Dundee will celebrate its racing history

DUNDEE--The Dundee Historical Society and Our Town Rocks will present "Horses to Horsepower," a program about the racing history in Dundee, Saturday, Sept. 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday night stock car racing has been a fixture of the Dundee community since the mid-1950s and continues to this day. They were still racing horses in the 1950s, but in June 1957, cars took to the track with over 1,000 fans attending the first stock car race at the Dundee Fairgrounds. The 20 lap feature race included 14 cars and saw Glen Reiners of Penn Yan taking the checkered flag.
The racing was not without incident though, as Hoot Gibson of Hall was rolled by Bob White of Campbell and Hank Chaffee ran into the fence which led to a second start. Two minor accidents occurred before the feature. Dick Smith of Dundee rolled over on the far turn suffering a leg injury and Jack Rockwell of Elmira took out a section of the new guard fence during the consolation race.
Leased from the Dundee Fair Board, the Dundee Speedway Club operated the track until Lin Hough became the first private owner in 1995. He owned the track until 2005. Hough then sold the track to Dean Hoag, son of local racing legend Dutch Hoag, who owned the track for the next nine years. In February of 2016, Tyler Siri of Horseheads announced the purchase of the Dundee oval, including the new name of Outlaw Speedway.
This Saturday's event looks to honor the racing and drivers who have embraced Dundee. The event will be held at the Seneca Street Park and feature eight to 10 cars representing many of the decades of stock car racing. There will also be tables of racing memorabilia, photographs and other collectibles from the 1960s to the 1990s. The historical society will show films from the 1980s and 90s and hotdogs and refreshments will be served.
Contact Caryl Sutterby (csutterby@gmail.com) or Terri Grady (dundeehistory@live.com) for additional information.