NEAR Hall of Famer Billy “Gramps” Greco (left, wearing All-Star helmet), was once an infrequent competitor at Waterford, but returned to full-time status when Harvey Tattersall Jr. purchased the track in 1975. In this shot from September 3, 1977, he’s just met with the Corvair-bodied # 73 entry chauffeured by long-established Bowl’ star George Allum. Joe Zenga was the owner of Billy’s # 06 Vega. (Kennedy Photo).  

The Greco-Allum fracas from another angle. That’s Allum leaning on the roof of his car, patiently waiting for the track crew to work their magic. (Kennedy Photo).

Now heavily-involved with the New England Antique Racers, the Sellar family once fielded this MOPAR Street Stock at Waterford. In-fact, they were one of the first teams to construct a car for the division, which was the brainchild of then-promoter/track owner, Harvey Tattersall Jr. In this “under the lights” shot from August of 1978, it’s Bob Sellar behind the controls. Son Rod later assumed the driving chores from his dad, the team eventually advancing to the Modifieds. That’s standout Street Stock competitor Chris Banta to the inside of Sellar. (Kennedy Photo).

Seabury Tripler goes down in the Speedbowl history books as not only a winning racer, but also as the guy that helped jump-start the “Pinto Revolution” in New England Modified racing. As this shot shows, before the legendary “M” mounts of “Trip” were shod by Ford’s modern subcompact tinwork, they wore the then-conventional stylings of this neat little coupe. Note that this image was captured before Nomex firesuits were the norm. (Shany Photo, Steve Kennedy Collection).

Another photo generously donated by Steve Kennedy captures a driver simply synonymous with Speedbowl history. The late Fred “Fuzzy” Baer was there from the very beginning wheeling those primitive Coupes & Coaches of the early days, concluding his career in a modern-era LaJeunesse Race Team Vega in the 1980’s. This shot shows him in a familiar #121 self-owned creation that was actually rather-radical for the period with its advanced split-axel suspension set-up. Despite a worn-appearance, the car was a real-mover. (Shany Photo, Steve Kennedy Collection).

What was known as a “Sand Safety Strip” once circled the outer-parameter of the racing surface at the Speedbowl. Originally built-in as a safety feature (the theory being that it would “slow-down” errant competitors before impact), it remained until the 1960’s when it was paved. This 50’s-era shot captures the Congdon team cars of NEAR Hall of Famer Dick Watson and early Bowl’ star Dick Beaureguard doing some time up in the “sandbank”. Other than capitol improvements funded by former operators the Korteweg family in the 1980’s including repaving, a new Armco retaining wall, and several other structural projects, the Speedbowl remains essentially the same as it did during it’s opening in the spring of 1951. (Shany Photo).