Capacity ~7,000 Closed 1978 Length 0.500 mi (0.805 km) | Broke ground 1964 Major events None (demolished) Opened 1965 | |
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Location Beltsville, Maryland, USA | ||
The Beltsville Speedway was an asphalt oval track in the American community of Beltsville, Maryland; it spanned 0.500 miles (0.805 km).
Summary
It was specially designed with banked turns for stock car racing. Originally known as the "Baltimore-Washington Speedway", this track received its final name in its 19th month of operation. The track hosted modified stock car racing vehicles alongside the other NASCAR series. Wednesday nights were the original night for racing but the schedule eventually added Friday night racing. Ten Grand National races were raced there including the popular Beltsville 300 series of races. Strict noise restrictions were given out in its final year of operation and the county (Prince George's County) starting monitoring the events. Eventually, a sound wall was built surrounding the speedways. Cars had to begin running mufflers in order to stifle the noise from the increasing RPMs from the vehicles themselves. The track was eventually shut down, demolished, and replaced with a local community college.
Famous race car drivers like Richard Petty, Tiny Lund, and David Pearson participated in legendary races there. The 1968 Beltsville 300 was an example of some of the classic NASCAR Grand National races that were run on the track.
