Abandoned - Nazareth Speedway

[Music] what's up guys my name is Jake and welcome to abandoned episode 48 this is the show where we talk about some of the most interesting abandoned places in the world this episode is sponsored by audible start listening today with a 30 day audible trial and your first audiobook plus two audible originals are free visit audible.com slash BSF or text BSF to five hundred five hundred during our recent northeast roadtrip we noticed an interesting location on maps as we entered Nazareth Pennsylvania it was the ruins of what looked like a former NASCAR track in fact this massive property used to be the once legendary Nazareth Speedway so today let's explore the history of the track and how it got to this unbelievable state the roots of the Nazareth Speedway can be traced all the way back to the mid 1800s as a popular horse racing track in the middle of town but as crowds became too large it was decided to move and construct a new half-mile dirt track and facility at a new location just outside of town over the next few decades the track hosted various events including the popular yet short-lived Auto Polo which was essentially just regular polo just with small vehicles soon though the small carts were dropped and at the increasingly popular dirt track racing became the new hot event the first official race was held in the late 1940s with 35 cars and as many as 11,000 spectators presence events like this carried on through the next couple of years providing fast-paced short track races endurance events and many more this was all well and good until the early 1960s when the original half mile track was sold and a new 1.2 mile large dirt track was constructed it opened just off the main thoroughfares of Easton Road and Nazareth Pike in April of 1966 with the named Nazareth National Speedway the track hosted many modified car events were frankie schneider took home first place various times by now the track was hosting more and more events every year as racing became even or popular a small racing organization called NASCAR began to grow in America and small tracks began hosting their events though the Nazareth National Speedway was still very much a small track in terms of popularity and support facilities it was still just a larger dirt circuit where other small town tracks like the North Wilkesboro Speedway had already been Pavin and was in the sight lines of NASCAR Nazareth on the other hand well they didn't have much money to keep up with the trends and the track closed in 1971 the track was left abandoned for over a decade until an entrepreneur named Lindy V Vicari stepped in and purchased the track he wanted to open up the Speedway once again and host high-paying events while also shortening down the length of the Speedway to just one mile these races proved to be successful drawing in large crowds and a new dedicated fan base for the small facility by 1986 the property changed ownership once again and a year later a new track and facility was finally built consisting of a paved one 1/8 mile track it opened in the fall as the newly named Pennsylvania International Raceway the place is a brand-new racing facility Pennsylvania International Raceway and the events a 13th round of the IndyCar season the Box sparkplug Grand Prix really a wonderful wonderful racetrack it has all the high-technology anyone can want but unfortunately we've had a lot of rain here large events like the Firestone Indy 225 had already been racing on the site and now had finally attracted the ever valuable NASCAR in 1988 the NASCAR Busch Series began the Pennsylvania 300 a massive mainstream race consisting of some of the best drivers on a 200 lap race around the new Speedway it was a big win for the small homegrown track and brought Nazareth into the limelight through the next few years the NASCAR Busch Series along with the IndyCar races held many successful events at the track with notable winners like James Hensley Elliott Sadler Matt Kenseth Martin Truex Jr and many more by the early 90s the track had continued in popularity with it being a smaller low banking track with dips in elevation it made for a fun watch and a fan favorite track and in 1993 it was renamed back to the Nazareth Speedway NASCAR also brought another event in 1996 with the Chevy Silverado 200 yet another massive seasonal event to be held at the speedway just a year later the entire facility received a major refurbishment and the track from the early 1900s now looked a lot different in the modern day era of racing tens of thousands of fans flocked to the Speedway one that still felt like an original venue one that had character and just an overall different feel it was close to Pennsylvania race fans and both NASCAR fans and drivers loved going to that specific track during the season remember too that facilities like the Texas Motor Speedway had just opened a few years prior and it was a clearer idea of how NASCAR was moving I mean this new track was nothing short of a massive facility capable of holding over a hundred and eighty thousand people it even had a condo building on the property which overlooked the track legitimate condos which people could buy anyways the point is Nazareth still felt like the old NASCAR that fans loved not the new mega facilities which was quickly taking over the older venues however that also meant Nazareth wouldn't last much longer North Wilkesboro a legendary NASCAR homegrown track had already been replaced NASCAR had left Wilkesboro in the mid-90s and Nazareth Speedway with its minimal capacity in relatively poor location it was only a matter of time before Nazareth met the same fate the Chevy Silverado event ended in 2001 and by 2004 the end had finally come NASCAR and the Indy Racing League had announced that both the remaining Busch Series and the Firestone Indy would conclude their races at Nazareth at the end of the 2004 season the NASCAR Busch Series would move its following year's dates to walking's Glen and the Firestone Indy would move to Nashville with the removal of two huge races the now event last Speedway was essentially left to die the owners ISC had decided to just close the track as NASCAR had outgrown the small Speedway Nazareth was now without any major events and the track was permanently closed and subsequently left abandoned by 2007 much of the facility was gutted and removed including the grandstands all while weeds indicate he took their toll on what remained signage ordering the property was removed and a chain-link fence was put up to keep people out but also large piles of sand were dropped on the track itself to prevent people from bringing their own cars around the track a letter of purchase had been submitted in 2005 where a local entrepreneur had wanted to turn the speedway into a new sports arena valued at around 30 million dollars however that plan just never came to fruition a year later a Realty group had signed an agreement of 19 million dollars to buy the property and use the land for housing and commercial real estate however that company too had also defaulted on their purchase the owners had then put the track up for sale and around 18 million dollars in 2007 then lowering that price later on after the recession but still no buyers followed through all while trees and foliage began to overtake the property and this is really how the Speedway remained since now just a shell of its former days though in 2015 Raceway Properties LLC had followed through with their purchase and acquired nazareth speedway for an undisclosed amount with the actual intent to use the land however despite the name of the LLC well it's not really what it seems see in the purchase deal itself there's a clause in the contract stating that the former speedway could not be used as a track for racing events due to its close proximity to the Pocono Speedway for some reason David Jane Dole the owner of Raceway had stated that some of the land will likely be used for agricultural purposes though it's likely that will be for some sort of real estates nothing to do with the original Nazareth Speedway track and that's really it the last the plan was talked about was in 2017 and nothing really concrete in terms of redevelopment has surfaced since the Speedway today still stands completely abandoned now a hot spot for arson and an undisturbed look at what a NASCAR track looks like rotting away from the air you can still make out where the Koran stands once stood the former track itself now with weeds growing through it and even the checkered winter square for however long it lasts in the future the former nazareth speedway stands today is a relic of NASCAR in racing history it began well over a hundred years ago and was built and served for fans throughout the many decades it operated NASCAR brought it to huge popularity and the people who remember watching it or even experiencing the small town homegrown track I'm sure would all agree that it was an iconic part of racing history one that will certainly never be forgotten if you're the type of person who wants to learn more about one of America's largest sports speed show how NASCAR won the heart of America is a fascinating dive into how the racing organization captivated the country in its early rise but if you're like me and don't have a lot of time or patience to sit down and read it a great alternative is to listen with audible the largest selection of audiobooks on the planet including of course this one audible has a ton of original shows news comedy health and fitness and so much more you can listen on almost any device anytime anywhere and find great audiobooks to help enrich your life like my favorite type learning about new things audible members get three credits every month one audiobook and two audible originals try it free for 30 days by visiting audible.com slash BSF or texting BSF to 500 500 a link will also be in the description below anyway guys my name is Jake follow us on Twitter Instagram and snapchat and thank you very much for watching [Music]

