Delmar Raceway, Delaware

By John Nelson

February 19, 2018

George Bower of Fruitland, Maryland opened Delmar Raceway in June 1950 (exact date unknown) with stock cars on a ½-mile dirt track. Johnny Martin of Lewes, Delaware won the 20-lap feature race before a crowd of 1,800. Under direction of promoter Bill Streeter of Trenton, New Jersey, Delmar continued weekly through autumn 1950 with Modified stock cars. As an added attraction, Sprint Cars of the United Racing Club (URC) made three appearances at Delmar, on September 3, September 24, and November 12. “Mr. Bower is to be complimented,” wrote an ISN reporter after the first event, “for building one of the finest half-mile tracks the East has ever seen.  There was absolutely no dust and the spectators seemed more than pleased with the show.” Mike Magill won two out of three Delmar main events in route to claiming the URC championship by a wide margin. The third URC feature went to Buddy Powers, who ended fifth in 1950 club point standings.

Racing continued through 1951 and 1952 under the Free State Racing Association and the Delaware Stock Car Racing Association.  Many of the top regional Modified and Sportsman drivers, including Pepper Cunningham, Charlie Dyer, Lou Johnson, Ray Kable, Buck McCardell, and Pee Wee Pobletts raced at Delmar during these years. The URC returned on May 6, 1951. Mike Magill won his first of six feature races here and repeated as club champion.

         Bower brought NASCAR sanction in 1953 and built a 1/4-mile dirt track inside the half-mile oval while letting spectators watch the races from cars parked on the half mile oval. The URC made its final appearance on June 21, Tony Romit taking the feature checkers. Weekly NASCAR competition continued in the spring of 1954. Among the regular runners were Jim Delaney, Tommie Elliott, Ken Marriott, Pee Wee Pobletts, Johnny Roberts, Frankie Schneider, and Al Tasnady. However, Delmar Raceway closed in June of 1954 and did not reopen until October 10, when a NASCAR Short Track Division race was staged on the newly paved half mile. George Holcomb of Aberdeen, Maryland won the 100-lap event driving a 1954 Nash.

For 1955, Bill Claggett of Baltimore came in as promoter and continued NASCAR Modified and Sportsman racing on Sundays. However, the first three dates were rained out and racing was suspended after June 5. No definite records of activity at Delmar in 1956 and 1957 have come to light, except the Delmarva News of Selbyville, Delaware for June 12, 1958 named Johnny Martin and Russell Warrington as last year’s champions.

The final season played out in 1958. Eben Collins, Jr. of Millsboro and racer Norwood Ellingsworth of Dagsboro leased the speedway from George Bowers and brought back NASCAR Modifieds on Friday nights. The ½-mile oval was covered with clay for the final season, making the fourth change in track configuration since 1950. Incomplete results show Al Tasnady winning three straight features in early fall. Other feature winners were Gene Lovelace, Glen Guthrie, and Pee Wee Pobletts. Others at the track this season included Budd Olsen and his brother-in-law Jackie McLaughlin. Last known race date was October 18 with twin features scheduled; results are unknown. On November 8 the Selbyville paper carried an article under the headline “Delmar Raceway, Inc. Declared Bankrupt.” As attested in U.S. District Court, the speedway had $4,772 in debts versus zero assets.

Delmar Raceway was located on the east side of Rt. 502 (Old Racetrack Road) and south of Rt. 54, about 1½ mile west of Delmar, near Delaware’s southern border. Contrary to Allan Brown (2003) and other sources, Delaware International Speedway was not built on the site. The site remains largely undeveloped; the southern part of larger oval still intact.

Sources: Illustrated Speedway News, National Speed Sport News, local daily and weekly newspapers accessed on www.newspapers.com. Information on the URC is from “Tow Money” by Buzz Rose and Jim Chini.