MARYLAND
STOCK CAR RACING
HALL OF FAME
A tribute to the racers that have brought us
countless memories over the past half century
of Maryland stock car racing
A tribute to the racers that have brought us countless memories over the past half century of Maryland stock car racing.
WELCOME TO THE MARYLAND 
STOCK CAR RACING
HALL OF FAME
3/7/13
At last I have returned to update the website. I've added 16 new photos to the Dorsey Speedway page and 12 new photos to the Beltsville page. Special thanks to the Ed Lindsey Family, Lillis and Larry Jendras Jr., and Dempsey Wilson for sharing their collections with us. I will be catching up as I still have a lot to post to the site.
I have added another page to the site, Artwork. This page will feature artwork of Maryland drivers and racecars submitted by artists and fans. I think you will enjoy these pictures. Charlie Lindmar of Islamarada, Fl. has done a very nice job on Maryland favorites Johnny Roberts, Glen Guthrie, Pete Kantorsky and Ralph Smith. Charlie is originally from New Jersey and saw our drivers racing at Vineland and Alcyon Speedways in the Garden State. I will be posting Charlie's rendering of Ken Marriott in a few weeks. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Charlie for giving me these prints.
The charcoal picture of Maryland's NASCAR National Sportsman-Modified Champions is by my daughter, Leah Bell of Mayo, Maryland. Leah is an accomplished professional artist with paintings hanging in collections in Europe and the United States. The charcoal prints were framed and given by random drawing to 3 lucky attendees at the 2011 Reunion. Conrad Ramsey, Brooklyn Park, Md., Harold Sears, Conover, NC, and a fellow in Dillsburg, Pa. were the winners. I forgot the name of the fellow in Pa.
3/3/12
At last I have posted the 2011 Reunion photos. There a ton of them. A big thanks goes to Jim"Flat Track" Kemp for his photographic expertise. Jim is a real fan and has contributed many of his photos to this site and many others.
I have a lot to put on the site and will be doing this over the next few days. Stay tuned.
2/20/12
The Maryland Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame website has a new look! It’s been revamped to make it easier to both navigate and read. Hope you all like it. Please let me know your thoughts.
11/21/11
I sold out of t's and hats at the Reunion. I have reordered and should have them in the next two weeks. I will have the late model and old coupe hats and t's in all sizes. Would make an excellent Christmas gift. T's are $18.00 and hats are $15.00. Shipping is $3.00 each or $5.00 if hat and T are ordered together.
11/17/11
Creation Films was on hand at the Reunion to begin making the documentary on Maryland Stock Car Racing. Ed started the process by filming interviews with various people connected with racing including mechanics, fans, wives and drivers. I will be meeting with him over the next few months as the film progresses.
11/14/11
Well the 5th Annual Reunion is in the history books. And what a success it was. Over 200 attendees and more race cars then we have ever had. Thanks to the following for bringing their race cars: Butch Kable for the number 90 modified '39 Ford coupe, Bucky Guilfoy for his #30 '39 Ford Modified, The Lindsey Family for their #11 '37 Ford modified coupe, Pee Wee Pobletts for his #46 Pontiac super modified, Rick Mendelson for his #78 Sprint Car, Fred Krickbaum with his Pen Mar modified coupe , Junior Tauber for his #115 '39 Ford Sportsman coupe, and Paul Hoffman's PenMar modified sedan. There was one car that I didn't get the owner's name A 1967 Trans-Am Cougar race car.
Drivers attending this year were: Bobby Ballentine, David Ballentine Roy Lee Hendrick, Bobby Wilcher,, George Lorden, Rusty Bristow, Elmer Couch, Bucky Guilfoy, Pee Wee Pobletts, Rick Mendelson, Carter Ayres, Ace Canupp, Johnny Meeker, Johnny Mayola, John Brousard, Junior Tauber, Mike Tauber, Ken Festerman, Johnny Dodd Jr., Danny Woolford, Ed Drury, Denny Bonebrake, Buckly Rees, Bernie West, Mike Heath, Fred Krickbaum, Wes Troup, Butch Kable, Ron Rowles, Chuck Talbert, Paul Hoffman. And I am sure I have left out a few.
We did not take our group photo this year. But I will be posting photos of this year's event in a few days.
