Aquasco Speedway facts for kids

Aquasco Speedway was a super cool place where fast cars used to race! It was the very first quarter-mile dragstrip on the East Coast of the United States. Imagine cars zooming down a straight track for a quarter of a mile – that's what drag racing is all about!

This famous speedway was built in the middle of the 1950s. It was the original home of a big racing event called the President's Cup Nationals. Today, that exciting race happens at Maryland International Raceway. Many legendary drag racers, like Richard Petty, Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudhomme, and Bunny Burkett, all raced their powerful cars at Aquasco Speedway.

Where Was Aquasco Speedway?

Aquasco Speedway is located in a place called Aquasco, Maryland. Even though the track isn't used for racing anymore, the land is still there! It hasn't been changed or damaged, so you can still see where all the action used to happen. The speedway stopped its main racing events in the 1970s.

What Happened After the Races?

After the drag races stopped, the land got a new purpose for a while. In the early 1980s, a group called the American Motorcyclist Association rented the area. They built a smaller track there for motocross, which is a type of off-road motorcycle racing.

Even though there weren't any really big, official motocross competitions held there, many smaller, local groups still used the track for their own races. It was a place where motorcycle riders could practice and compete, keeping the spirit of racing alive at Aquasco for a little longer.