PENNSBORO SPEEDWAY has a new lease on life heading its way.
Nestled deep in rural West Virginia lies a dormant speedway that has been a safe haven for speed fanatics of varying kinds for over 130 years.
In 1897, the oval dirt track was constructed as a horse racing track consisting of a grandstand, exhibition hall, and horse stalls, per Visit Ritchie County.
Something that makes this facility unique is the Bunnell Run stream that works its way through the center of the facility, requiring the use of two bridges to complete the oval.
The site would continue to host the Ritchie County Fair and its horse races, carnival, exhibits, entertainment, and competitions until 1962.
The 1960s saw a new kind of horsepower grace the track, with cars taking over ownership from horses on the storied oval.
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Renamed Pennsboro Speedway, the dirt track would reportedly host the "Hillbilly 100" as well as the "Dirt Track World Championship," with rewards for the winner eventually reaching up to $50k.
Pennsboro also hosted its fair share of stock cars thanks to the STARS Racing Series, various late model races, and a single ARCA Racing Series race in 1968.
Come 2002 and the track's curtain call, speaking to WBOY 12, Ritchie County Heritage Festival's Steve Davis noted that "This place was just as packed for that (final) race as it was in 1981," adding that "It brought a lot of people from all over the country in here."
Having sat largely dormant ever since the track gained national attention when it featured on NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Lost Speedways series on Peacock in 2021.
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Other tracks to have been featured in the series include Texas World Speedway, Occoneechee Speedway, and North Wilkesboro Speedway - which has since been reborn and hosted this year's NASCAR All-Star Race.
Since then, RaceTrack Revival has announced that together with XR Events and the Ritchie County Fairgrounds they plan to "tackle the dormant facility with a long-term plan to return to racing," as per WBOY 12.
The plan is to have the track ready to race once more in 2024.
And while, unfortunately, little appears to remain of the original structures, the track's history has at least been secured for the next generation.
