start - each driver fighting to grab the winning flag; not only to accumulate points but also to grab the purse money. With the hospitality of the people who ran the canteen and the smell of hot dogs, french fries and good old fashioned hamburgers; the excitement of the people and friends that one would meet from all over the Island and from all walks of life. This was stock car racing at its best; on the Freetown track every Saturday night. Two Wheels to Four Back in the spring of 1965,1 was on the hunt for a motorcycle. I met the Durant boys from Summerside, they told me that they had a Jawa bike for sale. Little did they know that the bike was sold already because of the name. To me the name Jawa sounded powerful and if it worked at all I was willing to purchase it. Like most ordinary families that lived on the Island, I was blessed with brothers and one sister. One day while I was away, son #2 decided to go joy-riding on my bike. It backfired and threw the carburetor; the machine went afire, the carburetor melted, the seat was destroyed, wires burnt. One, two, three, that's all she wrote. I wasn't beat yet. There was another sucker out there, so I traded the Jawa for a 1952 Ford two door and I decided to pipe this unit for stock racing in Montague. I contacted my friend, Bobby Jardine , and asked him to come down and help Milton and I get the car ready. With work being done in between drives in the back field, word soon got around the village as to what we were doing. Three entrepreneurs approached us with some interest in what we were up to, they were Lee Campbell , Elwood Paynter and Walter Campbell . We told them we were making a stock car to race in Montague. "Well, if you fellows would haul that car to Montague, they said, how many cars could we get here if we had a track?" The following week a lot of things happened in little Freetown . The garage at home was in for a busy time. Cars were stripped of loose metal, windows removed and pipe braced inside. Anything that was old and could run at all became a stock car. The sight chosen for the sport to be reborn in was the very famous and picturesque Scales' Pond. On the 12th of July, 1965, the sod was turned with road graders by Reginald Thomas and Jack Schurman . The first race was ready to go on the 17th of July; .50c admission for adults and children under twelve admitted free. The Freetown Stock Car Track was born. The Fever The second race was mentioned in the Journal Pioneer: "Stock car racing in Freetown really has sporting fans in hopping as approximately 2,000 people crowded into the Freetown Raceway Saturday evening as the Stock Car Association staged their second race of the season!' Five races made up the program with Bob Jardine, Jr. of Freetown taking both dashes in the flat head motor division, Willard Leard of Borden taking two firsts in the overhead motor division and Layton Johnston of Summerside getting the checkered flag in the featured free-for-all. Twenty hot rods took to the track throughout the program and it was highlighted from start to finish with plenty of thrills and spills. Nine cars started in the free-for-all event. Johnston was the lone finisher after a couple of crack ups sidelined most of the entries and car trouble forced the rest of the 'souped up jalopies' to drop out. The RCMP were on hand to handle the heavy traffic. Some spectators chose to evade paying admission. Children were allowed in free of charge. Another program is scheduled for this Saturday evening. News of the race track in Freetown travelled across the Island like the wind and more cars were built in Summerside , Borden and Charlottetown . This meant top notch competitive racing and larger crowds were bound to attend. It wasn't long before the fence posts were in, guard rails were up and lights installed. It was a night out for the whole family. Young people were drawn from the drive-in movies, and were able to do their smooching in their cars between races and then jump back out to watch the event. A few spirits would be consumed, if not your own, then from a friend. Noise and dust, thrills and spills and experienced drivers were an ideal combination. The people were ready for it and loved every minute of it. With the number of stock cars increasing each race night, the races consisted of flathead V 8's, six cylinder overhead valves and V 8 overhead valves. Each class raced twice in one evening and were eligible to enter *(Pace Lap) First lap at the beginning of a race at a slow pace everyone lined up evenly. 180