One of the smartest guys who ever lived, Albert Einstein, once said, “There is more to life than just increasing its speed.”

Remarks like that help explain why Einstein never became a color commentator for NASCAR or the Indy 500.

The ability of one thing to go faster than another has always been important to those of us who call this planet home. That’s why we race horses, boats and even our own unsafe vehicles, to name but a few.

You may not know it, but one of the most popular racing events in the country today is the NASCAR auto racing series.

To those who don’t know, NASCAR is considered a phenomenon mostly experienced by southerners. I guess the same is true for those who don’t have a clue.

My point is, Maine also has its share of auto racing fans – and I’m not just talking about those hot-dogging commuters on 295 between Portland and Brunswick.

Like in other things, Maine came a little late to the exciting world of auto racing, but we’ve done our best to catch up.

There were several simple explanations for this delay. First off, we were too busy building boats. Another problem was our lack of flat surfaces to race on. The idea of paved roads would remain little more than a “concept” in many parts of Maine until the 1950s. Fact is, some sparsely settled parts of our state are still waiting for the first paving crews to show up. With lots of water and more than our share of boats, we always had plenty of boat races, though.

Elsewhere in the country, they say the only reason auto racing didn’t begin immediately after the first automobile rolled out of the shop was pretty obvious. They had to wait for the second vehicle to be built to race against. While waiting, we can only assume the driver of the first automobile spent his time doing interviews on country stations, pitching potential advertisers, assembling a pit crew and attaching decals all over his vehicle and his racing suit.

As soon as Auto No. 2 was ready to go, auto racing in America began – at least that’s what experts in the field of auto racing say.

Although it was by no means the first, the world’s most famous auto race – the Indy 500 – was first run in 1909. Actually, it was only a 5-mile race that year and didn’t become a 500-miler until two years later. They say it took that long to make a decent track.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the country, people like Henry Ford got involved in auto racing as early as 1901. They say he entered a race that year to promote his name and reputation and attract investors for some new-fangled auto manufacturing company he was involved with.

From the beginning the goal of almost every auto racer was to achieve fame and fortune. Henry Ford went on to do rather well for himself, as did others in the field. I guess nothing has changed over the last 100 years.

Maine’s premier auto raceway, Oxford Plains Speedway, opened in May 1950, almost 50 years ago.

These days, Maine boasts five major raceways: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Speedway 95 in Herman, Unity Raceway in Unity and Wiscasset Raceway in Maine’s prettiest village, Wiscasset.

I guess you could also count the major roads leading to these raceways as additional auto racing venues, but they would be “unofficial.”

John McDonald is the author of five books on Maine, including “John McDonald’s Maine Trivia: A User’s Guide to Useless Information.” Contact him at mainestoryteller@yahoo.com.

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