Memories of Leon’s Pennyroyal Race Track during its 80th anniversary PAGE 3
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August 27, 2026
In this week’s edition: Summer at the Stone House with Jeanette Shelifa See “Out & About” on page 2
Memories of Leon’s Pennyroyal Race Track during its 80th anniversary
File photo
Leon Historical Museum photo
Six former Pennyroyal race car drivers were honored at the track’s 70th anniversary celebration in August 2016. Shown (from left) are Ellie Fiebelkorn of Leon, 1954-56; Hoyt Prince of Westfield, 1946; Sammy LaMancuso of Jamestown, 1946-50; Kenny Both of Boston, N.Y., 1955; and Bob Apotosha of Ashville, 1947-49. Not pictured: Elliott Ellis Jr. of New Albion, 1956.
A photo taken at Pennyroyal Racetrack, circa 1948, shows a group of drivers (front, from left) Bill Rexford, Floyd Rowland, Jim Chadwick, Bob Fisher, Hoyt Prince, Joe Ott, Mike Day, (back row) unknown, Wendell Anderson and Marshall Kilburn.
BY DEB EVERTS LEON — This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Pennyroyal Race Track in Leon. Now long gone, the Leon Historical Society is honoring the memories of the drivers and the track that brought so much excitement to their town back in its heyday. It’s hard to imagine an unassuming little town in the heart of Amish country would be the site of a once-popular racetrack and the springboard of two NASCAR winners — Bill Rexford of Conewango Valley and Lloyd Moore of Frewsburg.
late 1800s. Two one-halfmile horse race tracks were built around 1870. One was located west of Leon, while the other, called Pennyroyal, was on Town Hill. Over the years, the track was used less and less until it became overgrown and barely visible. With the advent of the automobile, a new kind of racing became the focus. After World War II, people needed a diversion; the
“Makeshift seat belts were introduced, mainly to keep the driver in his seat. Rope worked good, and log chains worked even better,” he said in a previous article. “Roll bars were made from anything metal; buggy or wagon rims were popular. Drivers wore helmets to protect themselves from flying stones and, with the windshields gone, goggles protected the eyes from rocks and dust.”
Prince, Joe Ott, Floyd Rowland, Bob Fisher, Wendell Anderson, Claude Hallett, Bill Stankey, Clifford Prince, Marshall Kilburn, Mike Day, Ralph Engle and Telling Hauser. In October 2009, The Press had the privilege to interview several drivers from Randolph who raced at the Pennyroyal back in the day. Although these adventurous men have since passed on, their ability to transform an old
Historical Society Member Fred Milliman has always had a passion for the track and its history. His years of research have given people the opportunity to learn about the track that put Leon on the map. Milliman said Leon was well-known for raising fine race horses in the mid-to-
“I remember one time I was going to drive for another guy. When I got in the car, I discovered the seat belt was a logging chain and I refused to drive with that chain holding me in. If I’d been in an accident, it could have cut me in half,” he said. Leon Historical Museum photo As word spread of a half-mile track in Leon, racers from across the state, Canada, Western Pennsylvania and beyond brought their cars to the Pennyroyal Race Track for more than a decade.
speed of the automobile was exciting and popular. In 1946, the Leon Fire Department purchased the property located at the corner lot of Eldredge and Town Hill roads. The members breathed new life into the track that was once considered “the fastest halfmile track in Western New York.” Milliman said the cars came from out behind barns, out of the woods and from the junkyards. Week after week, more parts were stripped off to make them lighter and faster.
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“One time, Theodore Stankey was driving when the steering went out on his car. It left the track, going across the road, through a barbed wire fence and into a cow pasture. He was driving a Hudson Terraplane with no top,” he said. “A big eagle hood ornament on his car saved his life by catching the wire. If it hadn’t been for the hood ornament, he most likely would have been killed.” Bill “Lead Foot” Stankey, who has long since passed, reminisced about his experiences on the old track. He said the dust was terrible, so the drivers had to guess where they were going and where the turns were.
During Pennyroyal’s golden years, Rexford and Moore moved on to NASCAR and did very well. With the backing of Julian Buesink, a car dealer from Findley Lake, the two ran most of the NASCAR Grand National races in 1950. Rexford won the 200mile NASCAR Grand National championship race (now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) at Canfield, Ohio, on May 30, 1950. His win at Canfield was his only career victory. At 23, he is still the youngest ever to win the National Association Stock Car Automobile Racing (NASCAR) Grand National title. He also became the only Winston Cup Grand champion from New York state.
rocks. Most of the time, there were no roofs or roll bars.
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STOCK CAR RACES were a popular event at the track until 1958. The Pennyroyal was the place to be on Sundays with as many as 1,500-2,000 spectators. The dirt track drew racers from across the state, Canada, Western Pennsylvania and beyond for more than a decade. The prize for winning was $35. The racers included Bud Fanale, Lloyd Moore, Carl Pintagro, Al Mancuso, Elliott Ellis, Bill Rexford, Ellie Fiebelkorn, Hoyt
jalopy into a racer, as well as their love of speed and competition, live on in their stories. The late Claude “Pee Wee” Hallett vividly recalled his days on the track. When the races first began, he was just a kid sitting in a tree, watching. “I first drove in a race there at age 15. My car was number 99, and it was a 1935 Chevy Coupe,” he said. According to Hallett, stones hit the drivers in the face, and many wore old football helmets to protect their heads from the flying
The late Wendell “Wendy” Anderson reflected on some of his memories as a driver at the Pennyroyal. He drove a 1929 Model ‘A’ Ford Roadster and put a V-8 motor in it. “I wore an old football helmet and had an Army surplus seat belt, fastened to the floor, that went across my lap,” he said. “There was a lot of dust. I remember going into the fourth turn and looking up in the air above the cloud of dust to see the trees.”
THE PENNYROYAL Race Track has pretty much vanished and is now part of an Amish farm. Look carefully at the field on the corner; there may be
remnants of jalopy tracks hidden in it. Historical Society member Myra Johnston said Milliman just started out saving history, which could have gone the route of so much of the history of Leon and Western New York — forever gone. She said his underlying reason was to spark a kid’s imagination and to show the world that a dream can come true. “Look at Bill Rexford. He loved to race cars and dreamed he could go somewhere racing cars. Out of these back hills, to win NASCAR and the Pennyroyal Race Track was a big part of that dream,” she said. “He came from modest Leon/Conewango and went on to win at NASCAR.” Johnston said among the many pictures saved by Milliman in his research is a magazine page showing Rexford ahead with Lee Petty close behind, racing along the beach at Daytona. In the corner, it says, “NASCAR, living the dream.” She said the Leon Historical Society has the complete collection on display at the Old 1836 Church on Route 62, in downtown Leon. The late Don Curtis of Cherry Creek was the official photographer at the Pennyroyal races. He passed away in 1969, but his photos live on at the Pennyroyal Exhibit in the Old 1836 Church, at the four corners in Leon. Town historian Pat Bromley said to stop in and watch a video of the Pennyroyal and check out the displays. Two books, “Pennyroyal Race Track: Fred Milliman’s Memories” and “Memories of the Pennyroyal,” are available for purchase. The museum is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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