This documentary on Riverhead Raceway, on Long Island, N.Y., brought back memories to me of going to Freeport Raceway on Long Island (one of 40 active stock car tracks at the time) as a kid with my family for a night of racing and excitement.
Alas, Riverhead is the only remaining track of its kind in the area and seemingly barely hanging on, with its aging but dedicated owners Barbara and Jim Cromarty, and land developers on all sides of the track impatiently waiting for them to sell so they can develop another strip mall or parking lot on the valuable land.
This is not your typical doc, with its emphasis on the atmospherics of the stock car venue and the often quirky drivers and characters who keep it running. The film often seems disjointed, as it skips from one scene to another seemingly randomly. Thus, it will most likely turn off some viewers who expect a more traditional and orderly movie.
Overall, I found this doc to illustrate a slice of Americana that's still active but that more often than not will fade from our history.
Look for raw language throughout with the film being only about 1 hr. and 15 mins. in length.
Alas, Riverhead is the only remaining track of its kind in the area and seemingly barely hanging on, with its aging but dedicated owners Barbara and Jim Cromarty, and land developers on all sides of the track impatiently waiting for them to sell so they can develop another strip mall or parking lot on the valuable land.
This is not your typical doc, with its emphasis on the atmospherics of the stock car venue and the often quirky drivers and characters who keep it running. The film often seems disjointed, as it skips from one scene to another seemingly randomly. Thus, it will most likely turn off some viewers who expect a more traditional and orderly movie.
Overall, I found this doc to illustrate a slice of Americana that's still active but that more often than not will fade from our history.
Look for raw language throughout with the film being only about 1 hr. and 15 mins. in length.