Race Tracks in New York
New York's motorsport map runs from a world-famous Finger Lakes road course to a dense belt of weekly dirt ovals across the Mohawk Valley and Central New York. Watkins Glen International is the marquee venue, hosting NASCAR Cup and Xfinity road races plus an IMSA weekend on the storied 3.4-mile circuit. Members-only Monticello Motor Club and the driver-training-focused New York Safety Track give the Hudson Valley and Catskills a pair of modern road courses, while Oswego Speedway keeps supermodified racing alive on Lake Ontario. Dirt racing dominates upstate: Fonda, Weedsport, Utica-Rome, Orange County Fair and a dozen more short ovals run Super DIRTcar, Empire Super Sprints and NASCAR-affiliated weekly programs from spring through fall. Drag racing centers on Lebanon Valley Dragway near Albany and Empire Dragway (the former New York International Raceway Park) near Rochester. Long Island holds on with Riverhead Raceway, the borough's last track, and Unadilla MX draws the AMA Pro Motocross tour to the Southern Tier every summer.
33 venues listed across 7 categories. Venues with a full RaceTrackWorld guide are linked.
Road courses in New York
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen | 3.4 mi | Historic Finger Lakes road course hosting NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series road races plus an IMSA SportsCar Championship weekend; multiple configurations including the 2.45-mile short course. |
| Monticello Motor Club | Monticello | 4.1 mi | Private members-only 'automotive country club' with a configurable 4.1-mile road course roughly 90 minutes from New York City; also open for occasional public driving experiences. |
| New York Safety Track (NYST) | Harpersfield | 2.2 mi | Technical, elevation-rich 2.2-mile circuit in the Catskills built for motorcycle and car track days, HPDE and rider/driver safety training rather than wheel-to-wheel racing. |
Ovals and speedways in New York
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oswego Speedway | Oswego | 0.625 mi | Paved 5/8-mile oval on Lake Ontario, the historic home of supermodified racing and the ISMA and Novelis Supermodified Series, plus SBS small-block supers and NASCAR-affiliated late models. |
| Lancaster Motorplex | Lancaster | 0.6 mi | Paved 0.6-mile oval near Buffalo, also known as Lancaster National Speedway, running weekly stock car programs and the annual US Open Modified weekend. |
| Chemung Speedrome | Chemung | 0.375 mi | 3/8-mile paved oval in the Southern Tier, hometown track of the racing Bodine family; reopened for the 2026 season under a new operating lease after a dormant stretch. |
| Evans Mills Raceway Park | Evans Mills | 0.375 mi | 3/8-mile paved oval near Watertown running Saturday nights since 1967, with home modified and late model divisions plus touring ISMA/MSS supermodified and Empire Super Sprints dates. |
| Riverhead Raceway | Riverhead | 0.25 mi | High-banked quarter-mile paved oval with an infield figure-8, the last operating race track on Long Island, running NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series racing on Saturday nights. |
| Spencer Speedway | Williamson | 0.5 mi | Flat, half-mile paved oval near Rochester hosting weekly stock car divisions and touring modified events. |
| Wyoming County International Speedway | Perry | 0.333 mi | Nicknamed 'The BullRing,' a third-mile paved short track near Letchworth State Park running weekly super stock and late model programs. |
Dirt tracks in New York
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fonda Speedway | Fonda | 0.5 mi | The 'Track of Champions,' a half-mile dirt oval on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds hosting the annual Fonda 200 and Super DIRTcar Series big-block modifieds. |
| Orange County Fair Speedway | Middletown | 0.625 mi | 5/8-mile dirt oval dating to 1919, one of the oldest continuously operating tracks in the country, running Super DIRTcar and Big Block Modified programs. |
| Weedsport Speedway | Weedsport | 0.375 mi | 3/8-mile dirt oval opened in 1955, host of the annual Hall of Fame 100 weekend for Super DIRTcar Series big-block modifieds. |
