Topton, PA hillclimb

[mrevilracing]

Somewhere, I thought it was on this board, I read about this race. Last run in.....'69 I think. It was on Tower Road and the reason they quit was because someone hit a house?? Or something like that....

Well. I gathered up my wife for a nice drive up Duryea Drive yesterday in the Mach. (What other car was I gonna drive!) And we wound up extending our drive and into Topton we went. I used to hunt there many years ago. And the folks I used to hunt with have property almost adjacent to Tower Road. My curiosity made me drive it. All I can say is WOW! THAT WOULD BE A COOL RUN!!!

I was so excited to be on it and the way it looked I forgot to check the end with the trip meter. It would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.3 to 1.5miles of pure bliss. Except for that green house. The tight left hand turn would prove disasterous if ya went off there. They put in a concrete wall...looks like for retaining and a tree in the middle of the yard. If you missed that, you'd be in the house.

Pleanty of room for staging. Turn around would be a challeng for sure. Bummer is, there are quite a few homes along Tower Road. But boy would they have quite a view.

Anyway, if you get a chance to check that out, I highly recommend you do so. I was quiverring like a cat watching a bird while I was driving up that road. Wanted to just rip it up but that wouldn't be a good idea unless it was raceday.

[Mel Horn]

Unfortunately it was before my time. I have pictures of what I thought was the road. Someone will have to go over them with me. I imagine I have most of it.

The accident was summed up in the following Hillclimb Haiku:

Jack Strauss

Hit a house.

[Ron Mann]

1968...first Topton

[Mazdahead]

I remember going to the Topton Hillclimb with my buddy and his dad. Back then Topton seemed like a hundred miles away!His dad had an MGB that he was running, but I never could figure out exactly where the actual hillclimb took place after so many years. I have to take a drive out there now to see if any of it looks familiar. I guess this is what got my juices flowing to run hills! Wish I could ask his dad, but he passed away a few years ago and my buddy don't remember either. Old farts just can't remember squat! lol
Thanks for the info.

[crusaderchuck]

hey ron, that program cover cartoon looks a lot like my father's cosworth ford anglia #25 he ran i believe in the 1966 season. the car was very dark metallic green and was referred to as the "green bean". i still posess the custom painted match box model of my father's car.

chuck christ
extremly steath car #251

[Ron Mann]

Hey Chuck...

I'm not sure what that is supposed to be...but you are correct on #25 in 1966!! He was Touring 2 that year!

I think this program, when I picture your Dad...1966 Fleetwood....hmmmmmmmmm!!! Coincidence!?!?

[rallynutdon]

Topton Hillclimb, last run 1970. Tower road, start just after the creek off Home Rd. Pits on the field on the left before the creek. Ran to just short of Woodside Ave. Doctors house was at the sharp left before Woodside.

[timurf]

The drawing on the 1968 program (where the heck do you find this cool stuff, Ron) looks like an NSU spyder.

If that car ran the event, the apex seals would surely have let go about halfway up the hill. The car could still be there if someone is interested. Dale is well versed when it comes to old Wankels...

[Joe Foering]

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away (the early 60's), I was bombing around the roads near New Hope in either my TR3 or my 997 Mini Cooper, when an old friend named Dick Hagy challenged me to "catch me if you can" and took off in what looked like a Fiat 600. I tried to run him down, and, while I could close on him, I couldn't get by him! When he finally stopped, I asked him if it was an Abarth in disguise and he said no and opened the rear engine lid... It was a Wankel! The car, I believe, was an NSU Wankel. I don't think there were many imported, but "back in the day" there were a lot of wierd little cars running around. Federal safety and emission standards stopped that.