Modifieds of the Valley: A History of Racing at Lebanon Valley Speedway

Seven decades of colorful stories and images from Lebanon Valley Speedway, upstate New York s ultra-racy half-mile dirt track. Famous for high banks and high speeds, the popular track grew from a primitive start in the 1950s to a showplace for the mighty Big Block Modifieds and World of Outlaws, All Star, and ESS Sprinters, as well as for celebrated drivers Kenny Tremont, Tommy Corellis, Brett Hearn, Eddie Marshall, JR Heffner, Stewart Friesen, and so many more.

Lew Boyd is an author and president of Coastal 181, a publisher of motorsports books. He was an active race car driver for over 40 years, having driven in virtually every division active in the Northeast, from jalopies to Sprint Cars, and won open competition races from the 60s through the 90s. He s raced at New York tracks including Fonda, Lebanon Valley, Cairo, and Mid-State. He also knows the downside of spirited competition: He endured fire and violent crashes, including an end-over-end flip the night before his final exam at Harvard College. In addition to Modifieds of the Valley, he is the author of Cages are for Monkeys with Kevin Olson; TOBY: The Star-Crossed Story of an American Racing Family; Fonda! A History of the Legendary Fonda Speedway, with Andy Fusco; Hot Cars Cool Drivers; Paved Track Dirt Track: Racing at Old Bridge Stadium and Nazareth Raceway, and They Called Me The Shoe: The Kenny Shoemaker Story; as well as many magazine articles and online posts. He is the 2019 winner of the Eastern Motorsports Press Association s Jim Hunter Writer of the Year award and is a member of the New England Auto Racing, D.I.R.T., and Fonda Speedway Halls of Fame.