It opened in 1947; two drivers were killed on the first lap of the first race.[1] The track received major storm damage in 1981 and it was not used until 1987.[2] A thunderstorm had ripped the roof off the grandstands and fences were damaged.[1] Don Gettelfinger Sr. bought the track in 1987 and he replaced the fence with concrete.[1] The track closed in May 1995 when he declared bankruptcy.[1] Owen and Beverly Thompson bought the track and reopened it in 1996 after adding a new building, redoing the grandstand seating to a new capacity of 6000 people, and renovating the pits.[1] Thompson sold the track to Bill Kniesly in 2020.[3] Former driver Nick Bohanon bought the racetrack in December 2022.
As of 2019, the track has held more ARCA races than any other track (106th visit); it held races at the track since 1955.[2] The ARCA qualifying record is 16.785 seconds/119.035 mph by Gary Bradberry in 1994.[6]
Rich Vogler
On July 21, 1990, during the Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial sprint car event, which was nationally broadcast on ESPN Thunder, sprint car driver Rich Vogler sustained fatal head injuries due to a crash in turn 4. Vogler, who was leading the event and about to take the white flag signaling one lap to go, struck the turn 4 wall virtually head-on. The race was red flagged and declared finished. Vogler, 39, was declared the winner posthumously because of USAC National Sprint Car Series rules on a red flag reverting to the previous completed lap. This was his 170th win. Finishing second was Jeff Gordon.