I only raced at Marlboro once. It was an SCCA
National in 1967 and I was driving my Broadspeed
Mini-Cooper S.My overall impression was of a course
with a myriad of bumps and dips on the road portion
and the added challenge of the oval.
Prior to the race, I had read an article in which
Bob Tullius compared success at Marlboro to mastering
Phrenology. After the race I was in total agreement.
Candy Poole, Jim Burton and Bob Hepburn who
maintained/improved the Mini did some magical
suspension adjustment and we ran a competitive race.
Beyond those general impressions, my only vivid memory
is of the Group 44 paddock, full of interesting cars
including a Trans-Am Valiant or eqivalent, which blew
the doors off more mainstream competitors.
--- Vaughn Rockney <vintagegarage@erols.com> wrote:
> I saw Charlie Kolb win a Marlboro six hour in a
> Porsche Carrera 6, and saw
> Jackie Stewart, Sir John Whitmore and Mike Beckwith
> drive Lotus Cortinas
> there. Even got to see Colin Chapman there. The
> annual 12 hour, along with
> the Lime Rock Little Lemans, was the predecessor to
> the Trans-Am series, and
> as a boy, was my only chance to see the stars I read
> about in the magazines
> of the day.
>
> I also saw Glen Guthrie win the final stock car race
> on the Marlboro oval.
> It was a Wednesday night, and it had been more than
> a full season since the
> last stock car race there. They used to run stock
> car races on the oval
> once a week, but had stopped. Anyway, in the final
> season, they tried for a
> revival, and with cooperation from Old Dominion and
> Beltsville Speedways,
> tried to establish 3 weekly events. Marlboro
> Wednesday night, Beltsville
> Friday night, and Old Dominion Saturday night.. same
> cars and drivers. The
> first Wednesday night at Marlboro was a tough one.
> The track lights keep
> blowing a fuse, and the track would go dark about
> every 10 minutes or so,
> sometimes in the middle of a race. There was also a
> curfew that was too
> early. They barely got the program in, and it
> wasn't repeated. The track
> closed shortly after, as did Beltsville Speedway.
> Red's Kagle was the hot
> shoe back then, and I saw Richard Petty drive at
> Beltsville, but not at
> Marlboro.
>
> The grandstand was a wooden affair, and is still
> there. I was always the
> first person there so I could get the top row of the
> grandstand. If you got
> the top row of the grandstand, you could look out
> the back and see the
> "boot". The only part of the track you couldn't see
> was the hairpin
> lefthander to the far right.
>
> They started the 12 hour with a true Lemans start,
> with Tex Hopkins jumping
> as described by others. Cars lined up on the front
> straight with their
> tails to the guardrail, and drivers across the
> track.
>
> When the road coarse was used, the guardrail in the
> first and second turns
> of the oval were removed. Cars crossed the start
> finish line, went up the
> banking in the first turn, launched into the air and
> landed on the road
> coarse. It was a good show. The pits were also
> right in front of the
> grandstand, and the paddock was in the oval. What a
> difference from modern
> road course racing where you see one or two turns at
> best.
>
> The refrigerator bowl for small sedans in the winter
> was also something to
> see.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Charles Christ <cfchrist@earthlink.net>
> To: <LMR356@aol.com>; <JXLmail@aol.com>;
> <vintage-race@autox.team.net>;
> <healeys@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Monday, May 29, 2000 6:44 PM
> Subject: Re: Experiences racing at Marlboro Maryland
> in the 60s
>
>
> > hal keck in a lister huh? . harold later ended up
> being a co-driver of
> one
> > of the daytona cobras that won the 24hrs of
> daytona. most people remember
> > his #88 oarnge hellertown ford 289 cobra and
> later the blue with white
> > stripes big block one#88. he later went on to
> campagin one of the factory
> > light weight javlin amx's. he still resides in
> hellertown pa. he is one
> of
> > the more"colorfull " drivers that i spent time
> visiting with my father as
> a
> > child. his garage was always full of neat stuff!
> just never ask harold
> to
> > speak publically!!!!! his mastery of the english
> blankety-blank
> > expletive-expletive-expletive language was quite
> impressive to say the
> > least! i had my mouth washed out with soap as a
> child for repeating
> > something i had over heard him say in his
> garage(by my mom)(dad was
> probably
> > laughing about it out of sight somewhere). this
> was what i thought was a
> > normal childhood! and penskie. dad threw him out
> of our garage back when
> > he was a lehigh universtiy student. i now know
> this afliction my father
> had
> > for going fast in sports cars has had an effect on
> my brain(my excuse even
> > if it is a poor one). lol!
> >
> > it was a dangerous time and a wonderfull time! i
> could never thank my
> > father enough for the things he exposed me to as a
> child.
> > chuck.
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <LMR356@aol.com>
> > To: <JXLmail@aol.com>;
> <vintage-race@autox.team.net>;
> > <healeys@autox.team.net>
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2000 2:21 AM
> > Subject: Experiences racing at Marlboro Maryland
> in the 60s
> >
> >
> > > Jim L, 56BN2 wrote: I would appreciate
> .....listeners sharing
> experiences
> > > they had racing during the '60s at the SCCA
> track located at Marlboro,
> > > Maryland.
> > >
> > >
> > > Maybe some history on Marlboro will carry this
> thread a little further
> > along
> > > in the right direction...if you are interested.
> Marboro Park Speedway
> was
> > > located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland....15 miles
> east of Washington, D.C.
> > on
> > > Rt.301. It was the center of early SCCA racing
> in the Mid-Atlantic
> > > area...serving as the track for SCCA driving
> schools, regional,
> national
> > and
> > > FIA-sanctioned races. Marlboro was originally
> an oval track and in
> > 1955,
> > > thanks to the "Lavender Hill Gang" of racing
> enthusiasts, it was
> expanded
> > to
> > > a 1.8 mile road course with tight, twisty turns
> that were both counter
> and
> > > clockwise, along with a long 2,500 foot
> straight. There was a section
> > > closest to the highway..that appropriately was
> referred to as the "heel
> > and
> > > toe" of the boot.
> > >
> > > Marlboro became home to the annual Governor's
> Cup, The Marlboro Cup,
> the
> > > Thanksgiving "Turkey Bowl", the Refrigerator
> Bowl races...as well as
> some
> > > famous six and twelve hour endurance races. Over
> the years, there was
> one
> > > particular character that became synonymous with
> Marlboro...that was
> > Richard
> > > "Tex" Hopkins....the man in the lavender suit
> with that long cigar.. who
> > had
> > > patented his own style for "jump starting" each
> race. If you ever saw
> him
> > in
> > > action.. you know what I mean. Later on, in
> 1967 and 1968, two
> Trans-Am
>
=== message truncated ===
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