Third Annual Plainville Stadium Reunion a Huge Success

Gary Danko, Hall of Famer George Lombardo and Brian Danko

BERLIN, CT----The third annual Plainville Stadium reunion proved to be the biggest and best as hundreds of former racers, car owners, mechanics and just fans came out to relive past tails of glory, defeat and renew long lost friendships.

The defunct quarter mile oval located on the old Rt. 72 in Plainville, were the current Lowes Home Improvement sits was a hit for 32 years supplying families with auto races, motorcycle races, circuses and other entertainment but it was the auto racing that the track became known for.

From its beginning in 1948 to the closing in 1980, it proved to be a breeding ground for many locals to prove their racing talents and for some such as Reggie Ruggiero, formerly of New Britain, and Dennis Zimmerman of Glastonbury, it proved to give them their start to national fame.

Ruggiero started racing there driving for his uncle Eddie Mack and then when fellow racer Don Moon broke his arm, Moon put him in the car and he was soon winning everything and that landed him a ride with Mario Fiore.   They  soon became a potent team together and although they never won the NASCAR Whelen modified tour championship, they did garner five points runner up.

Ruggiero, who co-owns Race Works, a race car fabrication shop in Berlin, with fellow racer, Eddie Flemke, Jr., was also recently elected to the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame and was voted one of NASCAR’s top ten modified drivers of all time.

For Denny Zimmerman, he was part of the famed Eastern Bandits, a group of name drivers of the era led by Southington’s Eddie Flemke, Sr. who would travel to tracks south of the Mason Dixie line and walk away with the top spots and money. It was Flemke, who guided Zimmerman to a life of racing and he was later the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the year. He also finished 8^th in the 1971 Indy 500.

While others never claimed national fame, they did it for the love of the sport and the competition that it provided with such drivers as George Lombardo, Dave Alkas, his brother, Fred Alkas, Don Moon, Stan Greger a platform for bragging rights.

Dave Alkas is a member of the Berlin Lions club, one of the groups helping put on the annual reunion and he said it was racing that helped him get out of the farm.

“Racing gave me the chance to get off the farm and try something else. We really enjoyed racing with these guys and this reunion gives us a chance to reconnect with many old friends.” Dave said. Alkas was also the dominate driver at the tight quarter mile as he and car owner, Roland Cyr locked up five track championships and over 55 wins together.

Don Moon, one of the organizers of the event said it is getting bigger and better each year and they are learning from their mistakes to improve and make the fourth annual event even better.

“We were a little off on our car count this year but others stepped up and took their place. This year, with the addition of the new pavilion, it gave us a chance to interview many of the racing personalities that raced at Plainville.”

Over 25 race cars were on hand and many of them raced at the Plainville Stadium, billed as one of the toughest tracks in the northeast to navigate and conquer but only a few lived up to the billing as the best.

The track was owned by the late Joe Tinty and his family and all would agree that Joe was tough to give up a dollar to the racers but they all enjoyed racing at his track.

The track was also the scene of many infamous fights that the track was known to produce between such hardnosed drivers as Tony ‘Jap’ Membrino, Tony Mordino, Nicky Porto and others drivers from the Waterbury area that would fight it out for bragging rights weekly.

But now, all is forgotten and smiles were on everyone’s faces as they joked about past battles.

Many New England Auto Racing Hall of Famers were on hand such as Ray Miller and  Billy Greco while others who raced and won at the oval were also meeting with old friends and making new ones such as Beetle Farone and his brother, Jo-Jo, Sonny O’Sullivan, John Manafort, Don Spazano, Elton Hill, Mario Fiore, and countless others.

Organizers estimated that there were at least 50 drivers were on hand. One of the nice moving tributes was to the many that have passed on with a billboard with pictures of drivers and owners of the Plainville Stadium days who are no longer with us.

The Stadium provided many with a chance for stardom but it was the place to be each and every Saturday night during the summer and while the old track may now be history, it certainly provided many central Connecticut residents with countless hours of racing entertainment.