THORNBURG, VA :: Racing is on its way back to the Nation’s Capital. On track for a 2015 opening, ground was broken in Thornburg, marking the beginning of construction at the multi-purpose Dominion Raceway motorsports complex.
Set to open in 2015, Dominion Raceway replaces Old Dominion Speedway as a premier motorsports venue in Northern Virginia. Dominion is in a significantly more rural area than the now defunct Old Dominion Speedway giving the track an opportunity to run without residential and commercial interference that contributed to the closure of Old Dominion Speedway, among many other tracks in the Capital Region.
Dominion Raceway, like Old Dominion, will consist of an asphalt oval for Late Model Stock Car racing and a drag-strip for street drag racing. The track will also feature a road course which will become the first true road course in the Capitol Region since the closure of Marlboro Motor Raceway in 1969.
A private groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday, November 1st and a public celebration was held on Saturday, November 2nd which featured live music and racecar displays. Among the racers to show up was regional drag racing superstar Bunny Burkett and up-and-coming driver Jonathan Findley.
The asphalt oval course will be sanctioned by NASCAR. Dominion Raceway will be the only road course and asphalt oval in the Capitol Region. Groundbreaking on the track comes just two months after the final IZOD IndyCar Series race at Baltimore, one year after the closure of Old Dominion Speedway and a little over 11 years after the lone American Le Mans Series race was hosted at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC.
Dominion Raceway’s facilities could attract the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and other regional touring divisions. The last time a NASCAR touring series event was held in the Capitol Region was in 1970 when the late Bobby Isaac won at Beltsville Speedway in Maryland. NASCAR also held touring events at Marlboro Motor Raceway in 1959 and at Old Dominion Speedway in 1957 and 1957 and again from 1963 until 1966. Elmo Langley won the final Grand National race held at ODS. ARCA also raced in the region in 1990 at Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland. Old Dominion also hosted the UARA-STARS in 2005.
