On Friday, December 12th the current management team at Norton Raceway Park (formerly Barberton Speedway and Barberton Raceway Park) posted an update on their future plans. Norton Raceway Park opened in 1948 and is the oldest operating asphalt race track in Northern Ohio.
In the middle of 2023 we reached a mutual agreement with the estate of the previous owner to access the property and begin the process of purchasing the property through probate, The facility was a mess and in need of extensive repair and updating in order to reopen, this included the need for approval from the City of Norton and that was granted. All of those repairs and months of hard work and labor were financially difficult to absorb. In late spring of 2024 we were finally ready to open the facility and the rest is another story. Here we are in December of 2025, the last two seasons were full of ups and downs, the support from the racers was never questioned as we feel our car counts overall were very solid! Our employees, families, racers, crews and those that just helped us week in and week out through some awesome weeks of racing and some very difficult times we say thank you again! Our special events certainly kept us motivated and positive as the fan count for those events were nearly sold out. Weekly asphalt racing has struggled throughout our area over the last several years and has made it extremely difficult for facilities to continue to operate solely on racing alone. All of this brings us to the point of today’s post, we have had negotiations with a couple of interested buyers, those agreements were not completed and we had to move forward. Norton Raceway Park has officially been sold and will move into the next chapter under new ownership. The facility has been sold as a fully operational race track and can continue if someone steps up and comes to leasing terms with the new owner. As the facility moves on we leave it knowing we put our hearts into everything we did, sadly it just wasn’t enough to stay operational any longer. Now someone else will have the opportunity to do the same and hopefully bring new ideas and keep the track moving forward. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts as this was one of the most difficult decisions to make but honestly we had no choice. Thank you all!
The news came as a shock to many, as Norton Raceway Park had seemed to gain ground in recent months with the closing of Sandusky Speedway and uncertain future of Lorain Raceway Park. Norton had also spent the 2025 season adapting to the changing local racing scene with a schedule full of Legend Cars, Late Models, Ace Racing League cars, Street Stocks and Modifieds growing throughout the year.
Dennis Knox, the face of Norton Raceway Park’s management team got a late start in 2024, releasing the schedule later than any other area race track, but took the setback well, working hard to bring the track back to life after the unexpected death of the previous owner, Greg Prunty, which shuttered the facility in 2023.
For racers in the Legends Car division, there isn’t an easy answer of where they will go to race in 2026, if a lessee is not found, as there is no other local track racing those cars regularly. For the Late Model racers Midvale Speedway is an option, as Midvale is the only track in the area running Outlaw style Late Models on a weekly basis. Street Stock and Compact racers have the options of Midvale Speedway or Painesville Speedway. The ACE Racing League was already in negotiations to race a handful of races at Midvale Speedway and could move their series there.
It’s not only the drivers that face uncertainty, as track officials and fans may have to travel farther to enjoy the sport they love. Norton Raceway Park provided short track racing within a short drive of Akron, Canton and Cleveland.
No information on the new owner has been released publicly, nor has an official property transfer been filed with the Summit County Auditor.
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