Knoxville, Iowa may be known as “The Sprint Car Capital of the World”, but for many the soul of sprint car racing lies further east in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. It’s here, among the corn fields and Appalachian Mountains, that the Pennsylvania Posse calls home. Composed of legendary drivers, historical dirt tracks and legions of fans, The PA Posse has been thriving and supporting sprint car racing for decades.
With the history of sprint car legends such as Lynn Paxton, Keith Kauffman, Fred Rahmer, the late Greg Hodnett and various others carrying the Posse banner to countless victories over the years, PA Posse drivers are highly respected, and are commonly considered as some of the toughest local competition that the World of Outlaws face each season. Lance Dewease’s victory against the Outlaws in this year’s Williams Grove National Open is just the latest chapter in the many defeats that the Outlaws have suffered at the hands of the Posse.
One of Beer Hill’s many Posse vs. Outlaws signs from throughout the years. Ted Van Pelt photo.
In addition to the drivers, PA Posse fans are a breed of their own, especially in regards to their mentality towards outsiders that visit the area to compete. Posse fans might choose their favorite locals to cheer for on a weekly basis, but when a traveling series roles into town the tone changes. It’s now Us vs. Them – with Us being the Posse and Them being anyone who dares to invade their territory. No one cares who beats the invaders, just as long as it’s one of their local guys. This creates a very intense atmosphere at these races, noticed by the competitors and fans alike. As a result of these elements, the PA Posse is famous in dirt track racing circles, and recognizable by almost any sprint car fan around the world.
For some, especially the newest generation of sprint car fans, it may seem as though the Posse has been around forever. This obviously isn’t the case, but when did it all begin? How did Pennsylvania fans go from casual spectators to some of the most passionate fans in the sport? Take a second and reflect. When did you first hear the phrase PA Posse? For most, it was sometime in the early 1980’s when they visited Central PA, or perhaps on one of the sport’s biggest stages at Eldora or Knoxville. Nonetheless, most will agree that the first time they heard the phrase was sometime within the last 35 years.
What if I told you the roots of the Pennsylvania Posse run much deeper than that? Back to the 1930’s, perhaps? The Posse’s roots begin in the dirty, dusty fairgrounds and ‘corn fields turned dirt tracks’ of the 1930’s when a group called The Lebanon Gang dominated at places like Landisville Speedway and the Lebanon Fairgrounds. It was with The Lebanon Gang that the Us vs. Them mentality began in Central PA, and miraculously it has carried on ever since.
Lead by driver/promoter, and recent National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee, Mark Light, The Lebanon Gang originated as a group of Central Pennsylvania drivers that frequented the local dirt tracks of the region. Tracks such as Lancaster’s Landisville Speedway and the Lebanon Fairgrounds were their home bases, and legions of fans flocked to the speedways each weekend to cheer on their local heroes including Light, Ottis Stine, Tommy Hinnerschitz, Dave Randolph, Ted Nyquist and more.
Mark Light ready for action at Williams Grove. Frank Smith photo.
The Lebanon Gang flourished as a result of the rebellious nature of a few drivers and its leader, Light. As the primary sanctioning body for sprint car events, AAA ruled the dirt track racing world in the 1930’s, and their drivers were considered to be the best in the nation. A unique aspect of the AAA, however, was that they required their drivers to purchase a license to race with them, which also restricted the drivers from competing in any non-AAA sanctioned events. This ordinarily meant that drivers had to choose their fate: acquire a AAA license and commit yourself to their full schedule, or turn away from the AAA and barnstorm as an ‘outlaw’ at unsanctioned races wherever you could find a race. This distinction between AAA and non-AAA drivers created an immediate division in the sport, and the racers of The Lebanon Gang embraced this division wholeheartedly. Starting in 1935, Mark Light promoted bi-monthly races at the Lebanon Fairgrounds near Hershey, PA that attracted massive crowds and subsequently massive purses as well. In order to maintain good standing with the AAA, members of The Lebanon Gang that also competed in AAA sanctioned events simply raced under aliases when competing in these events. Tommy Hinnerschitz, for instance, routinely changed his name to Tommy Milton for non-AAA events. These events provided the members of The Lebanon Gang with income in between AAA sanctioned events, and helped to stimulate local interest in the sport. As Light’s events gained in popularity, the sport began to flourish on the local scene as fans enthusiastically supported their local drivers and owners every chance they had. One could argue that this sectional interest was the greatest aid to the health of dirt track racing in Central PA in the 1930’s, as it gave everyone a local hero to cheer for and support at each event.
Fans of The Lebanon Gang never missed a chance to support their local racers, but things routinely reached a higher level when the AAA rolled into town. Much like today’s PA Posse fans, the fans of The Lebanon Gang dropped their biases towards one another and banded together to cheer on their locals against the AAA invaders. Suddenly it was Us vs. Them – with Us being The Lebanon Gang and Them being the AAA. The Lebanon Gang gave their local fans plenty to celebrate throughout the years, with victories against the AAA at the Lewistown Fair Grounds as well as at Langhorne. The crowds at these races were consistently at full capacity, with several drivers complaining of fans spilling onto the racing surface throughout the event as their fellow spectators pushed them forward in an attempt to be closer to the action. At its peak, The Lebanon Gang featured a loyal group of world-class drivers, with a cult-like fan following that filled racetracks across the region, and resulted in Central Pennsylvania developing a reputation as a hotbed for dirt track racing.
The Lebanon Gang thrived until the onset of World War II, when several members of The Lebanon Gang, including Light, enlisted in the military and went off to war. Although racing took a backseat to the war at that time, the atmosphere and passion that The Lebanon Gang created during their glory days never faded, and racing would return to the region in full force at the conclusion of the war with the help of Roy Richwine’s construction and continuous operation of Williams Grove Speedway beginning in 1939.
When you stop and think about it, the similarities between The Lebanon Gang of the 1930’s and today’s PA Posse is amazing. Although Mark Light’s Lebanon Gang wasn’t referred to as a Posse, no one can deny the similarities between the two. The Posse is still composed of some of the most respected drivers in the nation, and filled with current and future sprint car legends. Posse fans still support their local heroes relentlessly, and embrace the idea of their local favorites beating the stars of any traveling series that comes to town. The Posse still thrives on the sectionalism of its local drivers, as almost everyone that attends a weekly event can watch someone that lives near their hometown. Dirt track racing has changed tremendously since the 1930’s, but the passion for the sport in Central Pennsylvania remains the same. The Posse loves sprint car racing, and couldn’t imagine life without it.
Long live The Lebanon Gang, and long live the Posse. May the tradition live on forever.
