The cars that you ran when you were a kid were probably Womps. The 1/32nd scale cars that people run today usually have a plastic chassis and look more like 1:1 cars than commercial raceway cars with Lexan bodies do. Wood tracks are almost always made of MDF. Look here for more information on building your own track: http://www.oldslotracer.com/How-to.html.
Tahe a look at the Lumber Yard section for more info on building wood tracks.