Exploring raceway relations Thomas family gets all revved up about stock car racing at Speedway 95

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The smell of stock car fuel and rubber from smoldering tires permeates the air at Speedway 95 in Hermon on race day.

Spectators are wearing their Dale Earnhardt hats, Jeff Gordon shirts or Ricky Craven jackets.

For George, Peggy and Mike Thomas, Speedway 95 has served as their weekend home away from home since 1971.

George Thomas is the track announcer and publicist. In addition, he works on son Mike’s pro stock car and has been a member of the pit crew for his brother-in-law, Gerry Hayman.

He has also been a driver, the track photographer and flagman.

Peggy Thomas, George’s wife, has worked at the souvenir stand since 1990. She has also been a scorer and has painted numbers on the cars driven by family members.

Mike, the oldest of their three children, used to sell programs when he was a youngster and he has been a competitive driver for several years, climbing his way up to the top class: pro stocks. Younger brother Jon has worked on his brother’s car and filled in for his father in the press box.

Daughter Michelle, the middle child, has attended races but isn’t consumed by the sport like the rest of her family.

The Thomases are the consummate stock car racing family. Family involvement is one of the staples of stock car racing: brothers racing brothers; fathers racing sons; in-laws racing in-laws. Family members or longtime friends often comprise the majority of a driver’s crew. They congregate after work to tinker with the race car.

It is one of the primary reasons hundreds of thousands of fans pack NASCAR Winston Cup tracks every week.

And virtually all of the drivers got their humble beginnings in the sport at tracks like Speedway 95.

“A lot of fathers and sons race together at Speedway 95,” said George. “A lot of families come because somebody in the family is involved in racing. It draws everybody together.”

“The whole family can work on the car,” Peggy added. “I don’t do any of the mechanical work but I used to paint the numbers on the cars.”

Peggy admits that she takes a break from the souvenir stand to watch Mike race in his class, although, she said, “I get really nervous watching him.”

In addition to her concern for his safety, Peggy said she’s also aware of the fact that her son, who lives in Etna, has a lot of money tied up in his car.

George is particularly busy on race day.

“I have three jobs,” he said. “I’ll load my wife’s car up with merchandise and unload it when she gets home; I’ll help load up Mike’s race car and then I’ll help get it set up before the race and then I do the announcing. I’ll also help Mike load up his race car after the race if he hasn’t already.”

The family usually gets together for dinner after the race where the primary topic of conversation is, you guessed it, the race or the car.

George’s preparation for his announcing gig actually begins long before the racing starts.

“While I’m in the pit area working on Mike’s car, I’ll walk up and down and nose around to see what’s going on just so I’ll have something to say during the races. It’s a long show and I’ll need something [information] to fill in with,” he said. “A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Andy Saunders’ engine blew up during warm-ups. A lot of the people weren’t here to see it.”

George has a good sense of humor and he uses it frequently during his gig. He also employs his keen knowledge of the sport.

If a car is slowing down and billowing smoke, he can identify the problem and relay it to the spectators.

“It comes with experience. You can tell by the type of smoke, the location of it or its density if it’s a motor problem or if a fender is rubbing against a tire,” he said. “It’s just something you know if you’ve been around racing for a long time.”

He admits that he sometimes finds himself at a loss for words.

“I try to digest what’s happening so I can report on it. Sometimes I’m a little slow on the mike because I’m trying to absorb everything,” said George, who knows virtually all the car numbers, the drivers and their hometowns.

While George is calling the race and dispensing information about the drivers and their cars to the fans, Peggy is busy at the souvenir stand.

“I enjoy meeting all the people,” she said. “I don’t just sell Speedway 95 stuff, I also sell all the Winston Cup stuff.”

She said people will see Winston Cup drivers wearing hats during television interviews and they will ask her to order the hat for them.

So when Peggy is watching a stock car race on television, she is also doing her homework by filing away in her memory what the popular drivers are wearing. That’s because she knows she may get a request for that particular item the next day.

It was Peggy’s brother, Gerry Hayman, who played a significant role in getting George involved.

“I got interested in stock car racing when I was in the Army, stationed in South Carolina. I used to go to the races at Columbia Speedway every weekend,” George said. “When I first got out of the Army, I was having a few beers with my brother-in-law and we had a brainstorm. We wanted to go racing. So we picked up a 1956 Ford for 35 dollars and made a race car our of it,” said George.

Hayman began driving the car in 1971 and he remained in racing until 1988.

George worked on Hayman’s crew and decided he wanted to give driving a try in 1977.

“We raced against each other at times,” said George, who was the track photographer when he was attending the University of Maine in his hometown of Orono.

Peggy, who retired 18 months ago after spending 30 years working for the Prudential Life Insurance Co., is also an Orono native.

The Thomases, who have lived in Brewer since 1977, have their own theories behind the popularity of stock car racing.

“It’s exciting. Sometimes there is controversy. A lot of people come just to watch the cars crash and we have days when they get their money’s worth,” said George, the regional manager for the unemployment office in Bangor and Presque Isle. “But most come for the good, solid entertainment.”

Peggy said auto racing is “a very vocal and action-packed sport.”

Mike said the competition is what he enjoys most about jumping into a race car and he believes that is also one of the lures that attracts the fans.

“There’s close, side-by-side racing,” pointed out Mike, who added that his involvement in the sport was simply a natural progression.

“I grew up around it. My dad raced. My uncle raced. I’ve done a little bit of everything at Speedway 95. I’ve been here as long as I remember,” he said.