2/12/11
I have 16 Dosey Speedway videos available at this time. They are from 1983, 1984 and 1985. Most are complete shows featuring heats and features in all divisions. All 16 are available for $75.00, includes shipping. You can also buy 2 videos for $12.00 plus $3.00 shipping. See Memorabilia page for payment details.
12/2/10
A few more drivers attending the reunion: Gil Clements, Fred Volmerhausen, Little Hutch and Danny Woolford.
11/22/10
I am just recovering from the reunion. It was a huge success. Thanks to Junior Tauber, Rick Mendalsen, Fred Krickbaum and Pee Wee Pobletts for bringing race cars to the reunion. And thanks to those who brought street rods. With the weather being excellent it was nice that people could back and forth from the race cars and the hall.
The following drivers were in attendance: Reds Kagle, Bobby Ballantine, Pete Kantorsky, Pee Wee Pobletts, Chuck Talbert, Elmer Couch, George Lorden, Junior Tauber, Mike Tauber, Ace Canupp, Kyle Lear, John Imler, Mike Heath, Butch Barkey, Ernie Tester, John Broussard, George Kopchak, Andy Anderson, Bobby Sherbs, Ron Rowles, Carter Ayres, Dave Ballantine, Johnny Dodd Sr., Johnny Dodd Jr, Bob Wilcher, Fred Krickbaum. I'll add more later.
Frank Sagi and Doug Watson shared the mike as emcees. Noted race historians Larry Jendras, Jr and Russ Dodge were in attendance. Gary and Al Gore from Old Dominion Speedway and former Area Auto Racing News writer Stan Dillon came.
7/28/09
Oldtime Maryland race fan Frank Taylor attended races at Pomonkey Speedway in the early '50's. Frank has retired and has taken up painting as a hobby in Grafton, W. Va. He has sent me one of his very nice paintings of Modified Champion Glen Guthrie. As I do not have enough information currently about Pomonkey Speedway I have not created a page for it. I am putting the painting of Glen on the Marlboro page for the time being. Enjoy and thanks go to Frank for this one.
I'm still waiting for more stories. They don't have to be long or involved just a short memory of a driver, race, speedway, etc. Get those creative juices flowing.
7/21/09
I thought it would be a nice idea to welcome input from those who enjoy the website. Specifically for the "Memories Are Made of This" page. Everyone is welcome to submit their favorite race story from the past. I will be happy to place it on that page. The following requirements should be met: approximate date (ex. summer 1965 or more specific), it does not necessarily have to be about a Maryland speedway but must be about Maryland drivers, it can be about a race, meeting drivers etc., meeting famous drivers at Maryland tracks, any experience that has left an indelible memory. You must give your name and address (hometown and state). Stories should be sent to:
oldtimers@mdscrhof.org
7/16/09
Welcome back. I have just posted some nice photos on the Beltsville page from 1966, the Dorsey page, the Johnny Roberts page and the Marlboro page. The photo of Johnney Roberts was received from Jeff Hardifer who has a Wally Campbell website, Wally raced at Westport and Lanham in the early '50's. The photo is from a Poloroid picture in the early '50's. Possibly on the beach at Daytona. This is rare photo indeed. Larry Jendras, Jr., Maryland's Dean of Stock Car Racing History, was kind enough to provide some photos of Dorsey in the early '60's, Beltsville and a wonderful shot of Preston Welsh's '37 at Marlboro. Again we thank Steve Rader of Baltimore for some Figure 8 and Late Model photos at Dorsey.
As is the case I have a lot of irons in the fire. It's time to get the ball rolling on the Reunion. It will be on Sunday, November 15, 2009 at Earleigh Heights Fire Dept. I have not priced the tickets but will keep them as cheap as possible.
11/18/08
One word sums up the Second Annual Reunion: WOW, approx. 225 in attendance. What a time this was. Here is a list of the drivers who were present, sorry if I miss a few):
Reds Kagle, Bobby Ballantine, Dick Boswell, Carter Ayres, Junior Tauber, Pee Wee Pobletts, Pete Kantorsky, Ken Festerman. Kevin Sprague, John Imler, Jim Dockery, John Broussard, Bobby Sherbs, George Lorton, Mike Tauber, Ace Canupp, Andy Anderson, Fred Krickbaum, Ernie Tester, Bucky Guilfoy, Chuck Talbert, Slim Devilbiss, Ed Chaney, Jim McBee, Duane Lowrey, Ron Rowles, Mike Heath, Butch Barkey, John Dodd Jr., Rick Mendelson and I know there were more.
