Author Description

Along the north shores of beautiful Winona Lake, in Warsaw, Indiana sat the home of one of the most scenic and beloved quarter-mile dirt tracks in the United States. This track wasn't just about racing, but about friendships and a bond among those that called this track home. From its inception in 1949 with the introduction of midget hot rods and jalopies to the powerful winged sprints, hobby stocks and street stocks racing during that last summer in 1990, the Warsaw Speedway drew thousands of fans and drivers from all over the United States, Canada, Australia, and beyond. The World of Outlaws, All-Star Circuit of Champions, Sprints on Dirt, UMRA Midgets, and other traveling racing shows left many amazing memories for the fans including watching a young Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart visit early on in their careers. Warsaw's own Tony Elliott grew up at this track and made his mark in racing here before venturing out to become a 2-time USAC National Sprint Car Champion.With 498 pages and over 300 photos, this book ended up being a 25-year project in the making.... As both of my parents and many family members including my Great Uncle, track manager, C.E. "Hoot" Gibson, worked at the track for years, I grew up at the Warsaw Speedway. I was fortunate enough to be the Advertising & PR Director for the track the last 7 years of racing, writing all of the promotional ads, racing results articles, and loving every minute of it! With my articles as a start for the book, I've spent countless hours in the local library finding the other historical articles back to day one in 1949. This book is a compilation of all of those articles, photos, interesting tidbits, and history of the place so many of us loved, The Warsaw Speedway. Saturday nights have never been the same. 10% of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to The Tony Elliott Foundation. All proceeds will be used for the foundation's mission of financially supporting worthy recipients in the racing community.