7 replies to this topic

[David M. Kane]

I first got my interest in Road Racing while attending SCCA National Races at Upper Marlboro in the late '50s and early '60s to watch the likes of Roger Penske, Mark Donahue, Timmy Mayer, Bob Grossman. Gaston Andrey and local favorites Dr. Dick Thompson, Charlie Hayes and Charlie Wallace.

I'm trying to find out more about more about how the track became a road course with the addition to the existing short-track oval?
Apparently Dr. Dick Thompson, Tex Hopkins and the Lavender Hill Mob (SCCA corner works and officials) threw various amounts of money into the project. It was a great location for fans and participants being reasonably accessible from PA, NY, MD and VA.

Are there any articles or books on these early SCCA days that anyone knows of?

[Sunbeam74]

There is a very good Yahoo "Group" regarding Marlboro Raceway.

http://sports.groups...rlboro_Raceway/

You will have to join to participate but there is a fairly good collection of photos and many people who
were involved with racing at the track over the years.


Steve

[David M. Kane]

There is a very good Yahoo "Group" regarding Marlboro Raceway.

http://sports.groups...rlboro_Raceway/

You will have to join to participate but there is a fairly good collection of photos and many people who
were involved with racing at the track over the years.


Steve

Thanks Steve I just submitted my request to join the group. Thanks for the tip!

[JB Miltonian]

David: You asked about articles - do you have Sports Cars Illustrated, September 1955? They have a 5-page article "Lavender Hill Mob Debut", about the first SCCA event at Marlboro. If this sounds interesting, send me a PM with your email address and I'll scan and send it for you.

[Mike Argetsinger]

Dave -- in my book "Walt Hansgen: His Life and the History of Post-War American Road Racing," (David Bull Publishing, 2006) in Chapter 38 I write about the Marlboro track origins. I will excerpt parts of that chapter here.


The Cunningham team took a breather in July, and so Walt accepted an invitation from Lindy Hansen for a one-off drive in the very same D-type with which he enjoyed such great success the year before. The July 14, 1957, race was the first SCCA National Championship ever at Marlboro, Maryland.

That spring, the Marlboro Motor Raceway had grown from its original length of 0.7 mile to 1.7 miles. The driving force behind the track was an enthusiastic group from the Washington, D.C. Region of the SCCA, known as the Lavender Hill Mob. Eugene Chaney was the owner of a 0.3-mile dirt track in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and a contractor with road-building equipment. With the financial support of “The Mob,” the original circuit was carved out in 1955. The existing oval was incorporated into the layout, and as a result the circuit ran counter-clockwise. The first race was run on May 22, 1955, and later in the year a six-hour race was run on the tiny facility. Enthusiasm was high and the track location was excellent, situated just 15 miles from the White House. The notoriously rapid dentist Dr. Dick Thompson and Washington D.C., Regional executive Bob McKinsey were key figures in seeking expansion of the facility, and they made it happen in 1957. With the additional mile added to the circuit, Marlboro was ready for its first National Championship race.

(later in the chapter the race is described)

Despite the presence of Carroll Shelby and John Fitch in a pair of Maserati 300Ss, Walt dominated in the D-type Jaguar. He not only won the feature race, the Lavender Hill Mob Trophy of twenty-five laps, but took the ten-lap prelim, Tobacco Row. Shelby suffered persistent fuel line problems, and his crew never got the problem worked out; he retired from both races with the engine cutting out in left-hand corners. Fitch was suffering from a severe summer cold and sat out the preliminary ten-lapper. He retired from second place in the feature race, experiencing dizziness. Dick Kessler in an XK-SS Jaguar finished second in both races. The twisty nature of the circuit was reflected in the race average speed of 70.28 mph. Walt used first gear three times each lap in the Hansen-McPhee car, with a 3.73 rear-axle ratio. Later, Walt recommended to Alfred Momo that the Cunningham team use 3.54 gearing at the circuit instead of the 3.73, believing the 3.54 would create less wheel spin coming out of Marlboro’s hairpin turns.

