Ken Minott puts his arm around Peter Taylor while congratulating him on his induction to the the Wiscasset Speedway Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

WISCASSET — When Peter Taylor first visited Wiscasset Speedway in 1996, he wasn’t thrilled to be there. Although his daughter invited him to see a race, Taylor insisted on bringing his own car, just in case he wanted to leave early. That was the plan until he saw the pro stocks race around the 3/8-mile track.

“All of a sudden, goosebumps,” Taylor, now 81, said.

He was intrigued, but sitting in the stands wasn’t the best experience, so Taylor told his daughter that he’d only return to the track if he could take up-close pictures of the racing. Word reached Dave “Boss Hogg” St. Clair, owner of the Speedway at the time, who invited Taylor to shoot the race the following weekend. Taylor returned that weekend, and every weekend after to photograph races until he retired in 2022.

The track inducted Taylor into its hall of fame during a ceremony Saturday night.

Taylor is one of seven individuals in the 2024 class, which includes Marje Albert, Gabe Gaboury, Mike Kimball, Bret “Shrek” Mank, Dale Tyler and the late Steve Reny.

The celebration — Wiscasset Speedway is also celebrating its 55th anniversary — included eight races across four divisions, highlighted by the Super Streets 100. The event also featured a reunion of over 20 past champions and hall of famers. Co-owner Vanessa Jordan led the crowd in a ‘happy birthday’ song. Slugger the Sea Dog waved the green flag and a firework show closed the night. More than 1,100 fans attended, nearly filling the stands.

Since 2019, 48 people have been inducted into the Wiscasset Speedway Hall of Fame. Each are awarded a colorful plaque affixed to the walls underneath the grandstand. While spectators wait in line for concessions or merchandise, they can read about each inductee or admire years worth of memorabilia and photographs, all shot by Taylor. The prints, organized in a checkered flag pattern, are constantly cycled out, allowing fans to go through different eras of the track’s history each weekend.

“There’s a lot of things that happen (during a race) and you can’t do it without a photographer, and a good photographer,” Ken Minott, Wiscasset Speedway’s announcer, told the crowd. “Otherwise, if you don’t have good photos, all you have are stories. This guy captured visual stories for 26 years at Wiscasset Speedway, and we are happy to welcome you into the Hall of Fame.”

Fans watch the Brackett’s Market 4-Cylinder Pros at Wiscasset Speedway on Saturday. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Given the opportunity to speak, Taylor took the microphone. “I want to say…” before pausing, adding a quick “Thank you” and stepping back from Minott. The line drew a laugh from the crowd.

Taylor first developed his love for photography as a 7-year-old growing up in French Island, where his older brother showed him a pinhole camera. It was magic. Whenever it was time for the yearly school picture, Taylor realized that being a photographer could be a career. However, photography wasn’t his only artistic love.

Taylor studied jazz at the Northern Conservatory of Music in Bangor until the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. That compelled Taylor to enlist in the U.S. Army. With one year of school remaining, Taylor left college and was sent to Germany, where he clerked for two Special Force Sergeants. After two years, Taylor requested to be transferred to Vietnam, where he worked as a casualties reporter, sending daily accounts of the seriously ill, wounded, missing in action, killed in action and suicides to the Pentagon.

“It was rough,” Taylor said. “It was rough.”

While still in Saigon in 1965, Taylor underwent an eye operation after developing blurred vision, later diagnosed as Meesmann Corneal Dystrophy. After spending multiple weeks in the hospital and writing a letter to Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, Taylor returned home to Maine.

At first, Taylor sold auto parts, something he knew nothing about, before switching to sporting goods. In 1978, he joined National School Studios, now known as Lifetouch, as a travelling photographer and yearbook salesman, before owning and operating his own branch of the company. Taylor said he drove “two million miles” around Maine as he visited every K-12 school in the state. He loved creating relationships with school administrations and capturing student-athlete portraits.

A wall at Wiscasset Speedway honors the track’s Hall of Fame members. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

But there was something missing in his photography, and he found it in racing.

“You can’t stop and say pose, do this,” Taylor said. “You never knew what (the drivers) were going to do. That was fun because it was a challenge.”

When Taylor started documenting races at Wiscasset Speedway, he would shoot five rolls of film a night with a 24-to-105-millimeter lens and 200-millimeter lens. As soon as digital cameras with automatic focus became available, Taylor made the switch. After 26 years worth of races, he estimates he took anywhere from 300,000 to 400,000 photos, many of them published around the Speedway.

“I took pictures of every car, from every angle, (even) up close,” Taylor said. “I was never afraid of taking pictures here. I always had faith in my ability to move when I had to.”

Taylor only recalls two “close calls” over the years, once when a kicked-up rock the size of his fist struck him in the hip and the other, more serious, was captured on film.

“A friend of mine, who used to develop my pictures, was in this one corner and I was in the corner over here,” Taylor said. “He got this picture of me and a four-cylinder about this close (Taylor puts his arm across the table) and I’m on my toes. Of course, I’m snapping too… you learn to watch and learn how the cars are spinning.”

From the number of fans in the stands, to the construction of Victory Lane and reconfiguring of the infield, Taylor was able to document many of the Speedway’s changes, including a return to the original name in 2012.

“This is a great place,” Taylor said. “These are great Christians (Richard and Vanessa Jordan) who run this track. Five buck admission? You can’t beat it…Can’t do much more than what they’re doing (to improve the track).”

Taylor retired from his position as track photographer in 2022, but as his hall of fame plaque states, “He leaves a permanent impression on the track’s history.” He never envisioned such a positive reception to his work, let alone being inducted to the track hall of fame.

“I love people using my pictures,” Taylor said. “That was my business, creating memories. I’m big on smiles, I’ll tell you that.”