Aquasco Speedway

[davidhuff]

Originally Posted by Wade Mahaffey

For you viewing pleasure

http://www.atomicpinup.com/Aquasco_Speedway.html

Got this from Mr. Bill Goodwin, he probably shot some of the footage

Wade Mahaffey

WOW,sure do like those days.
Thanks for the pictures.

[BillK]

Track is still there, kind of overgrown I have several 8MM movies and a bunch of 35MM slides that I need to get transfered to "modern" media. My only trophy is from Aquasco and it is sitting right in front of me The track is right in the center on this Google view, running from top to bottom next to Neck Rd

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=20601&...gl=us&t=h&z=15

[Ron Gusack]

Ferd and his Bull

[Ron Gusack]

Gene's injected small block


Malcolm's Chevelle

[Ron Gusack]

Jim Swagler


Tommy Kivett


Richie Zul and Dyno

[Dan Lattimore]

Originally Posted by 81camaro

hello terry, duane and danny, when you mentioned al sylvesters sd pont, he drove that car to the track and towed the super stock 426 ply with a buick, i went with al and unbolted his cutouts, one night at manassas he blew the pontiac , so we towed it and drove the ply back to al's mom house in dc, those where the days, see you this summer, bill and barb

First met Al when I was about 12 years old. He worked at Phelps Roberts machine shop in Roslyn ,Va. just down the street from my house. When I was 15 he helped find and overhaul a 56 Buick 322 to go into my 51 Ford. The rebuild cost $110.00 and swept the shop and cleaned parts for a month. When I was 22 he helped me blueprint my 66 W30 motor. Taught me all the basics that I still use today. Spent many nights in his mom's garage helping any way I could and watching him Johnny Walker and Buggs Terry play Tonk. First time he brought the SD to the shop from Bendall Pontiac we all came out to the parking lot to check it out. He said "don't lean on the fender,damn thing's aluminum". He opened the hood and lit it off. I was 17 yrs. old and I thought my heart would stop. The motor was shaking so hard I thought the mounts would break. Al backed it up stuck it in 1st. gear laid the pedal on the floor side stepped the clutch and ruined me for the rest of my life.-----------

[Keith Bennett]

I would sure like to thank ALL of you for this thread...
Aquasco Speedway hooked me on drag racing. I grew up living in Aquasco, we lived there from 1966-1975. We moved back to Lakeland Florida in late 1975 at 15 years old. I used to ride my bike up to MD 381 to watch all the cars going to the track on Sunday, and could hear it all from my house on St Phillips Church Rd. I dreamt of driving and owning something like Malcum Durams "Strip Blazer", or Gungle Jims Nova funny car.

The radio commercials were just as you described them, SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY...
I never got to go to track much, but watched alot of you guys driving by and as you sat in line on the road backed up waiting to get there. I sat at Grimes General Store many a day drueling as you went by.

Thanks
Keith

[Dan Lattimore]

Originally Posted by X-TECH MAN

Danny....I forgot to tell you....My ZZ4 CHEVY crate engine has old 56 Oldsmobile valve covers on it with adapters.....LOL. A lot of guys who look at it at shows think it really is an OLDS......I just tell them yeah, its an Olds....Heh Heh

That's gotta look pretty cool. Only geezers would even know what they were --------

[Mike Bassin]

What a great thread! Thanks Wade for the history/story and photos of Aquasco. I spent nearly all my time in the '60's at 75-80 but would venture to Aquasco 4 or 5 times a year during the early/mid '60s. About two of the cars mentioned, Al Sylvester's SD '62 421 Pontiac, it was a street driven car, could run 12.70's @ 110 mph on good days, that was real fast at the time. I can remember Dave Strickler's '62 409 and Al heads up at 75-80 on a real hot day, if it had been an 1/8 race Al would have won, Dave just got around at the stripe, that was impressive to me then. Gene Calhoun's "Arapaho" '60 Pontiac tri-power car was real fast also, ran everywhere in Md. There is a re-creation of the car running, can't recall the owner, ran 6.90 at Quarter Aces in 2011 at a Nostalgia event [1/8 mile]. Very period correct car, brought back memories.

Mike Bassin

[Ken Keir]

My first time to a race track was Aquasco in 1966. My dad took me and I thought it was the neatest thing I had ever seen. My Dad had a different opinion. Phil Bonner was match racing Kenny Waren. My first pass down a race track was in 1970 at Aquasco, in my 1969 AMC Hurst Rambler Scrambler. Two of my favorite cars at Aquasco were Bob Bernardon in Jolly Dolly and Leroy Dewdney in Leroy`s Toy. We sure had alot of fun back then.

Ken Keir
1470 A/SA