Stock Car Racing in 1972

 

In the early 1970s Henry Horenstein was taking photos of Speedway racers and fans at circuits in Seekonk, Massachusetts and Thompson, Connecticut.

In 1972, women only raced each other, hair was grown out crewcuts slicked and draped, and TV-led big business had yet to move in. Horenstein called his collection Speedway 1972, which sets the date but but makes us wonder what speed some of these cars could muster.

One thing is without doubt: Speedway was a working-class sport for working-class heroes. Horenstein “sought out working people whose voices would not usually get out there”. Each picture tells a story. Let’s imagine the stories between…

 

 

Speedway 1972 by Henry Horenstein is published by Stanley/Barker. All photographs by Henry Horenstein