| Utica-Rome Speedway | Vernon | 0.5 mi | Half-mile dirt oval in the Mohawk Valley running weekly modified, sportsman and pro stock programs plus Super DIRTcar events. |
| Can-Am Speedway | LaFargeville | 0.375 mi | 3/8-mile dirt oval in the North Country near the Thousand Islands, running weekly stock car and Empire Super Sprints racing. |
| Lebanon Valley Speedway | West Lebanon | 0.5 mi | High-banked half-mile dirt oval open since 1953, part of a larger Capital District complex that also includes Lebanon Valley Dragway and a kart track. |
| Brewerton Speedway | Brewerton | 0.333 mi | Third-mile dirt oval near Syracuse running weekly Super DIRTcar-affiliated modified and sportsman programs. |
| Fulton Speedway | Fulton | 0.4 mi | Four-tenths-mile dirt oval near Oswego, home of the annual Outlaw 200 for Super DIRTcar big-block modifieds. |
| Land of Legends Raceway | Canandaigua | 0.5 mi | Half-mile dirt oval in the Finger Lakes, formerly Canandaigua Motorsports Park, running Super DIRTcar Series and weekly modified programs. |
| Albany-Saratoga Speedway | Malta | 0.4 mi | Four-tenths-mile dirt oval in the Capital District with a long history of weekly modified and sportsman racing. |
| Ransomville Speedway | Ransomville | 0.375 mi | 3/8-mile dirt oval near Niagara Falls running weekly Friday-night stock car and sprint car programs. |
| Stateline Speedway | Busti | 0.333 mi | Third-mile clay oval near the Pennsylvania border by Jamestown, hosting World of Outlaws Late Model and weekly modified programs. |
| Thunder Mountain Speedway | Center Lisle | 0.375 mi | High-banked 3/8-mile dirt oval in the Southern Tier running weekly Saturday-night modified, sportsman and street stock programs. |
| Woodhull Raceway | Woodhull | 0.34 mi | Red-clay 0.34-mile oval opened in 1965, running weekly Northeast dirt modified and sportsman racing near the Pennsylvania border. |
Drag strips in New York
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lebanon Valley Dragway | West Lebanon | 0.25 mi | NHRA-sanctioned quarter-mile strip at the Lebanon Valley complex near Albany, running weekly bracket racing plus the Hemmings Motor News Musclepalooza events. |
| Empire Dragway | Leicester | 0.25 mi | Quarter-mile strip near Rochester originally opened in 1971; operated for years as New York International Raceway Park before reverting to its original Empire Dragway name in 2008. |
Motocross and off-road in New York
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unadilla MX | New Berlin | — | One of the most iconic tracks in American motocross, built on a former dairy farm with famous natural-terrain sections like Gravity Cavity; hosts an AMA Pro Motocross Championship round every summer. |
Karting in New York
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Valley Race Park (OVRP) | Cuddebackville | 0.75 mi | Multi-surface club-racing facility in the Hudson Valley combining a 3/4-mile asphalt road course, a half-mile asphalt sprint course, a 1/5-mile dirt oval and a Supermoto track; hosts wheel-to-wheel kart club racing and endurance karting series. |
Closed and historic in New York
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgehampton Race CircuitClosed | Bridgehampton | 2.85 mi | Storied Hamptons road course that hosted the World Sportscar Championship, Can-Am and NASCAR Grand National racing from 1957 until closing in 1999. |
| Roosevelt RacewayClosed | Westbury | — | Built for the revived 1936 and 1937 Vanderbilt Cup road races before converting to a half-mile harness racing track; the site closed in 1988 and was later redeveloped. |
| Islip SpeedwayClosed | Islip | 0.2 mi | Fifth-mile paved oval on Long Island that hosted NASCAR Grand National races and the country's first demolition derby (1958); operated from 1947 to 1984. |
| Syracuse Mile (New York State Fairgrounds Speedway)Closed | Syracuse | 1 mi | One-mile dirt oval at the state fairgrounds, one of the oldest auto racing facilities in the country (first race 1903); hosted the Super DIRT Week finale until closing in 2015. |