Channel: Bright Sun Films

Views: 1,384,494

Keywords: ABANDONED 48, ABANDONED 47, abandoned, NASCAR, north wilkesboro, racing, Nazareth Speedway, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania International Speedway, abandoned racetrack, speedway, daytona 500, abandoned sports, sports, family, american, PG, clean, urbex, texas motor speedway, urban exploring, documentary, HD, new, episode, 2018, 2019, 2020, update, news, current, developer, Nazareth PA, drone, fun, cars, speed, abandoned race way, race cars, indy cup, indy, busch, cool, interesting, ABC, vintage, history

Id: PN8VpZe3Iss

Length: 11min 39sec (699 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 18 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/slap42shot]

This is nice overview of the track history. Living so close and never getting to see a race there really sucks. Driving by a few times each year makes me sad to see it go and know it'll never be used for racing again.

[u/[deleted]]

I understand why it closed, but why did all of the new tracks folow the same formula? A 1.5 mile tri-oval with intermediate banking. This track was so unique in every regard. I’m suprised and saddened that no one took any cues from Nazareth’s layout.

[u/NilesY93]

Mostly a follow-up to this thread as well as a place to find the vid.

[u/LegendsoftheHT]

Fairly surprised no one has managed to get a hold of some of what is left of Victory Lane, whether it's tile or just painted asphalt.

[u/DarkwingMcQuack]

As a native Pennsylvanian it sucks my only real options these days are either Pocono and Dover.

[u/Swinnyjr]

Someone should refurb it, tear up the asphalt, turn it back into a dirt track, that way I can host sprint cars and late models. Leaving the big stuff to pocono, but maybe steal the truck race away so the trucks have two dirt venues instead.

[u/covenant121]

How you gonna make a video about Nazareth Speedway and say NASCAR made that track big? That’s factually inaccurate. IndyCar made that track big. Nazareth was an IndyCar track. They never even had a Cup race. This guy mentioned IndyCar like three times that whole video and didn’t even mention the Andretti connection to the track. Disappointing video

[u/superrob750]

My first race was here. Truck / busch event.