Every track, past, present, and future, has a story to tell–a storied history with some legendary moments and legendary winners. Since its inception in 1949, 179 unique speedways and tracks have been featured on the NASCAR circuit across its many distinctive series. Today, only 53 of those still remain on the schedule across all of NASCAR’s divisions, while the others often waste away. Some get sold to real estate developers. They get turned into condos or a Walmart or a parking lot or a shopping mall. Others get left to ruin, a painful reminder of their former glory. And some get torn down in order to build a new short track, but never reach beyond the blueprint and/or good idea phase of planning.
Nazareth Speedway isn’t a track I remember actually watching a race from (though, it was on the schedule…I was younger and a more casual fan back then). No, my memories of Nazareth Speedway actually comes from the EA Sports NASCAR series of video games for the PlayStation 2. Do you remember those? NASCAR Thunder, NASCAR 06: Total Team Control, and, my personal favorite, NASCAR 07 (don’t ask me why, I couldn’t tell you). These games were a cornerstone of my childhood. And what I found so cool about them were the fantasy tracks. Who can forget Old Spice Speedway, Dodge Raceway Stadium, and, one of my personal favorites, Speedway Boulevard?
One of these “fantasy tracks” was actually Nazareth Speedway, which was a real track but, by the time those games came out, it was no longer on the NASCAR schedule. So, for our third entry in my Forgotten Speedways series, we’re going to take a look back at Nazareth Speedway, one of the Xfinity Series’ most forgotten tracks.
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Like many modern racetracks, including Dover Motor Speedway, Nazareth Speedway started as a horse racing track sometime in the 1850s. The track was located in the middle of the county fairgrounds, and as the population of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, grew, the track was torn down and relocated. In this second rendition of the facility, there was a half-mile dirt oval that started hosting motorsport events in 1910. By 1966, the track was expanded in length to a 1 1/8 mile dirt oval. But this version of the track didn’t last very long. Twenty years later, the track was purchased by Roger Penske. Yes, that Roger Penske, who was looking to expand his motorsports empire. Subsequently, Penske and his company paved the track.
The facility was built on a hill with changes in elevation, similar to North Wilkesboro. The backstretch ran downhill while the front stretch went uphill. Also unique about the track was its shape. It wasn’t a true oval or a D-shaped, which was all too common at the time. Rather, the track was in the shape of a triangle, almost like a baby Pocono with steeper banking. Penske brought Nazareth Speedway into the fold of his company, Penske Motorsports, which also owned and operated the tracks Michigan International Speedway, California Speedway, and Rockingham Speedway. By the time of the new millennium, however, Penske Motorsports merged with the NASCAR-owned ISC. Therefore, NASCAR gained ownership of the track.
Despite hosting several successful NASCAR and IndyCar racing events and the modest crowds, ISC closed Nazareth Speedway in 2004. No plans were ever expressed on the part of NASCAR regarding the future of the facility. However, in 2015, the track was sold to a new company titled Raceway Properties LLC. Racing remained banned at the track in the wake of the transaction. To this day, racing at any capacity has yet to return.
As referenced before, the layout for Nazareth Speedway is very unique. In addition to being built on a hill, it’s almost shaped like a triangle. However, different from tracks like Pocono, Nazareth Speedway consists of 5 turns rather than 4 or 3. The length of the track as it became acquired by Penske and later NASCAR was 0.946 miles. Turn 1 and the straightaways were banked at 2.7 degrees. Turns 2 and 3 were a little steeper at 3 degrees. And, finally, turns 4 and 5 were banked at 4 degrees. The track’s surface was asphalt, which had really aged over time, becoming an abrasive surface hard on tires. It’s a difficult layout that proved to be a steep learning curve for many drivers who dared to take it on.
As with many tracks featured in this Forgotten Speedways series, Nazareth Speedway never got a Cup Series date, much to the disappointment of Roger Penske. However, it was a mainstay on the schedules of a number of different series and divisions. The track hosted its first NASCAR Xfinity (then Busch Series) race in 1988 and continued to host the series until its closure in 2004. On the Xfinity Series schedule, the race typically fell on the Sunday following the All-Star race in Charlotte. The track also hosted the Truck Series from 1996 to 2001. Perhaps the more popular series to race on the track, however, is IndyCar. As CART, IndyCar raced at the track from 1987 when the track opened to 2001. CART was then dissolved into IndyCar and the series continued to race at the track until the track closed in 2004.
In addition to the track’s annual IndyCar points dates, the track also hosted the Marlboro Challenge, an IndyCar All-Star Race, in 1990 and 1992.
Many drivers who have won at Nazareth have gone on to become champions of the sport. In the Xfinity Series, the first winner at the track was Rick Mast. Other notable winners include Todd Bodine, Ricky Craven, Randy LaJoie, Elliott Sadler, Matt Kenseth, Ron Hornaday, and Greg Biffle. 2017 Cup Series Champion, Martin Truex Jr. won the final Xfinity Series race in 2004, driving the number 8 Chevy for Chance 2 Motorsports. He went on the win the championship that year.
Winners at Nazareth also include the who’s who in the world of IndyCar. Al Unser won the first race at the track in 1968 under the USAC banner. Father-son duo Mario and Michael Andretti have also won at the facility. Other notable winners include Bobby Rahal, Paul Tracy, Scott Dixon, and Helio Castroneves. The late Dan Weldon won the final IndyCar race at the track in 2004.
Following the purchase of the track in 2015 by Raceway Properties LLC, not a lot has been done with the facility. The grandstands have been removed and there was word that the track would be torn down and replaced with a warehouse for the company C. F. Martin & Company. However, nothing has ever come to fruition. Today, the racing surface of the track still exists. However, it has been overgrown with weeds and brush. It still sits in disrepair. It is unlikely that racing will ever return to the facility. But we, as fans of the old EA Sports NASCAR games, can hold out hope. Someone brought North Wilkesboro back from the dead. As long as the surface still remains, anything is possible.
Do you remember Nazareth Speedway? Or are you like me and only remember it fondly from the EA Sports games. Do you think racing will ever return to the track? Do you even think there’s an appetite for it to? I, personally, would love to see it. But it’s slightly out of NASCAR’s niche geographic location.
That does it for this installment of Forgotten Speedways. I hope you enjoyed it. Next up: Ralegh Speedway.
