Motorsports have been a part of American culture perhaps for almost a century now. There is evidence all around the country of that with hundreds of tracks that used to see racing on the regular but remain unused today.
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As time has passed, racing has become an expensive sport and that oftentimes leads to track closures. One such instance was when the Pennsboro Speedway shut operations in 2002, shocking the racing fraternity at the time.
The dirt tri-oval is a racing venue steeped in history, having hosted some epic horse races in the early 1900s and eventually racing cars from the 60s. Its closure was not well received by the NASCAR fraternity but over two decades later, it is all set to make a comeback.
Two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has a special affinity towards these historic local tracks, was one of the first people to react to the news.
Credit must be given to Berry Braun with XR Events who has set a two-year plan in motion to rebuild the tri-oval. Braun has extended his thanks to the Pennsboro community for helping him get this project off the ground.
“These people had lost their track for 22 years. We started working and they saw us putting in the effort here, but then the people of Pennsboro said, what can we do to help?” he said.
While the track was shut down in 2002, racing continued on its dirt. As per a report, the Ellenboro Volunteer Fire Department has hosted its annual Summer Bash at the track since 2002.
Due to a lack of any other racing action, that event drew several fans to the track. Now with the rebuild in motion, fans can be assured that bigger motorsports events will make their comeback to Pennsboro soon enough.
Considering how excited Junior was with the news, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was there at the re-opening of the track. The 50-year-old has never shied away from racing at local tracks despite it being years since full-time retirement.
There are several dirt racers in the NASCAR Cup Series as well who could come to Pennsboro and test their skills here. A lot of them might have never raced at the speedway before. Hence, revitalizing the racetrack could end up bringing forth some spectacular events for the fans to witness soon.
