Even those who don’t know the difference between SK modified, mini stock or street stock race cars can appreciate the adrenaline-inducing speeds at the New London - Waterford Speedbowl.

Vehicles traveling around the 3/8-mile asphalt track on Saturday hit speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, at times raising cheers from spectators in the stands lining the track.

The speedbowl, one of only four commercial race tracks in the state, is an institution in these parts and a family affair for many of the drivers. Charles “The Real Deal” Beal of Ledyard smiled when asked what brings him to the track each week and motioned toward a group of friends, co-workers and family members spanning four generations gathered around six cars being prepared for the day’s races. Beal’s parents, uncle and grandfather all raced here.

“We’re here together every Saturday. The money we spend on these race cars is paying to keep us all together,” Beal said over the roar of race car engines.

“Me and my wife and kids work together, race together and are always together,” he said. “Family time is what means the most to me.”

Beal, the co-owner of CIC Auto Repair, had six cars at Saturday’s race. His 26-year-old son, Jaysin, and his daughters, Piper, 18, and Hailey, 22, all race.

Heidi McDonough, co-manager of the speedbowl who has worked in some capacity at the track for more than 30 years, said there are not only families of racers but also families of spectators that come back year after year rooting for their favorite racers.

“It’s a passion and you want to see it succeed,” she said of the speedbowl. “Short tracks like this really are disappearing in a lot of places.”

Saturday’s qualifying races started at 5:30 p.m., but 85-year-old Newt Palm of Westbrook was among the first people through the gates when they opened at 3:30 p.m.

Palm is a spectator these days, but in his heyday driving the L+M car at the speedbowl he was known as “Mr. Lightning” and won multiple championships in the 1960s and 1970s. Track officials confirmed Palm is the oldest living speedbowl champion.

Palm recalls one race where he smacked into a wall, lost 11 teeth and spent a week in the hospital getting stitched up. The cars back in the day, he said, had just one seat belt and no fire suits or protective equipment like they do these days. Palm said he recently tried to get into a car but found it was too tight and had to be lifted in.

“I come here all the time to watch the races and talk to a lot of the guys,” Palm said.

One of the new stars out on the track is 13-year-old Milana Shilosky of Colchester, an eighth grader racing in the truck division who appeared to have her own cheering section.

“She is unbelievable, something else,” Palm said.

Inside the nerve center of the speedbowl – a modified tour bus – is track co-manager and racing operation manager Chris Austill.

Austill, a former racer himself, was busy on Saturday tracking lap times while speaking to staff on the track who at one point were busy cleaning up a wreck. Austill said the grandstands at the track fit about 3,500 people and there is room in the pits and along the fence for more.

Saturday’s event featured qualifying rounds for six classes of race cars that involved eight laps. Those with the best times move on to the 25-lap races – the main event of the evening.

The speedbowl opened to the public in 1951 and has changed hands several times through the years. The most recent owner is Bruce Bemer, who bought the track in 2015 and has kept the track running despite multiple controversies that have plagued him personally.

He was arrested in 2016 on charges related to his role in a sex trafficking ring. His conviction in 2019, the same year the track was closed for the season, was later overturned by the state Supreme Court in 2021 because of insufficient evidence.

McDonough said it’s an exhausting season and she enjoys a rest during the winter months but, like others, is always itching to get back to the track by the time spring rolls around each year.

“It’s like family here,” McDonough said.

For more information, visit www.speedbowlct.com.

g.smith@theday.com