CAANAN USA SPEEDWAY
Nestled in the Mascoma Valley town of Caanan NH sits one of the fastest 1/3 mile dirt tracks in New England.Built on the site of the Caanan fairgrounds. The track has a very long history.The first
racetrack on the premises was the horsetrack. The first stockcar races were run on the track that the horses used to race on. In 1975 the track and fairgrounds hosted a two day concert called the harvest festival. Im sure the people who lived in the town back then would remember because it was a big ordeal and the place was flooded with people. I know because i was one of the first to arrive and last to leave. I felt grubbier than i ever did after i climb out of mt racecar.The music lineup was great, with bands like hot tuna and john sebastian, and some i dont remember for some reason. Also one of the best agricultural fairs ever in the granite state.I also attended the last fair at Caanan with my children and it was a sad thing
Fate have it that a wonderful man named Charlie Elliot come into the picture.Charlie Elliot was a speedway builder and race promoter, with his sidekick Ken Smith, Charlie had developed several racetracks in the granite state and had just aquired the Caanan fairgrounds complete with horse track..Now Charlie didnt have anything against horses but, seeing how him and Ken Smith had a lot to do with the creating of supermodifieds, they like all their horses in little boxes.Lots of them.After much cooperation with the town government and the donation of a great ballfield Charlie and Ken went to work promoting. Not only was Charlie a very good busines man he could also see that there were two operating dirt tracks in the area both operating on saturday night. The first few races ran on the horsetrack were a test to see if he could attract cars from both tracks. Although the horsetrack sucked for cars it proved it could be a moneymaker. Charlie Elliot went right to work and he was the same kind of man as Wayne Weeks the promoter of Norway Pines Speedway! These two older guys would work day and night to get these racetracks ready.When Charlie Elliot got done with what was once a horsetrack he had created a wonderful 1/3 mile dirt track that would prove through the nineties to be the top dirt track around.Charlie had created a battleground for the Norway pines and Bear Ridge speedway to clash.Friday nights at Caanan Usa speedway!Clash they did. Charlie had Mods Latemodels superstreets fours and who knows what else?Some of the best racing in new england was ran at Caanan attracting cars from as far away as New York. Charlie eventually built a asphalt track and ran both tracks.I have a story i have to tell about Charlie. He had this old courteroy coat he used to always wear and i was sittin with him and this clown from the Joey Chitwood show was performing and he begged Charlie to let him use that coat ,well this dumbass clown ripped Charlies coat he loved and i never seen him so mad even when we were gettin out of hand. He said i,ll never have them here again and i dont think he did.Charlie liked the show to have a lot of excitment so he wasnt so quick to get involved unless thing were getting too out of hand. He used to say if the folks go home wound up their gonna come back next week to see who,s gonna retaliate.
We would get these new flagmen and they would give us this big lecture how their the new Wyatt Earp and im gonna clean this racin up.Huh, ol Charlie would tell them to back off and let the boys race. Boy we did. If you werent wound up when you went home then you probrably got wrecked.Charlie had no problem starting thirty cars in a race if they showed up.Anyone who raced their all through the nineties and late eighties will tell you that it was the place to be on friday night.Charlie had to quit eventually because his age was slowing him up , but even though the track has remained open and had a few different people run it, Charlie Elliot will always be the man who made it all work. The memories of the hot summer friday nights and all the excitment that came with being part of Caanan USA Speedway will always be some of my favorite memories. Although we have lost quite a few of the old drivers from this era of racing we were lucky enough to have the luxury of the camcorders to allow us to go back in time and relive all the fun we had and the friends we made while we all raced together.As far as i know Charlie Elliot is still alive and though in his nineties he still goes to dirt races in Florida.Even after he is gone though it will be a long time before any of us forget him and how he changed racing.The nineties also seen a lot of changes in the cars.The old coupes were showing up less in the modified class and the new style mods were showing up more and more. The late models evolved a lot too, with more chassis cars and aluminum bodied cars showing up. These changes brought the formation of the superstreet class. These cars were in between the stockers and the Late models. Most of them could still run with the late models and finish descent.
