nationally. In fact, when I was touring the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in [Ocala],
Florida, I realized that anybody who’s anybody in drag racing came through Pittsburgh.”
But all dynasties must come to an end, and the PIDs ended in 1976. The timing equipment
found its way to Keystone Raceway, Senkewitz said. He said he heard rumors that the bleachers
went to Norwalk Raceway in Ohio, but can’t confirm it.
While the pavement of the PID is cracked and faded with time, its memory is anything but.
When Senkewitz, who moved away from Pittsburgh for a time, moved back to Pittsburgh 15
years ago, he decided to start a reunion and see who showed up. The response was greater than
he had hoped.
“We had more than 300 people come,” he said. “And that’s for a place that closed in 1976. It’s
only gotten bigger from that.”
Now, he not only organizes an annual September reunion drag race at Pittsburgh’s Raceway
Park, he and other volunteers started a Hall of Fame, with 50 members inducted so far. Those
successes have snowballed into other venues for enthusiasts to join in with the reminiscing.
“We did a car cruise at the Sonic in [Collier] in July and 800 cars showed up,” he said. “Some
guys counted 822 and others counted more, but I tell people at least 800 [were there]. That’s
the power of this thing. It’s amazing. There are no trophies, no dash plaques. These are people
showing up for the memory of the PID.”
Quaker Steak and Lube caught wind of the Sonic cruise and now is holding one in Pleasant
Hills each year. After that, the Pittsburgh World of Wheels asked Senkewitz to host a booth at
its annual hot rod show, and that’s when he realized that the power of the PID is getting stronger
with time.
“We got a couple of old cars and put the old Christmas tree from the PID in there, and I’m
handing out pamphlets for our upcoming events to old, gray-haired guys passing by. Then it
dawned on me that there were these 20-year-old guys coming along as well,” he said. “These
younger guys are so good at Googling and using the internet that they know more about these
muscle cars than I do, and I was there. Their parents and grandparents raced back at this track
and now they’re into it as well.”
With so many events and such a rich history to celebrate, Senkewitz said there’s still one
banquet that is more sentimental than most – the one that takes place at the South Fayette fire
hall, just down the road from where the PID once stood.
“It’s so well attended and people can’t believe we’re still here. We’re fortunate to be able to
celebrate it. A lot of these guys were 40 years old 40 years ago, so do the math there. [We] get
together while we’re still here, enjoy the memories,” he said. “It was ’64 to ‘76, and it was just
a special period of history in this country. It’s not going to happen again. We got to do the
American Graffiti thing. That was the life we lived. And now, we get to be 19 again for one day.” ■
South Fayette | Summer 2014 | icmags.com 11