We had a dirt track here on the edge of town until about 8 years ago. They raced the old coupes there until I was about 10 (1967ish), then they switched over to the "late models".
That vision of those old coupes coming off the 4th turn and coming down the front straight to get the green flag is forever burned into my head. That was what got me into old cars, and old cars are what got me through school. Before I turned 20, me and 3 other buddies built our first dirt track car. My buddies bailed after that 1st year, but I hung in there for another 15 or so years.