The years we raced at Caanan USA Speedway were the hight of the dirt track racing in this area and although the racing continues to this day it just doesnt hold a candle to the racing of the Eighties and nineties. The sportsmanship and the competition is nothing like we all experianced back in this golden time of dirt track racing in New Hampsire. Below is a photo album of the cars of Caanan compliments of Johnny Latuche and as you look at the pictures you can see the changes the cars went through!Special thanks to my old friend Charlie Elliot for giving us another great racetrack in this area.Also i would like to mention Chappy Kilgore who kept us fed all those years I hope everyone likes the pictures.
racetrack on the premises was the horsetrack. The first stockcar races were run on the track that the horses used to race on. In 1975 the track and fairgrounds hosted a two day concert called the harvest festival. Im sure the people who lived in the town back then would remember because it was a big ordeal and the place was flooded with people. I know because i was one of the first to arrive and last to leave. I felt grubbier than i ever did after i climb out of mt racecar.The music lineup was great, with bands like hot tuna and john sebastian, and some i dont remember for some reason. Also one of the best agricultural fairs ever in the granite state.I also attended the last fair at Caanan with my children and it was a sad thing
Fate have it that a wonderful man named Charlie Elliot come into the picture.Charlie Elliot was a speedway builder and race promoter, with his sidekick Ken Smith, Charlie had developed several racetracks in the granite state and had just aquired the Caanan fairgrounds complete with horse track..Now Charlie didnt have anything against horses but, seeing how him and Ken Smith had a lot to do with the creating of supermodifieds, they like all their horses in little boxes.Lots of them.After much cooperation with the town government and the donation of a great ballfield Charlie and Ken went to work promoting. Not only was Charlie a very good busines man he could also see that there were two operating dirt tracks in the area both operating on saturday night. The first few races ran on the horsetrack were a test to see if he could attract cars from both tracks. Although the horsetrack sucked for cars it proved it could be a moneymaker. Charlie Elliot went right to work and he was the same kind of man as Wayne Weeks the promoter of Norway Pines Speedway! These two older guys would work day and night to get these racetracks ready.When Charlie Elliot got done with what was once a horsetrack he had created a wonderful 1/3 mile dirt track that would prove through the nineties to be the top dirt track around.Charlie had created a battleground for the Norway pines and Bear Ridge speedway to clash.Friday nights at Caanan Usa speedway!Clash they did. Charlie had Mods Latemodels superstreets fours and who knows what else?Some of the best racing in new england was ran at Caanan attracting cars from as far away as New York. Charlie eventually built a asphalt track and ran both tracks.I have a story i have to tell about Charlie. He had this old courteroy coat he used to always wear and i was sittin with him and this clown from the Joey Chitwood show was performing and he begged Charlie to let him use that coat ,well this dumbass clown ripped Charlies coat he loved and i never seen him so mad even when we were gettin out of hand. He said i,ll never have them here again and i dont think he did.Charlie liked the show to have a lot of excitment so he wasnt so quick to get involved unless thing were getting too out of hand. He used to say if the folks go home wound up their gonna come back next week to see who,s gonna retaliate.
We would get these new flagmen and they would give us this big lecture how their the new Wyatt Earp and im gonna clean this racin up.Huh, ol Charlie would tell them to back off and let the boys race. Boy we did. If you werent wound up when you went home then you probrably got wrecked.Charlie had no problem starting thirty cars in a race if they showed up.Anyone who raced their all through the nineties and late eighties will tell you that it was the place to be on friday night.Charlie had to quit eventually because his age was slowing him up , but even though the track has remained open and had a few different people run it, Charlie Elliot will always be the man who made it all work. The memories of the hot summer friday nights and all the excitment that came with being part of Caanan USA Speedway will always be some of my favorite memories. Although we have lost quite a few of the old drivers from this era of racing we were lucky enough to have the luxury of the camcorders to allow us to go back in time and relive all the fun we had and the friends we made while we all raced together.As far as i know Charlie Elliot is still alive and though in his nineties he still goes to dirt races in Florida.Even after he is gone though it will be a long time before any of us forget him and how he changed racing.The nineties also seen a lot of changes in the cars.The old coupes were showing up less in the modified class and the new style mods were showing up more and more. The late models evolved a lot too, with more chassis cars and aluminum bodied cars showing up. These changes brought the formation of the superstreet class. These cars were in between the stockers and the Late models. Most of them could still run with the late models and finish descent.
The years we raced at Caanan USA Speedway were the hight of the dirt track racing in this area and although the racing continues to this day it just doesnt hold a candle to the racing of the Eighties and nineties. The sportsmanship and the competition is nothing like we all experianced back in this golden time of dirt track racing in New Hampsire. Below is a photo album of the cars of Caanan compliments of Johnny Latuche and as you look at the pictures you can see the changes the cars went through!Special thanks to my old friend Charlie Elliot for giving us another great racetrack in this area.Also i would like to mention Chappy Kilgore who kept us fed all those years I hope everyone likes the pictures.
