Bay Shore Racing 'Icon,' Museum Curator Leaves Behind 'Legacy Of Love'
Martin Himes, of Bay Shore, died Monday, Oct. 23, at the age of 84, relatives announced on GoFundMe.
“It is with extremely heavy hearts and profound sadness that we announce the passing of Martin L. Himes, a cherished husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend,” said Bryan Johnson.
A fixture in the local racing scene described as an “icon” by the Vanderbilt Cup Races, Himes got his first taste of racing at the age of 12 when he entered a soapbox derby at the Freeport Speedway. He never looked back.
He graduated from soapbox to stock car racing at the age of 15 when he got a job parking cars across the street from the Freeport Stadium.
“One night after working in the lot, Himes walked across the street to find out what was going on behind the walls at the Freeport Stadium,” reads his bio on the Himes Museum of Motor Racing Nostalgia website.
“After getting an eye full of the stock car races that were going on, it sparked an interest for Marty to begin his infamous racing career.”
He spent the next two decades competing in every division, moving up from Novices to Sedans, Non-Fords, and then Modifieds. He drove at Freeport Stadium, Islip Speedway, and the Riverhead Raceway.
“Marty did not have the greatest racing equipment or mechanics. He used to say to Jimmy Hendrickson who he pitted next to at Islip, ‘The only difference between your guys and mine is, you've got engineers, and I've got pioneers,'" his website said.
“Marty could get up to the front, but most of the time his equipment couldn't keep him there. But somebody has to come in second, third, and so forth.”
In 1975, Himes hung up his racing helmet and dedicated his time to collecting and showcasing Long Island racing memorabilia.
“After hanging around the track for twenty-some years you can't just walk away from it all,” he said on his website. “So Marty started the Himes Museum of Motor Racing Nostalgia.”
It began with a single photo of Bill Schnindler, a racecar driver from Middletown in Orange County who lost his left leg in a racing accident in Mineola in 1936.
It eventually grew “just a bit” into full on “mobilia monstrosity," according to Himes. His website proudly proclaims that “nobody has more stuff.”
Among the “stuff” awaiting visitors to his home museum in Bay Shore are nine stock cars, one early sprint car, a Crosley tow truck, three soapbox derby cars, and a racing motorcycle.
He also has more than 300,000 photographs, racing uniforms, helmets, trophies, model cars, antique bicycles, and much, much more.
“As you all know, Marty put his blood, sweat and tears into running the museum out of his own pocket since 1975,” Johnson said.
“He always ran on a shoestring budget just to keep the memory of Long Island Racing alive. Many of Long Island’s greatest racing legends are enshrined here.”
Himes is survived by his five children, nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
“Martin leaves behind a legacy of love, kindness and cherished memories,” Johnson said.
The GoFundMe is seeking to help Himes’ relatives with memorial expenses. Those who wish to support the campaign can do so here.
Funeral services for Himes are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Overton Funeral Home in Islip.
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