Planning and construction (pictured in 1953) convinced track founder Richard Hogue to build an oval on Phoenix Raceway's complex; Hogue's initial plans for the facility only included a road course.|left On July 10, 1963, ''
The Arizona Republic's'' Frank Gianelli reported that a group formed by businessman Richard Hogue acquired a plot of land originally used to grow cotton in the
Estrella Mountains. Initially, Hogue only originally considered building the road course, but was convinced to add an oval to the facility by racing promoter
J. C. Agajanian. The plan immediately faced opposition from the competing
Arizona State Fairgrounds, who wished to pave their track in order to continue hosting
United States Auto Club (USAC) races despite PIR officials wanting to collaborate with Fairgrounds officials. However, the Fairgrounds' paving plan was vetoed unanimously by the Arizona Fair Commission on August 26. On the same day, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors passed a permit to begin PIR construction, in the process effectively causing the Fair's shutdown. Groundbreaking took place on September 19, with Hogue stating in a groundbreaking interview that "we'll be racing by late November or early December." In November, Hogue announced the first events for the track, with
Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and
NASCAR Grand National Series events being announced for December and January 1964, respectively. However, the track's opening was pushed back to January 4 due to construction delays. By the end of the year, with paving complete, the facility was approved for SCCA, USAC, and
National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) events. At the end of the facility's construction, the entire complex cost approximately US$1 million (about $ today) to build.
Hogue years (pictured in 1996) won the first race at Phoenix Raceway's oval track in 1964. PIR opened as scheduled, running informal
SCCA events in January 1964. A month later, the first formal events at the facility were held, with Jack Hinkle winning the first highlight race at PIR's road course. PIR received mixed initial reception; although its amenities were praised, some spectators complained about a hidden 50-cent (adjusted for inflation, $) grandstand fee alongside visibility problems caused by light poles. PIR's drag strip held its first events on March 1. The oval held its first race 21 days later, with
A. J. Foyt winning a USAC event. In April, alongside obtaining a sanction from the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), Initially, PIR struggled with attendance, causing the facility to cancel international events in 1964 due to cost issues. In July, Harry Redkey and Bob Huff, racing promoters of the
Manzanita Speedway and
Tucson Speedway, respectively, took over operational duties of PIR, with Huff stating hopes of implementing "a series of major improvements" and a seating expansion to 13,500 at the facility. partially causing the cancellation of a USAC stock car race in early 1965. Traffic improvements to PIR were completed in March 1965 alongside the widening of the track's surface in the turns. In June, a US$10,000 renovation to PIR's dragstrip that aimed to install increased lighting started. By the end of 1965, Hogue stated in a response to a PIR critic in a
letter to the editor that PIR invested over US$100,000 in renovations, including a refurbished main grandstand and the addition of 2,000 seats. PIR experienced numerous crashes resulting in serious injury or death in its early years. In its first ever dragstrip event on March 1, PIR experienced its first fatality when drag racer Robert Snyders crashed during a qualifying run on the drag strip. In August 1965, the dragstrip oversaw its second fatality when 17-year-old Phil Miner lost control of his car and crashed at approximately . In February 1967, 13-year-old Maurice Gallegos suffered major head injuries after hitting a truck during a go-kart race; Gallegos survived the incident and later sued PIR for US$1,687,624 (about $ today) for "inadequate and ineffectual protection" and a lack of "prompt and adequate assistance after the accident". On February 27, 1972,
United States Air Force captain Bruce Helfert died in a sports car crash on the facility's road course.
Nancy Hogue era Sometime between 1965 and 1967, Richard Hogue and his wife, Nancy, divorced. By February 3, 1967, Nancy was described in
The Arizona Republic as the sole owner of PIR. On the 15th, racing promoter
J. C. Agajanian took over Redkey and Huff as the promotional director of PIR. Two days later, Nancy filed an
injunction order against Redkey and Huff for "fail[ing] to return... the corporate's properties, papers and records." She also revealed that she fired the duo as they spent "extravagant amounts of money for travel, hotels, entertainment, telephone calls, salaries, etc." In response, the duo sued Hogue for 200,000 (about $ today) on March 2 for multiple claims, including breach of contract, claims of Nancy deceiving the duo, and Nancy refusing to give any stock to the duo despite an agreement. By October 1967, the
Arizona Daily Star claimed that grandstand seating had expanded to 25,000. On January 23, 1968, PIR held its first major
stock car racing events, with
Don White winning a USAC event. In March, Agajanian confirmed discussions about removing PIR's backstretch dogleg from its oval track, stating that the corner was "dangerous as hell". Three months later, the decision was confirmed by Jerry Raskin, PIR's public relations official, with the backstretch becoming a straight line. Reportedly, the reconfiguration was complete by September; however, the claim that the dogleg was ever removed has been disputed by racing historian Kevin Triplett, who did not find any evidence that the reconfiguration ever happened. A year later, Phoenix hotel businessman Charlie Alexander signed a three-year lease from Nancy to become the racing director of PIR. In 1972, in response to criticism from the previous year of a dangerous and slippery track surface, track officials started putting down a traction compound to combat the issue; the fix was received well by driver
Bobby Unser.
