You can spectate close to the track at South Boston Speedway – as favoured by older fans
John Oreovicz
Over the years, I’ve attended or covered races at something like 180 circuits across America and around the world. The two most recent additions to the ‘new to me’ list couldn’t be more diametrically opposed conceptually and culturally yet both deliver enjoyment for any petrolhead.
Returning to the hotel after a full Saturday of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and WeatherTech Championship action at Virginia International Raceway (remote and delightfully rustic), I could hear the unmistakeable sounds of nearby short-track racing. Sure enough, South Boston Speedway was just two miles away as the crow flies. Thoughts of a quiet dinner were swapped for a noisy evening at the 0.4-mile asphalt oval, where a total expenditure of $29 (£21) covered gate admission, a hot dog, French fries and two beers. I wasn’t brave enough to try the track’s speciality – a grilled Bologna sandwich – but enjoyed the ambience and experience.
South Boston Speedway will celebrate its 70th anniversary season next year. It was on the top-tier NASCAR Grand National schedule until 1971, when Benny Parsons took his first victory in what is now known as the Cup Series. A who’s-who of NASCAR legends – from Junior Johnson, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and Dale Earnhardt to Dale Earnhardt Jr – have competed at SBS; current Cup star Denny Hamlin was raised about 100 miles away near Richmond, Virginia, but still calls South Boston his home track. The 6000-capacity main grandstand is now named in his honour.
NASCAR sanctions track championships at 46 short ovals across the United States and Canada as part of its Local Racing Series campaign and uses a complex formula to name a national champion from them each year. South Boston hosted 13 events in 2026, headlined since 1982 by NASCAR’s Late Model Stock Car series. With thunderstorms threatening on Davenport Energy Race Night, the schedule was adjusted to get the feature race in, and eight-time track champion (and 2005 and ’21 Local Series national champion) Peyton Sellers took the win.
An eclectic crowd showed up at South Boston on this summer evening. Veteran fans arrived early, erecting their folding chairs just a few metres behind the wall and catch fence in the turns to take in the full trackside experience. Meanwhile behind the grandstand, local teenagers on date nights stepped away from the action and tried to talk above the rumble and roar of the engines.
“Teenagers on dates tried to talk above the rumble and roar of engines”
The following weekend was spent with IndyCar at the Milwaukee Mile – which back in 1984 was the first ‘new to me’ circuit outside of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Aside from being paved in 1954, receiving a new grandstand in 2003 and SAFER Barriers three years later, The Mile stands almost exactly as it did when the first motor race was staged there on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in 1903. That’s a good thing – it’s a glorious throwback to a simpler era.
Circuit of the Americas, on the other hand, is thoroughly modern in the best and worst ways. This trip was prompted by my 20-year-old sports car racing-loving son, who was keen to see and hear the Alpine A424 Hypercar in action before it disappears from the FIA World Endurance Championship next year (or returns as a Geely). Fine by me, because the only WEC races I’d seen in person were part of the ‘SuperSebring’ twin bill a few years ago with IMSA, and I’d never been to COTA.
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Some folks find that last bit surprising but having grown accustomed to the charms of the classic American road courses – think Road America, Road Atlanta, Lime Rock Park or Laguna Seca – the cold sterility and unnatural layout of a ‘Tilkedrome’ held little appeal. I’d rather put in the effort and expense to attend a grand prix at a traditional old-school venue like Suzuka or Monza than take the easy route to the closest F1 race to my Indianapolis home.
I didn’t feel much different about COTA after logging more than 34,000 steps wandering around the WEC weekend, watching from every possible vantage point. It would be interesting to experience it for F1, with all the food trucks and amenities open to accommodate a crowd four or five times larger than the one that turned out for the sports car race. On the other hand, I can’t fathom what the traffic getting in and out would be like with 150,000 spectators on hand.
Oval racing promotes sitting in one spot, rooted to a seat where you can see the entire track and follow the dizzying action. Road racing, especially at a vast and spread-out property like Circuit of the Americas, requires a more active mindset – a willingness to explore all corners of the venue and an ability to process and understand information about how the race is unfolding rather than simply watching. Three-day admission to the grounds with a paddock pass for the WEC race cost $180 (£133); COTA pulls $450 (£333) for general admission for the US GP.
According to the National Speedway Directory, there are more than 1200 racetracks in America. They’ve each got their own flavour and character (and many have their own variation on a grilled Bologna sandwich as the house speciality). It would take a lifetime to visit them all, but it would be a fascinating and worthwhile quest. Where to next?
Based in Indianapolis, John Oreovicz has been covering US racing for 33 years. He is the author of Indy Split (2021) and Class of ’99 (2025).
