By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter & NASCAR Contributor
After 12 years of inactivity, the Nazareth Speedway has a new owner.
The track was purchased by Jaindl Real Estate, a local real estate company, from the International Speedway Corporation. The company’s plans for the property are not known at this time other tahn David Jaindl, owner of Jaindl Real Eastate, saying that the area around the track will be farmed in the Spring.
The current incarnation of the track opened in 1986 when Roger Penske purchased the property and built the track just south of what was the Nazareth National Speedway, a 1.125 mile dirt oval. The track hosted CART from 1986-2001 and the Indy Racing League from 2002-2004. The NASCAR Xfinity Series ran from 1988-2004 and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series also ran there from 1996-2001.
The track had the reputation of being the fastest one mile oval when Paul Tracy turned a lap of 191.174 mph during qualifying for the 1997 CART Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix.
The track closed in 2004 and the grandstands were dismantled and shipped to Watkins Glen International, another ISC track. The track has effectively been sealed off and dirt embankments were poured on the track in order to prevent use. Dan Wheldon won the final race at the track on August 29, 2004.
A few prospective buyers were interested in buying the property since the track was closed, none of which came to fruition.
