 Aerial photograph of Beltsville Speedway (1972) | |
| Location | 9200 Powder Mill RoadLaurel, Maryland 20708 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°02′N76°50′W / 39.04°N 76.84°W /39.04; -76.84 |
| Capacity | ~7,000 |
| Broke ground | 1964 |
| Opened | 1965 |
| Closed | 1978 |
| Major events | None(defunct) |
| Pavementoval track | |
| Length | 0.500 mi (0.805 km) |
TheBeltsville Speedway, formerly theBaltimore-Washington Speedway was an asphaltoval track inPrince George's County, Maryland; it spanned 0.500 miles (0.805 km).
NearBeltsville, it was on land now occupied byCapitol Technology University,[1] in theSouth Laurelcensus-designated place.[2][3]
The track was specially designed with banked turns forstock car racing. Originally known as the "Baltimore-Washington Speedway", the track received its final name in its 19th month of operation.[4] The track hostedmodified stock car racing vehicles alongside the otherNASCAR series.[4] Wednesday nights were the original night for racing but the schedule eventually added Friday night racing.[4] TenGrand National races were raced there including the popular Beltsville 300 series of races.[5] Strictnoise restrictions were given out in its final year of operation and thecounty started monitoring the events.[4] Eventually, a sound wall was built surrounding the speedways. Cars had to begin runningmufflers in order to stifle the noise from the increasing RPMs from the vehicles themselves.[4] The track was eventually shut down, demolished, and replaced with alocal university.[4]
Famous race car drivers likeRichard Petty,Tiny Lund, andDavid Pearson participated in legendary races there.[5] The1968 Beltsville 300 was an example of some of the classic NASCAR Grand National races that were run on the track.[5]
| Date | Winner |
|---|---|
| August 25, 1965 | Ned Jarrett |
| June 15, 1966 | Tiny Lund |
| August 24, 1966 | Bobby Allison |
| May 19, 1967 | Jim Paschal |
| September 15, 1967 | Richard Petty |
| May 17, 1968 | David Pearson |
| September 13, 1968 | Bobby Isaac |
| May 16, 1969 | Bobby Isaac |
| July 15, 1969 | Richard Petty |
| May 15, 1970 | Bobby Isaac |
Reference:[6]
Media related toBeltsville Speedway at Wikimedia Commons