Just some thoughts from the Chicago perspective. I was 15 when I started racing bikes in the Chicago area. The racing scene was organised/promoted by a few Belgian and German families. Most of these racing families rode and promoted Schwinn and the Paramount racing bike. Schwinn was like the local custom builder.

Schwinn night at the Northbrook Velodrome was a big deal. Schwinn banners were put up around the track and really good prizes were awarded that night. And in the stands would be the local racing/store owner dignitaries. At the time, I was a teen and didnt really know who these people were....Othon Oschner, Jim Rossi, Babe VandeVelde, Al Stiller, George Garner.

And Schwinn night would bring out the racers as well. The local Lakeshore/Schwinn club with Danny VanHaute and Gus Pipenhagen. The Wolverine/Schwinn club from Detroit... Roger and Sheila Young, Sue Navara...

At the time a track bike was somewhat rare. Not too many bike shops that you could go to and buy a track bike. But you could walk into any Schwinn dealer and order a Paramount. Probably 70-80% of the bikes on the track were Paramounts.