[David M. Kane]

Dave -- in my book "Walt Hansgen: His Life and the History of Post-War American Road Racing," (David Bull Publishing, 2006) in Chapter 38 I write about the Marlboro track origins. I will excerpt parts of that chapter here.


The Cunningham team took a breather in July, and so Walt accepted an invitation from Lindy Hansen for a one-off drive in the very same D-type with which he enjoyed such great success the year before. The July 14, 1957, race was the first SCCA National Championship ever at Marlboro, Maryland.

That spring, the Marlboro Motor Raceway had grown from its original length of 0.7 mile to 1.7 miles. The driving force behind the track was an enthusiastic group from the Washington, D.C. Region of the SCCA, known as the Lavender Hill Mob. Eugene Chaney was the owner of a 0.3-mile dirt track in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and a contractor with road-building equipment. With the financial support of “The Mob,” the original circuit was carved out in 1955. The existing oval was incorporated into the layout, and as a result the circuit ran counter-clockwise. The first race was run on May 22, 1955, and later in the year a six-hour race was run on the tiny facility. Enthusiasm was high and the track location was excellent, situated just 15 miles from the White House. The notoriously rapid dentist Dr. Dick Thompson and Washington D.C., Regional executive Bob McKinsey were key figures in seeking expansion of the facility, and they made it happen in 1957. With the additional mile added to the circuit, Marlboro was ready for its first National Championship race.

(later in the chapter the race is described)

Despite the presence of Carroll Shelby and John Fitch in a pair of Maserati 300Ss, Walt dominated in the D-type Jaguar. He not only won the feature race, the Lavender Hill Mob Trophy of twenty-five laps, but took the ten-lap prelim, Tobacco Row. Shelby suffered persistent fuel line problems, and his crew never got the problem worked out; he retired from both races with the engine cutting out in left-hand corners. Fitch was suffering from a severe summer cold and sat out the preliminary ten-lapper. He retired from second place in the feature race, experiencing dizziness. Dick Kessler in an XK-SS Jaguar finished second in both races. The twisty nature of the circuit was reflected in the race average speed of 70.28 mph. Walt used first gear three times each lap in the Hansen-McPhee car, with a 3.73 rear-axle ratio. Later, Walt recommended to Alfred Momo that the Cunningham team use 3.54 gearing at the circuit instead of the 3.73, believing the 3.54 would create less wheel spin coming out of Marlboro’s hairpin turns.

Thank you Mike, I'll go pull out my copy of your Hansgen book. I also joined the Upper Marlboro discussion group earlier today and I hope I will be allowed to join their chats soon.

[motorsporthistoryaddict]

I first got my interest in Road Racing while attending SCCA National Races at Upper Marlboro in the late '50s and early '60s to watch the likes of Roger Penske, Mark Donahue, Timmy Mayer, Bob Grossman. Gaston Andrey and local favorites Dr. Dick Thompson, Charlie Hayes and Charlie Wallace.

I'm trying to find out more about more about how the track became a road course with the addition to the existing short-track oval?
Apparently Dr. Dick Thompson, Tex Hopkins and the Lavender Hill Mob (SCCA corner works and officials) threw various amounts of money into the project. It was a great location for fans and participants being reasonably accessible from PA, NY, MD and VA.

Are there any articles or books on these early SCCA days that anyone knows of?

Sports Illustrated 7/29/57 had an article you can see online at http://sportsillustr...33363/index.htm. If this link doesn't work, just Google Sports Illustrated and use SI magazine's search option, by entering "Marlboro Raceway" or "Lavender Mob". It's on page 2 of the search results.

[David M. Kane]

Sports Illustrated 7/29/57 had an article you can see online at http://sportsillustr...33363/index.htm. If this link doesn't work, just Google Sports Illustrated and use SI magazine's search option, by entering "Marlboro Raceway" or "Lavender Mob". It's on page 2 of the search results.

Great article, JB Miltonian also scanned an excellent article about the 1st Mob race from Sports Car Illustrated and sent it me; so now I'm just waiting to be accepted in this Yahoo chat group on Upper Marlboro. Thanks to both of you!