Riverside Park Speedway was built in 1948, replacing an open air bandstand at Western Massachusetts’ most popular vacation destination—Riverside Amusement Park. For 50 years auto racing was held there. In the grandstands, loyalties to different drivers became fierce, and where one sat in the stands was determined by what driver one was rooting for. Many prominent drivers got their start at Riverside including NASCAR drivers Richie Evans and Geoff Bodine.
Connecting Point Producer Dave Fraser sat down with former longtime driver/owner Bob Polverari, auto racing historian Al Fini and former track announcer Gary Danko to relive some of the memories at Riverside Park Speedway.