READING, Pa – A walk through a home in Reading is more like a trip down memory lane.
“We had an open house for Gerald Chamberlain six years ago, 20 shirts, 200 posters, he signed every one of them,” racing broadcaster and photographer Mike Feltenberger said.
Mike Feltenberger has done everything but sit behind the wheel when it comes to racing in Berks County.
“I was a photographer, track official, and every now and then, if they needed somebody to work on the push trucks at the fairgrounds, I hopped on the push trucks. So whatever was needed at the fairgrounds, I did,” he said.
The photos on his walls, computer, and tucked away in boxes hold stories of a life lived at the track. But what does he love about the sport? That, like life, things can change in an instant.
“Every lap there’s something different. It’s one of those deals where on lap two, the guy who’s running second might fall back to tenth, and the guy who’s running third might pass two cars and become the leader. It’s just the excitement, and you don’t know what to expect at an auto race track,” Feltenberger said.
Feltenberger has taken the lead now, too, recently becoming one of a few non-drivers to be voted into the Reading Fairgrounds Home of Champions.
“Kenny Brightbill, Gerald Chamberlain, Dick Tobias, Al Tasnady, and I’m gonna go in with John Kozak, who was a racer out at the fairgrounds. Plus, I’m going in with Keith Koffman, who was a national hall of fame sprint car driver,” said Feltenberger.
Mike has taken more than a million photos, but first place for him is the five wide picture,” he said.
How important is it to him? So important, he’s taking it with him.
“In fact, they’re gonna bury me with it. It’s a five-wide picture going through the first and second turn at Reading,” he said.
At 70, he’s not slowing down, with a special ceremony planned for October. You catch his weekly BCTV racing show every Tuesday night.