New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt oval racetrack located near

New Smyrna Beach New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The downtown section of the city is located on the west side of the Indian River and the ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, that races the

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR-sanctioned local short track motor racing, short-track motor racing in th ...

every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in the infield. This track races quarter midgets on Friday nights.

Overview

New Smyrna Speedway hosts the annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, featuring nine consecutive nights of racing that runs during

Speedweeks Daytona Speedweek presented by AdventHealth is a series of racing events that take place during January and February at Daytona International Speedway. Traditionally leading up to the Daytona 500, in 2021 it concluded with the 2021 O'Reilly Auto ...

every February. The World Series has seen many of the current and former top names in

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

competing on the high-banked half-mile including Ryan Newman,

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and par ...

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...

Geoff Bodine Geoffrey Eli Bodine (born April 18, 1949) is an American former motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He raced at the NASCAR Cup Series from 1979 to 2011, earning 18 wins and a best season finish of third in 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1990. ...

, Rick Wilson,

Richie Evans Richard Ernest Evans (July 23, 1941Bourcier, Bones, "61 at 61", ''Speedway Illustrated'' (ISSN 1528-4182), Volume 3, Number 8, August 2002. – October 24, 1985), was an American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, ...

Jimmy Spencer James Peter Spencer (born February 15, 1957) is an American former racing driver, team owner, talk show host and television commentator. He is best known for competing in NASCAR. He hosted the NASCAR-inspired talk show, ''What's the Deal?'', o ...

, and

Pete Hamilton Peter Goodwill Hamilton (July 20, 1942 – March 21, 2017) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed in NASCAR for six years, where he won four times in his career (including the 1970 Daytona 500), three times driving ...

, and continually draws the top talent from around the United States and Canada. The event features NASCAR tour-type modifieds, "SK" type modifieds, Florida/IMCA-type modifieds, David Rogers super late models, late models, crate engine late models, winged sprint cars, and pro-trucks. Only Geoff Bodine and Ryan Newman have won a championship at the annual event, and gone on in their career to win the Daytona 500. The event included the Race to Stop Suicide 200, the

ARCA Menards Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Races are h ...

season opener, from 2014 to 2022. The

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...

has a race during the event since 2022. The racing surface was repaved in January 2007.

History

Daytona Raceway

In 1966, Auto Racing Enterprises, Inc., leased and broke ground on what was to become "Daytona Raceway", in Samsula, Florida. The organizations secretary, Benny Corbin, designed the half-mile dirt oval with 13 degree banks and construction was completed by the East Coast Paving Company out of Palatka. After months of delays, leadership of Auto Racing Enterprises, Inc., shifted to Dan Epps and the track held its first event on April 23, 1967. The Sunday afternoon races provided space for 4,000 race fans with an admission price of $2 for adults, $1 for students, and free entry for children. The opening heats and the feature sportsman division event were both won by 27-year-old Budweiser route salesman Jimmy Sapp of Gainesville. Charley Brown of St. Augustine took the win in the late model division. Following the second week of operations, the track shut down for three weeks due to "powder dry" conditions of the track. Despite installing sprinklers systems, using water trucks, and starting races later in the day, dust issues persisted. Facing an unrelenting drought, the dirt oval became asphalt and the first race on the new surface was held on Labor Day of the same year with a 200-lap feature. Racing continued through the end of the season in November.

New Smyrna Speedway

Following disagreements with the members of Auto Racing Enterprises Inc., Benny Corbin and Dan Epps founded Florida Motor Speedways Inc., leased the property, and started the 1968 season with another major change. In an effort to avoid confusion with the nearby

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

(often referred to as the Daytona Raceway), the track changed its name to New Smyrna Speedway. Afterwards, Corbin partnered with racing promoters Bob Bartel and Ed Otto to launch the World Series of Asphalt Auto Racing at New Smyrna Speedway. The track's schedule traditionally starts the new

club racing championship. Drivers across the country participate in the track's annual Ally Red Eye held on the first weekend of January, where drivers can earn points towards the annual national and Florida state championships. The Ally Red Eye was traditionally a 100 lap super late model race, but is now split as twin 50-lap features for the late models and David Rogers super late models, as the track renamed the premier class in memory of a local racer and former NASCAR Weekly Series national champion who died of cancer in 2020.

Florida Governor's Cup

New Smyrna Speedway began hosting the annual Florida Governor's Cup in 1988 each November. Initially known as the Florida State Late Model Championship, the Governor's Cup was commissioned by former Governor Haydon Burns to pay tribute to

Al Keller Alvah August “Al” Keller (April 11, 1920 in Alexander, New York – November 19, 1961 in Phoenix, Arizona) was an American racecar driver. NASCAR Keller participated in the NASCAR Strictly Stock/Grand National series from 1949 to 1956 ...

, long time promoter of Florida short-track racing. Originating at Tampa's Golden State Speedway in 1963, the event was held at the Showtime Speedway in Pinellas Park as the Cup in 1979 and then as the State Championship from 1984 to 1987. It is one of the most sought-after short-track awards in the country. In 2025, the race will be run with the ASA Southern Super Series, acting as the championship finale for the series and the track.

References

External links

*
Smyrna Speedway race results
at Racing-Reference
New Smyrna Speedway race results
at The Third Turn
FASCAR official site

New Smyrna Race Track Features Future Stars
Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Aug. 10, 1968.
Where's Pete Hamilton Now?
Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal, Feb. 16, 1975.
Pit Stop
Morning Record and Journal (Meridan, CT), Feb. 11, 1977.
Allison Back in Spotlight
St. Petersburg Times, Feb. 16, 1977.
Sunday, It'll be 7 Hours of Country
Daytona Beach Morning Journal, June 23, 1977.
Racing Thrives at Local Level
The Madison Courier, Feb. 18, 1981.
New Smyrna Speedway May be Movie Site
Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Oct. 9, 1981. {{American Canadian Tour late model racetracks Motorsport venues in Florida Sports venues in Volusia County, Florida Buildings and structures in New Smyrna Beach, Florida Sports venues completed in 1967 NASCAR tracks 1967 establishments in Florida