RPW Column: Participants & Fans Enjoying The New Dirt Track Heroes Venue At Palmer Mall

RPW Column By: MIKE TRAVERSE / RPW – EASTON, PA – When the announcement was made in December that most of the tenants at the Phillipsburg Mall had been served with eviction notices, many participants and fans of the annual Dirt Track Heroes Show were left wondering if and where the 13th edition of this popular event would take place.

However, the organizers were quickly able to secure show dates with the Palmer Mall in Easton, Pennsylvania. Race Pro Weekly checked into the show and asked some of the participants and fans how the new venue is working out.

“It’s a great place to have this kind of display for the vintage and current cars,” said Bobby Bachman, owner of the Richard Marinelli M1 tribute car. “It’s a very active mall. The last couple of years, it was mostly just race fans that came to the show. But at Palmer Mall, many of those coming here to shop can have a look at the cars and maybe the sport can pick up some new fans.”

“It’s a nice, warm and perfect spot,” said Elizabeth Marinelli-Williamson. “It’s great to see all the cars on display. And there seems to be more vendors here than I’ve seen in the past.”

“It’s really great,” said racing videographer Dale Snyder, one of the organizers of the show. “The show is much more contained. The atmosphere is great and it’s a good location. With the situation over at Phillipsburg, we had to put this show together quickly, But we are already looking forward to next year and the years going forward.”

“I like it. It is a shame what happened over at Phillipsburg,” said Duane Betz of Whitehall, NJ. “But this mall looks just like the right place for the show. It should help to increase it’s popularity.”

“We are seeing lots of traffic at our display today,” said Gary Phillips of Phillipsburg, NJ, one of the vendors . Gary was involved with racing as a car owner and photographer from 1972-2014. “I’ve been involved it 11 of the previous shows and this one is going to get better. The planning for the next show is already underway.”

“Any show of this type is good,” said Clint Bush of Oxford, NJ. “We want to see the fan base increase. It’s great to see the young kids enjoy seeing the cars. They are the future fans that will carry on the sport after us.”

So after some questions in the past months about the future of the show, it appears that the Dirt Track Heroes Show is on an awesome track and is going to continue to thrive. It’s the dedication of the people that RPW talked to today that is making this year’s show a success.