Beltsville Speedway
| Location | Beltsville, Maryland, USA |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°02′47″N 76°51′05″W / 39.046319°N 76.851296°W |
| Capacity | ~7,000 |
| Broke ground | 1964 |
| Opened | 1965 |
| Closed | 1978 |
| Major events | None (demolished) |
| Pavement oval track | |
| Length | 0.500 mi (0.805 km) |
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.[1] The track hosted modified stock car racing vehicles alongside the other NASCAR series.[1] Wednesday nights were the original night for racing but the schedule eventually added Friday night racing.[1] Ten Grand National races were raced there including the popular Beltsville 300 series of races.[2] Strict noise restrictions were given out in its final year of operation and the county (Prince George's County) starting monitoring the events.[1] 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.[1] The track was eventually shut down, demolished, and replaced with a local community college.[1]
Famous race car drivers like Richard Petty, Tiny Lund, and David Pearson participated in legendary races there.[2] The 1968 Beltsville 300 was an example of some of the classic NASCAR Grand National races that were run on the track.[2]