George Arthur Koyt (1939-2010) was born in Hope, New Jersey, on August 19, 1939. He lived for many years with his wife Margaret in Morrisville (Bucks County) Pennsylvania and worked as an automotive mechanic. The Koyts were fans of short track racing and dirt track racing, and they regularly attended races at several tracks in southeastern Pennsylvania and central New Jersey. An avid amateur photographer, George Koyt often had his camera in hand to document the tracks he visited. He was also a well-known collector of motor sports memorabilia and a respected amateur historian of auto racing. From the 1970s through the 1990s the Koyts often traveled around the country attending races at many different local tracks in numerous states. George Koyt died on November 25, 2010.

Short track racetracks are typically dirt oval tracks made of clay and less than one mile long—although some short tracks now feature paved raceways. Dirt track racing became popular in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s often using repurposed horse racing tracks for a variety of automobile and motorcycle racing, In modern short track racing, the most commonly featured cars are sprint cars, stock cars, and speedcars (“midget” cars). Several different sanctioning organizations sponsor American short track racing, including the United States Auto Club (USAC), the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA), the World of Outlaws, and others. For several decades, short track racing and dirt track racing have been popular in rural areas and small towns in the United States. Many races on local and regional tracks feature a mix of competing drivers, including professional drivers, semi-pro drivers, amateur drivers, and hobbyist drivers.