| Central New York Raceway ParkClosed | Central Square | 2.2 mi | Planned multi-use motorsport complex with a 2.2-mile road course and a 5/8-mile synthetic dirt oval that opened in 2015 for RallyCross events; the facility shut down in July 2024. |
Race tracks near the big cities in New York
Near New York City / Long Island
- Riverhead Raceway · about 90 min
- Oakland Valley Race Park (OVRP) · about 80 min
- Monticello Motor Club · about 100 min
Near Albany / Capital District
- Lebanon Valley Speedway · about 25 min
- Lebanon Valley Dragway · about 25 min
- Albany-Saratoga Speedway · about 25 min
- New York Safety Track (NYST) · about 60 min
Near Syracuse
- Fulton Speedway · about 30 min
- Brewerton Speedway · about 20 min
- Weedsport Speedway · about 25 min
Near Rochester
- Spencer Speedway · about 40 min
- Empire Dragway · about 35 min
- Land of Legends Raceway · about 35 min
Near Buffalo
- Lancaster Motorplex · about 25 min
- Wyoming County International Speedway · about 45 min
- Ransomville Speedway · about 40 min
Near Watkins Glen / Southern Tier
- Watkins Glen International · about 5 min
- Chemung Speedrome · about 45 min
- Woodhull Raceway · about 60 min
- Thunder Mountain Speedway · about 60 min
Major race weekends in New York
| Event | Venue | When | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Cup Series road race weekend | Watkins Glen International | August | NASCAR Cup |
| Fonda 200 | Fonda Speedway | September | Super DIRTcar Series |
| Hall of Fame 100 | Weedsport Speedway | June | Super DIRTcar Series |
| Unadilla National | Unadilla MX | August | AMA Pro Motocross |
| US Open Modified weekend | Lancaster Motorplex | September | Modifieds/late models |
Track days and driving experiences in New York
SCCA's Genesee Valley, Metro NY and Buffalo regions plus NASA Northeast run regular time trials, club racing and HPDE days at Watkins Glen International and New York Safety Track; Monticello Motor Club offers membership-based track time and occasional public driving experiences on its 4.1-mile circuit. Oakland Valley Race Park and Lebanon Valley's kart track host club karting, and several NASCAR-weekly ovals (Riverhead, Lancaster, Oswego) rent track time on off nights. Typical costs run $250-$500 for a car HPDE/track day, more for Watkins Glen, and $50-$150 for club karting.
Frequently asked questions
Does this list include horse racing tracks?+
No. This page covers motorsport venues only — road courses, ovals, drag strips, dirt tracks, motocross and karting circuits. New York's Thoroughbred and harness tracks, including Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Vernon Downs, are separate facilities and not covered here.
Where can I see NASCAR racing in New York?+
Watkins Glen International hosts a NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series road-race weekend, typically in August. Several short tracks, including Riverhead Raceway, Lancaster Motorplex and Chemung Speedrome, run NASCAR-affiliated weekly stock car programs through the season.
Is Central New York Raceway Park still open?+
No. The Central Square road course and dirt oval complex, which opened in 2015, closed in July 2024. It is listed here under Closed and historic.
Where is New York's biggest dirt racing scene?+
Central New York and the Mohawk Valley have the densest concentration, anchored by Fonda, Weedsport, Utica-Rome, Brewerton and Fulton speedways, most running Super DIRTcar Series big-block and small-block modifieds weekly through the season.
Where can I drag race in New York?+
Lebanon Valley Dragway near Albany and Empire Dragway near Rochester (the former New York International Raceway Park) are the state's main NHRA-sanctioned quarter-mile strips, both running weekly points and bracket racing.
Can I drive my own car on a New York track?+
Yes. Watkins Glen International and New York Safety Track host SCCA, NASA and independent HPDE and track-day programs open to member and guest drivers, and Monticello Motor Club offers membership-based track access along with occasional public driving days.
Venue list checked against 36 sources. Last reviewed 2026-09-10.
