Welcome to "Views from the Pit Shack"

Thanks for visiting my blog.

As you can see from reading the main page, I've been around racing for a long time. Here's a little bit of background information so that you can gain some insight into my background.

First of all, I should introduce myself. My name is Greg Soukup, sometimes better known (for better or for worse) as The Eagle Pit Shack Guy. I’ve been going to races for over 56 years now. My first experiences were as a baby at Capitol Beach Raceway, here in Lincoln, Nebraska. My father loved racing, and we went every weekend.

Of course, I didn’t really appreciate the racing the first few years that we went. BUT!!! There is no doubt that I wanted to go all the same. You see, they had an amusement park there on the grounds also!! I got to ride the rides to my heart’s content, right up until race time. Then we went to watch the likes of Lloyd Beckman run their “hoodoos” around that little track. What’s the old saying? “If only I knew then what I know now”? Well, I think that one applies to me in every way. I wish that I’d spent less time on the merry-go-round and more time watching the races.

I also was fortunate enough to be taken to the IMCA races at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds each and every fall. Those sprints, or super-modifieds, or whatever you want to call them were something to see. Sleek monsters of chrome and sheet-metal, flying around that track, throwing dust and dirt everywhere!! That’s where I developed my ever-lasting love for racing. The old hoodoos were fun, but these beasts were so far above them that I can’t to this day describe the joy which I felt while sitting there on the boards of the stands.

Unfortunately, my father was killed in the line of duty as a police officer in 1966. I still went to the State Fair every fall, and watched the racing, but it just wasn’t the same. Racing just isn’t as much fun if you don’t have someone to share it with.

Shortly after Capitol Beach fell victim to development, I started going to Eagle Raceway and Midwest Speedway and for a short time Lincoln Speedway before it also closed. What a double punch!! Saturdays at Eagle, Sundays at Midwest!!! This had to be heaven, or pretty darn close to it. Kenny Gritz, “Little Joe” Saldana, Lloyd Beckman and Gordon Wooley were a few of the A feature winners at Eagle in 1968. How’s that for name-dropping?? In the ensuing years, I would get to see other greats at Eagle, such as Thad Dosher, Dick Sutcliffe, Jan Opperman and Lonnie Jensen. Those are but a few of the all-time greats that I remember seeing. I apologize for any others I may have forgotten.

Midwest had a few of the travelers come and try out the local talent there also. Every so often Ray Lee Goodwin Jr., Ed Bowes, the 3 Drouds (Senior, Junior and Rodney), Lloyd Beckman and many others would get to test their mettle against the likes of the legendary Jan Opperman, Doug Wolfgang, and even Steve Kinser. Again, my sincere apologies for any omissions.

Probably my most profound memory of Midwest (of so many) was the night Jan Opperman pulled in, unloaded and proceeded to lap all but 1 or 2 of the cars in the A Feature. I rushed to the pits, wanting to get a peek at the man who’d performed this miracle. I’d never heard of Jan Opperman!! But, then again, I wasn’t very worldly. Remember, I’d spent my entire life in Lincoln, Nebraska.

I managed to get my first look at this scruffy, long-haired, easy-going man who’d made monkeys out of all the local big boys. I managed to overhear him as he told someone “we’d have been faster, but I dropped a cylinder in the heat race”. Makes you wonder what would have happened if he’d had all 8, doesn’t it??

Approximately 6 years ago, I got the opportunity to actually get into the races at Eagle for FREE!!! Well, I hesitated no more than the infamous New York minute before I accepted. Then I found out that they’d actually PAY me to go!! Okay, had I died and passed to the great beyond?? Nosirreebob. I found out that they actually expected me to work, but all things considered, it was still a good deal.

I’ve been there nearly every race since, greeting the racers and fans. Meeting new “racing friends”, and renewing old acquaintances from time to time. I hope that one day, you and I will have a chance to meet and become friends. So, if you’re ever at Eagle Raceway, stop by the Pit Shack and say hello. I’m always looking forward to meeting others who love this sport as much as I do.

Around that same time, I was contacted to write for a now defunct website about sprint car racing. It was very enjoyable, and I found that I had a small knack for writing. I'll try and put up a couple of the things that I wrote for the website to fill in my "writer's block" moments.

A year or so ago, an aquaintence by the name of Ron Meyer convinced me to try my hand at writing for Flat Out magazine and Justin Zoch has been gracious enough to print a few of my interviews. The first time I read my name as the byline in a national magazine about sprint car racing was indescribable!! Thanks Justin, for giving me the chance to make a couple of bucks while doing something I love.

Currently I am still working in the Pit Shack at Eagle Raceway, and doing interviews with the night's winners each week. Then I write up the story of the evening's events for posting on the website. You can keep up with all of the goings on at http://www.eagleraceway.com

I hope you enjoy my blog, and that you check back often to see what's new at Eagle Raceway. I'll also try to keep you all advised as to some of the goings-on in the world of dirt track racing.