. Coming here is like going back to my roots back to the days when I used to race at Westhampton Raceway out on Long Island. Real old school country-like race track. Pretty neat.

DFMM: Yeah, this is the kind of thing that needs preserved. This is the foundation of the sport.

Walter: That’s Mike Natoli’s goal, “Mountain Mike,” he wants to keep this track as is, with some improvements. He’s made quite a few improvements over the years, but it’s still, if you came here 20 years ago, you’d think nothing has changed, and that’s a good thing. A track like Island Dragway, that’s another place, walk into that place and it’s like walking right back into 1961.

DFMM: I want to cover the heart and soul of the sport and these people that are here today, that’s part of the heart and soul.

Walter: Yeah, and they’re basic grass roots racers. To me, there are two types of racers, you’ve got the old-school racers who race for fun, the grass roots racers and [you have] the ones who think it’s a business and go racing only for the money. Honestly, I can do without them. My favorites are the guys who come out and test and tune at your local track on a Wednesday night and always a lot of good stories from those people as well.

DFMM: Most of the professionals have become too generic.

Walter: Yeah, professionals, that’s a whole other thing, I’m talking about the big-dollar bracket racers that all they care about is money. Some of them never win a round, but they won’t go to a track unless there’s a $20,000 to win purse. Which I think is kind of ridiculous. So what did you think of those vintage racers?

DFMM: Oh, they were awesome.

Walter: That’s really cool isn’t it? That’s something that’s actually growing over the years. That would be a good article for you, I think they could use some more exposure as well.

DFMM: I actually interviewed one their people last week at Mason Dixon. These guys don’t go fast, but I was talking to Liz Leggett yesterday and she said ‘fast is relative to what you’re sitting on.’

Walter: That’s true and it’s all a matter of how much fun you’re having for your money and bang for your buck and they’ve got it nailed.

DFMM: Oh my, yes they do.

Walter: It’s good stuff.

DFMM: Everybody [in Vintage Eliminator] looks like they’re having a great time.

Walter: I try to get here at least once a year, to this event, just so I can see cars like that.

DFMM: What’s your favorite announcing story?

Walter: I think my favorite announcing story might be my very first one. I was at Lebanon Valley Dragway and I think it may have been the bracket finals, it may have been an NHRA points race, but I was up in the tower, where I didn’t belong, but I wanted to get in the air conditioning. So the two announcers checking me over, said ‘if you’re going to come up into the tower, you’re going to have to announce,’ so I’m like, ‘okay.’ I had no idea what I was doing. I figured out how to read the screen, and I’ve been announcing ever since.

DFMM: And how many years has that been?

Walter: It’s got to be a quarter of a century at least. That was back in the 90s I started announcing, then I became the track manager and the announcer at Long Island Dragway, and I moved to Raceway Park and I announced there for 17 years and when they closed down I was the lead announcer.

Next time you’re at the track, pay particular attention to the voice from the tower. It might not be Walter, but it will be someone who has a special, often overlooked, talent for announcing. Learning to appreciate this voice will only make a good day at the track an even better experience.