Lost Road Courses

By Martin Rudow, published by CarTech, Inc. (2016), 176 pages, softback

Lost Drag Strips

By Tommy Lee Byrd, published by CarTech, Inc. (2013), 176 pages, softback

For the month of October, I’ve paired together books that share the same theme, ghost tracks. This is a topic that has always fascinated me. Seeing images of abandoned racetracks with nature taking its course and gradually overwhelming and reclaiming the environment. Seeing the decrepit grandstands and cracked pavement, with weeds growing all around, you can almost close your eyes and hear the roar of the cars and cheers of the crowd in the distance.

A few years ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. produced a documentary series on Peacock (2020-2021) called ‘Lost Speedways’. It perfectly captured the sense of wonder and excitement that I imagine it would be like to discover and explore these forgotten sites. And from that I sought out a few books that touched on this theme. Lost Road Courses and Lost Drag Strips collectively discuss over forty abandoned and lost tracks. The history behind each one and the stories that led to their demise is very well chronicled. 

In Lost Road Courses one of the tracks that is covered is Marlboro Motor Raceway, in Upper Marlboro, MD. That’s only 50 miles from my home. Many years ago, I attempted to reach someone who owned and/or controlled the property, in order go and photograph the track in it’s abandoned state. One could see on Google Maps that it had overgrown, but some infrastructure was still there. I ultimately got in touch with an attorney that was overseeing the affairs of the property, explained my desires in a documentary sense, but was immediately and unceremoniously shot down and told not to call again. Hmmm. I laughed as I hung up the phone, thinking that in years past I would have gone, even without calling and jumped a fence and looked around. But being of an age where I chose not to outrun a guard dog, I decided to let it go. So much for my attempt to visit a ghost track. It appears that real-life people seemed to be more unwelcoming than ghosts of the past. 

Fast-forward about ten years and I attended a Marlboro Reunion event in 2023 at Summit Point Motorsports Park, where past competitors who had driven the track in its heyday were reminiscing about the old times. It was fun to hear their stories, see the photographs and films, and get a glimpse of the racing of yesteryear. 

I highly recommend each of these books. Sometimes history isn’t in the past, it’s still there waiting to be found again. Enjoy!

TJ…..2025