March: Stock Car Racing Noise – Conflicts and Feasible Controls

Stock Car Racing NoiseConflicts and Feasible Controls
W. H. Close, U. S. Dept. of Transportation, Washington, DC
The following is a brief history of a noise problem, attempts to rectify it, and an analysis of the situation as it
exists today at the Beltsville Speedway, Maryland. The results of a series of tests conducted by the Department of
Transportation and the National Bureau of Standards to
identify the nature of stock car noise and the effectiveness
of present efforts to reduce noise at Beltsville are reviewed. This report, while dealing, primarily with
Beltsville, is applicable to the problem of auto racing noise
wherever it is, or may become, a problem of conflict between the interests of auto racing and race track neighbors.