Major construction is currently underway to rebuild the tracks and bridges on the Pennsboro Speeway, and XR Events said additional improvements will include new grandstands, lighting, fencing and other infrastructure to modernize the facility while maintaining its nostalgic charm. (Photo provided)
RICHEY COUNTY — After sitting idle for more than 20 years, Pennsboro Speedway is undergoing a revival thanks to the efforts of conservationists and race promotion company XR Events.
“It’s not the glitz and glamor of going to a major league ballpark,” Barry Brown, CEO of XR Events, said. “This is small town America. That’s the way West Virginia is, and we don’t want to do anything to change that, we just want to make it better. So people want to come here.
The quarter-mile dirt track first opened in the 1950s, but has not hosted a race since 2000. The Ritchie County Fair Board banded together to save the track from being sold off and has spent the past two decades cleaning and restoring parts of the track on weekends as a labor of love.
“They’re the ones who really did the work,” Brown said. “We’re just kind of a conduit to help them finish it or help them get the rest of the project together and compete.”
Brown said his Minnesota-based business first learned about the Pennsboro track from a Dale Earnhardt Jr. episode “Lost Tracks” of Peacock. He said XR Events is in North Carolina working on the successful revival of North Wilkesboro Speedway, which recently announced the return of NASCAR’s all-star race in May. He said the North Wilkesboro job was supposed to take them three years, but they completed it in three months. He said he contacted the Ritchie County Fair Board and they expressed interest in working with his company.
“So then we started having discussions with them. And we officially signed the contract this January,” Brown said. “We signed a long-term agreement with them to bring this song back.”
Major construction is currently underway to restore the track’s bridges, and Brown said additional improvements will include new grandstands, lighting, fencing and other infrastructure to modernize the facility while maintaining its nostalgic charm.
“We want long-term sustainability. We want it to be a good product for fans who buy tickets. And if we can’t do that, then what do we do,” Brown said. He said future seasons will include a variety of racing classes such as late models, sprint cars and stock cars. He said there are also long-term plans to develop the surrounding area into an all-inclusive camping destination to attract tourists and boost the local economy.
“That’s what we want to build, a community atmosphere,” Brown said. “Because if people are coming here to spend a week with us, spend a week here. And there needs to be opportunities like that for this area to thrive.”
The first race is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend and will be held under lights to ensure ideal racing conditions. With community support and a passion for preserving its roots, Pennsboro Speedway looks poised for a successful return to the track.
“Once it’s up and running and things are hopefully going really well, then it will pick up speed.” Brown said. “We’ve tempered our expectations, we don’t want to hit home runs out of the gate, we want to be extremely fundamental about it. It will be a process over time and adjustments over time that will make this facility what it is.”
Douglas Huxley can be reached at [email protected]
