YORK, Pa. — There are two gentlemen, that, if it wasn't for them, Central Pa., and possibly tracks around the nation, wouldn't have the videos to back up history. They've captured the best and sometimes the worst moments in racing.
Collectively, Lynn Schaeffer and Steve Gigeous have been covering racing for over a century.
Schaeffer has covered races in eight different decades, getting his start in 1969 when he was just 12. He was hooked to the late dirt nights when he started going with his dad.
“The roar of the race cars, the mud, the stuff that gets in your eyes and you’re squinting. You get addicted to it and you never know what you’re going to see," said Shaeffer.
His first productions were shot on an actual movie film camera.
"I started to show movie films, super eight movie films, at the banquets and that’s where I learned a lot because you would show the movie and the drivers would walk over and you start to learn what people want to see on the video."
Crazy enough, he picked up most of his equipment at flea markets. He’s helped the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing with nearly 600 videos on file and counting.
Schaeffer also stayed close to Mid-Atlantic tracks. He’s checked off 146 tracks and 5,883 races and while he's working in his basement, his pet pig, Winston keeps him company.
His wife, Peg, was a huge help as technology kept changing. Here's a link to his work.
He says he was 10 years behind when it came to equipment. Especially when the high-def cameras came out. Schaeffer waited because there were always bugs to work out in the new equipment and bought a lot of his equipment from flea markets.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Schaeffer was diagnosed with a type of leukemia. He owes his life to the doctors at the Milton S. Hershey Penn State Medical Center.
Along with EMMR, he helps the Reading Stock Car Museum and the Garden State Vintage Racing Club. He saw the films from Herb Wolfe and later acquired his collection after he passed.
Lynn and Gigeous started working together after realizing they could help each other. Gigeous, up top, with multiple cameras stationed around the track and Schaeffer watching for the action up close.
“He’s looking for the action shots, my son is usually somewhere and a lot of the time, we’ll leave the track and we’d gather up nine different video tapes from all different angles," said Gigeous.
Gigeous, on the other hand, was a traveler. He has worked for himself but also many networks and is still currently with Dirt Vision and Flo Racing. He never expected to be working in racing.
He bought a video camera for family functions and the rest was history.
“I would tape just a little bit of each race. In 1986, I actually taped the race that Ronnie McBee won, at the Conococheague 100, which was actually the last race he ever won. The race announcer Frank Sagi, had ask over the PA system, if anyone had recorded the race. I took it to him, he looked at it and then offered me the job," said Gigeous.
In his younger years, Gigeous just couldn’t stay away from the track, even when he was racing.
Gigeous said, “I would go to race a motocross race somewhere and then, at night, I would be on my way to Williams Grove or Lincoln."
Covering most major and professional races, Gigeous has been to 250 tracks and over 4,000 races. His stat on the years is pretty impressive.
“I had a streak of 30-some years of where I went to, at least, 100 races every year," recalled Gigeous.
His first race was the last race in 1964 at Hagerstown Speedway with his dad. They never missed a race until his dad passed away in 1971.
Steve got his son Will involved at a very young age. His first race was at Port Royal and ended up shooting better than the guy Steve had hired to help him.
Gigeous was inducted into the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. He was the only person able to take a camera into Bristol Motor Speedway in 2001. Here's a link to his work.
There are a few moments that stand out to each. Some old and some new. Like, a battle at Path Valley between Greg Hodnett and Bryan Clausen, with Hodnett coming out on top. They were also there when Hodnett picked up his first win in Central Pa.
Whether it’s their own or a collection they’ve purchased, they are local video encyclopedias.
“This is Lance Dewease in 1987 with Johnny Strausser interviewing him. Lance Dewease talks about trying to find a sprint car ride," said Schaeffer.
The duo was honored in 2021 at the Living Legends race at Port Royal.