Kalida Landis
The Central Pennsylvania racing community lost an icon of the sport with the passing of Armin H. Hostetter at the age of 87 on Thursday, January 29th.
Best known as the founder of Trail-Way Speedway and the famous annual “Motorama” show in Harrisburg, Armin actually grew up as a multisport athlete that excelled in every sport.
As a baseball player, he was good enough to try out for the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a football player, he played semi-pro football with the York White Rose and Chambersburg Cardinals.
Despite his accomplishments in other sports, it was the motorcycles on the family farm that Armin loved the most. Following the footsteps of his two brothers, Armin took up motorcycle racing; He competed at such well-known tracks as Williams Grove and Langhorne, but among his career highlights was racing for the Norton factory on the beach at the Daytona 200.
His short racing career brought him back to the family farm just outside McSherrystown, which he bought from his parents and established a club for people who had their own off-road motorcycles. He built some tracks to give the club members a place to ride.
Originally cut out for sulky horse racing, one track was later made bigger for cycles and cars. It became what is now known as Trail-Way Speedway, which first starting racing programs in 1971.
There were weekly shows of A.M.A. motorcycle flat track and motocross racing. As the years progressed, Armin also promoted races ranging from go-karts and midgets to late models and 410 sprint cars. In recent years, Trail-Way has hosted the 358 sprint cars as its main division, along with regular appearances by 358 late models, three different divisions of micro-sprints, classic cars, limited stocks, and, of course, A.M.A. flat track racing.
The list of drivers who have learned to race at Trail-Way is a “Who’s Who” of eastern dirt track racing. In the sprint car division alone, Brad McClelland and rising stars Brent Marks, Danny Dietrich, Chad Criswell, Logan Schuchart, and Kyle Moody cut their racing teeth at Trail-Way. The careers of the late Kevin Gobrecht and Lucas Wolfe began at the track on “the farm.”
As if farming 500 acres and weekend racing wasn’t enough, Armin also founded the “Motorama,” now held every February at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex. The event was first held in 1978, and has become one of the largest shows of its kind in the East. The show fills the entire one-million square feet of the complex with live indoor racing and several rooms of automotive show entertainment. The indoor racing, headlined by Arenacross, has become a “must see” event for racing fans.
Despite turning the bulk of promotional duties over to his sons Barry, Brad, and Perry in recent years, Armin remained active at the speedway until the time of his death. He especially enjoyed greeting people from the front porch of his house (located beside the pit entrance) as they arrived at the speedway.
Armin’s many accomplishments were recognized with induction into the York County Racing Club Hall of Fame in 2010.
But Armin’s accomplishments didn’t end there. He also organized the York Adams Elementary Football League (serving as its president and historian), was a past president of the Rotary Club International of Hanover, and served on the Littlestown School Board. Other community involvement included lifetime membership of the Hanover Church of the Brethren and membership in the McSherrystown Fish and Game and the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks.
Armin was the loving husband of Frances (Barnes) Hostetter, who passed in 1995, and is survived by companion Fern Hess; sons Barry (and wife Ella), Bradley (and his wife Cindy), and Perry
(and companion Mary Rickrode), all of Hanover; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his seven brothers and sisters.
Memorial contributions may be made to the York County Racing Club Injured Drivers Fund, 568 Yale Street, York, PA 17403; or to the York Adams Elementary Football League (Y.A.E.F.L.), P.O. Box 1254, Hanover, PA 17331.
Those who “believe” know that Armin Hostetter will continue to oversee the operation of “the farm.” He was laid to rest at Hostetter’s Meeting House Church Cemetery, located adjacent to the Hostetter farm and within sight of his beloved Trail-Way Speedway.