The Williams Grove Report

A woman screams, a car flies into the air, the crowd leaps to its feet. The lights from emergency vehicles rush to the scene. There is silence, workers surround the car. Then there is a wave from the driver, the audience goes wild, the clean up starts, and then the cars are pushed off again. That's sprint car racing at "The Ascot of the East".*What happened on Black Sunday?*Who won the only NASCAR Cup race here?*Know what the place was called before it was Williams Grove?*The Grove's connection to the Indianapolis 500.*Why are so many drivers from here in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame?*Which Hollywood movie mentions the track?*Plus so much more!Sprint car racing legend Tommy Hinnershitz won the first race at Williams Grove in 1939.
:Since then racing fans have flocked to the Pennsylvania dirt track to watch a plethora of drivers take on the challenge of the long straights and tight corners. Organizations that have raced here include the World of Outlaws, USAC, NASCAR, ARCA, ARDC, and the AAA. But the weekly sprint car racing is some of the best in the world. The track known as The Ascot of the East has hosted world famous racing car drivers from all over the United States.
Indianapolis 500 winners have a history of doing well at the track. The NASCAR Cup Series, then known as the Grand National Division, staged a race here. The AAA Indy Cars raced on the track as well. Some famous drivers to win here include AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Herb Thomas, Benny Parsons, and more. Roy Richwine built the track near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania but drivers from the rest of the US traveled here to compete.
Learn who they were and what happened to them. By racing author and historian J Louis Frey who grew up watching the racing action and considers Williams Grove his favorite track.