Nazareth Speedway Tickets

Nazareth Speedway

Nazareth Speedway was originally Nazareth National Speedway, a semi-banked, dirt, D-shaped 1-1|8 mile oval built in 1966. Nazareth National suspended operations in the early 70s, and reopened in 1981. Penske Speedway Inc. purchased the facility in 1986 and converted it to the modern 1 mile paved oval. The track now belongs to the International Speedway Corporation, a result of the merger of Penske race tracks with International Speedway Corporation. The track has been used for CART, IRL and NASCAR Busch racing. The track was briefly referred to as "Pennsylvania International." Nazareth Speedway is located in the beautiful Lehigh valley, just one and a half hours north of Philadelphia and west of New York City. Nazareth Speedway is a proud host of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as well as the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division.

The uniquely-shaped track is a sister track to Michigan Speedway and is operated by Penske Speedways. Groundbreaking for "Pennsylvania International Raceway" began on October 16, 1986. Used in the construction and renovation were 41,000 tons of gravel, 22,000 tons of asphalt, six miles of fencing, and two miles of guard rail. Construction was completed by the next year in time to run the inaugural race on September 20, 1987. In 1993, the name was changed to Nazareth Speedway. In 1997, Nazareth Speedway underwent its most extensive renovation since the track opened in 1987. The grandstands on the front stretch were replaced by state-of-the-art, high-rise grandstands with aluminum seats and backrests. The construction created a new "skyline" for Nazareth and 10,000 additional prime seats. While the bleachers were removed, construction crews replaced the retaining wall on the perimeter of the front stretch. The remainder of the wall along the back stretch was replaced in time to open the 1998 season.

During the winter of 1998 and spring of 1999, the media center and infield care center were doubled in size. Nazareth Speedway has witnessed the remarkable success of the local Andretti family and benefited from Roger Penske turning a dormant track into a world-class motorsports facility. From the midget cars of the 1920s to today's Indy cars that lap the track at close to 200 mph, Nazareth's unique shape has inspired some of the fastest racing in the world. Guests visiting Nazareth will experience great racing action from comfortable grandstands with excellent viewing. The amazing racing that can only be experienced at Nazareth Speedway has earned it the right to be called "The World's Fastest Mile!." For a small town, Nazareth boasts a long and unique motorsports history, one that rivals the big-city names in racing.

Since the second decade of this century, Nazareth was home to two different dirt tracks, one of which was a half-mile dirt track built on property adjacent to the modern Nazareth Speedway. In 1999, Nazareth Speedway and Penske Motorsports merged with International Speedway Corporation, making the track part of the world's largest motorsports entertainment company. Nazareth Speedway has a warm-up lane 18' wide and 3/4-mile long. This unique safety feature provides a lane separate from the racing surface for drivers traveling slower than racing speed to warm-up their engines and tires without interfering with faster cars.