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 6 local businessmen. The original headlining division were Modified stock cars, called Sportsmen Stocks 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.
After the original owners sold the track 1974, it was operated by several people over the years, including Harvey Tattersall Jr, Dick Williams, Jack Arute, the Korteweg family and Terry Eames until current owner Bruce Bemer bought the track prior to the 2015 season.
On the track, the Speedbowl has been home to NEAR Hall of Famers Dave Humphrey, Moe Gherzi, Fred Luchesi, Don Collins and Bob Potter. It’s also home to NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champions like Keith Rocco (2010-Division I) & Ken Cassidy Jr (2012-Division IV) and NL Legend Car National Champions like Dave Garbo Jr & Matt Pappa (both in 2012).
For an in depth look at our entire history please visit SPEEDBOWLHISTORY.com
