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The New London-Waterford Speedbowl is a 3/8 mile asphalt oval race track located on CT 85 in Waterford, Connecticut, just off Interstate 395. It first opened for business on April 15, 1951 as "The New London-Waterford Speed Bowl", the track has been in continuous operation every season since it initially opened. It has continuously promoted Modified stock car racing as its featured division since its first year of operation.〔( speedbowlhistory.com-Modified Champions )〕 It currently operates under NASCAR's Whelen All-American Series banner on Saturday nights. It also holds family-oriented events such as the Thursday Thunder Series, Friday Show & Go drag racing and several Sunday Spectacular events throughout the year. Glastonbury (CT) businessman Bruce Bemer won the track poperty via foreclosure auction bid in October 2014 after several seasons of financial struggles under former owner Terry Eames. Former track champion Shawn Monahan was named the track's new General Manager in February 2015. ==Original ownership group== The New London-Waterford Speedbowl opened on April 15, 1951 as a 1/3 mile crushed blue stone oval race track. Its ownership group, The New London-Waterford Speedbowl, Inc., was composed of local businessmen: brothers Fred and Frank Benvenuti, Anthony Albino, Conrad Nassetta, William Hoffner and J. Lawrence Peters. John Whitehouse was the track's first Race Director, a position he held through most of the original ownership group's tenure into the early 1970s. Whitehouse lived in Florida during the winter and would then moved up north and stay in a house on the Speedbowl property during the racing season. The Speedbowl featured Modified stock car racing, called Sportsmen Stock cars at the time. The first event winner was Bob Swift. After 3 weeks of operation, the dust created during green flag segments of racing became a nuisance to spectators. The track closed for about a month and re-opened as an asphalt oval, which it remains today.〔( speedbowlhistory.com 1951 Year in Review )〕 The one and only fatality as a result of injuries from an incident during a race occurred on August 1, 1954 when Jack Griffin's car flipped end-over-end approximately 10 times down the straightaway. The 41-year-old was transported to the local hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after 1am the following morning. His style of racecar, known as a "cut-down", was banned from the Speedbowl shortly thereafter for being too unsafe for competition.〔( speedbowlhistory.com 1954 Year in Review )〕 In the coming years, the cut-downs were eventually banned throughout the northeast. Through the 1961 season, the track held events twice a week, on Saturdays and Wednesdays, featuring the same divisions, meaning each division ran twice a week earning points towards the championship. Since the 1962, the Speedbowl's primary weekly divisions have raced once a week on Saturdays 〔( speedbowlhistory.com 1962 Year in Review )〕(although separate divisions and events have since been created over the years and compete exclusively on other days of the week) The operating Board of Directors had some turnover through the years. By 1960, Anthony Albino (now President) and Frank Benvenuti (Vice-President) were the only original owners still part of New London-Waterford Speedbowl, Inc. About a year later, local businessmen Jack Brouwer and Lou Esposito bought into the track as minority owners. By the early 1970s, the track ownership group consisted of Brouwer, Esposito and 2nd generation members Don Benvenuti and Bob Albino (who was the majority owner). Internal conflict would lead to the group selling the track after the 1974 season, after a 24-year run operating as The New-London Waterford Speedbowl Inc.〔( speedbowlhistory.com 1974 Year in Review )〕 The first Modified Champion at the Speedbowl was NEAR Hall of Famer Dave Humphrey,〔( speedbowlhistory.com 1951 Year in Review )〕 who also won the same title at the Seekonk Speedway that year, and would later win multiple titles in the Northeast Midget Association (NEMA) Series later in his career.〔( Midget Madness )〕 Other big stars during the track's early days were 2-time Champion Bill Slater, 5-time Champion Don Collins, 4-time Champion Charlie Webster, Moe Gherzi, Melvin "Red" Foote, Newt Palm and Ted Stack.〔( speedbowlhistory.com-Modified Champions )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Waterford Speedbowl」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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