Other notables attending: Bob Adams, the owner of the famed Flying 11 late model Chevies driven by Ray Hendrick at Beltsville, of Richmond, Va., 1959 NASCAR National Modified Champion Glen Guthrie's daughter, Janie and her husband were in from California, modified star Ed Lindsey's wife and daughter Sharon, mechanic Spider Thomas, modified driver Walt Bowman's sons, and my memory is slipping.
Race cars on display were: Junior Taubers NASCAR Sportsman '39 Ford no. 115, PeeWee Pobletts no. 46 super modified, An Al Hamilton Sprint car, The Flying Dutchman cut down modified from New York, Fred Krickbaum's PenMar vintage racer cut down coupe, Walt Bowman's early '30's modified .
Frank Sagi, legendary announcer at Beltsville, Hagerstown and Lincoln was our Emcee and Doo Wop Jack played the music.
Movies shown were from Westport Stadium, Dorsey Speedway, Potomac Speedway, Hagerstown Speedway.
At least 15 large scrapbooks were available to bring back the memories.
Mike Tauber brought two really large display boards of old photos.
It was so neat to walk by the movie and hear someone say "hey that's me on there".
The group consumed: approx. 300 beers, 250 soft drinks, over 100 cups of coffee, 60 lbs of potato salad, 45 lbs of cole slaw. 200 lbs of meat, 240 kaiser rolls, many jars of pickles, umpteen bags of chips.
Ray Herrod of Dover, Pa. and Greg Deeth of Midlothian, Va. were on hand with many very nice die cast cars and not NASCAR Cup stuff. Old coupes and late models.
I don't think anyone would disagree that this was truly an event to be remembered.
We'll be there same time next year.
Website Mission:
The mission of this Hall of Fame is to preserve the history of stock car racing in the state of Maryland and to maintain the memory of those individuals who excelled in the sport. The Maryland Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization created to provide a history of stock car racing in Maryland. Access to the website is free and plans are to keep it that way. Hopefully the Hall of Fame will bring back many pleasant memories of those days spent at the wonderful speedways that once thrived in the Free State. I hope many of you are still supporting our current speedways: Potomac, Hagerstown and Cumberland.
Induction to the Hall of Fame will be determined by the following criteria: a track, state or national championship in the following categories: 1950's Sportsman, Modified, Late Model Sportsman, Sprint Car, Super Late Model and Grand National (Currently Nextel Cup). To simplify things the term Super Late Model will be used for the Late Model class that replaced the Modifieds as the primary class at Hagerstown and Dorsey. Potomac also had a late model class as their primary class. These late models evolved into the Super Late Model class. The Hall of Fame is for drivers, mechanics and car owners who were from Maryland. Drivers from other states that raced in Maryland to win national championships and Maryland speedway championships will also be included. There will be special Hall of Fame categories for promoters, officials and others that contributed to the sport in Maryland.
All of the material contained in the website is from my own personal collection which has been acquired over the years. A special thank you is due Mike and Junior Tauber, Danny Woolford, Bucky Guilfoy and Jim Carlsen for loaning me their scrap books and video tapes. Additionally I would like to thank the following: Doug Johnson, Dick and Merrilee Jones, Harold Sears, the Danie Ferguson Family, George Dilks, Jeffrey Slayton, Franklin Taylor and Roddy Langley. Viewers are welcomed to notify me of any errors that may appear. If you possess any photos, stories or other information that you would like to have included on the website please notify me. I am currently looking for info about Potomac Speedway champions and Hagerstown Modified champions for the 50's and early 60's. Also, if you reproduce anything from the website it would be appreciated that you acknowledge us. Contact us at: oldtimers@mdscrhof.org
As information: My name is Al Torney and I live in Annapolis, Maryland. I attended my first stock car race in 1953 at Westport Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. I have been a fan ever since. More than anything else I miss the old Sportsman-Modifieds of the '50's and early '60's before they started cutting them down. However, I still love them all.