Short-lived FasTrack rebrand (pictured in 2007) and his company, General Vehicle, purchased the facility in 1973. The company's ownership was short-lived due to financial troubles with General Vehicle. On December 6, 1972, the
Arizona Republic reported that Nancy Hogue sold PIR to
Newport Beach, California, businessman Paul O'Shea. However, nine days later, the
Republic retracted their claim, stating that the facility was instead bought by the
Malcolm Bricklin-owned General Vehicle Inc., with O'Shea assisting with the company's purchase; it was also announced that Alexander was ousted from his lease on the facility. In a press conference held on January 23, 1973, newly appointed track president Anthony Kopp announced the track's rebranding to "FasTrack International Speedway" as part of Bricklin's FasTrack brand, a subsidiary under General Vehicle. Kopp also announced plans for US$30,000 worth of renovations, including the expansion of permanent seating capacity to 16,000, the construction of a new pit road, and other miscellaneous amenity improvements. General Vehicle soon after its purchase of PIR experienced major financial difficulties, primarily related to the problems of the General Vehicle-manufactured
Bricklin SV-1. As a result, by April 1975, FasTrack International Speedway director Russ Kurtz stated in the
Arizona Daily Star that the facility had been on sale "for a number of months"; however, he also stated that he did not see the track being sold in the near future. General Vehicle filed for
reorganization on October 1, leaving FasTrack in a state of "limbo". In December, Bricklin resigned from General Vehicle, and the company and its subsidiaries was declared bankrupt by federal bankruptcy judge Edward Davis on January 12, 1976, with Bricklin in a reported US$34.6 million in debt. Davis also ruled to let FasTrack International Raceway to continue hosting races to pay off creditors. After rejecting another offer of $280,000, Davis gave control of the facility to
lienholders Nancy Hogue and
First Pennsylvania Bank, leaving an uncertain future for the facility despite a potential offer from J. C. Agajanian. However, on August 18, the
Republic reported that a group led by
Bob Fletcher, Tom Taber, and Bill Hardy bought the facility at an undisclosed price; it was later revealed to be "in the neighborhood of $400,000" according to Taber. With the purchase, the track's name was reverted to "Phoenix International Raceway", with the group promising renovations to existing grandstands, garages, and media centers In 1977, the track's surface was repaved and completed by October of that year. In the same year, the first NASCAR-sanctioned race occurred at the facility, with
Cale Yarborough winning a
NASCAR Winston West Series (now known as the ARCA Menards West Series) event on November 27. The following year, the facility oversaw its sixth fatality, with driver Otis D. Hurley dying in a sports car crash during a practice session on the facility's road course. In 1980, under threats from the track's owners to permanently shut down PIR due to owner disputes, PIR general manager Dennis Wood and contractor Bill Krug signed a three-year lease to run the facility. In a 1998 interview, Wood admitted he had little income at the time and had only obtained the lease because "my only thought at the time was we can't shut PIR down". Hodgdon's ownership was short-lived; in January 1983, Wood bought Hodgdon's 75% share of ownership, stating that the two had "philosophical differences" over how to run the facility. Wood later added Fletcher back as a partner for $1 as a sign of gratitude for Fletcher's "friendship and kindness toward me over the years". In 1985, after an IndyCar race was cancelled due to concerns of a deteriorating track surface with a new IndyCar model, track officials approved a repave of the oval track. That same year, James Haynes died during the Copper World Classic, becoming the seventh fatality at the facility.
Buddy Jobe era, mass expansion On August 23, 1985, Wood stated to the
Republic that an agreement was reached with an unspecified buyer to purchase PIR. Two days later, the buyers were revealed to be farmer Emmett "Buddy" Jobe and accounting firm owner Patrick Johnson, with ownership officially transferring to the duo in September. With the purchase, the duo promised an increase in permanent seating capacity from 10,400 to "between 20,000 and 25,000" alongside starting negotiations to obtain a
NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race. In February 1986, Jobe bought out Johnson's share of ownership, becoming the sole owner of the facility. Within the months of April to September 1986, $400,000 worth of renovations were made, including the addition of a pedestrian bridge over the third and fourth turns connecting the infield to outside viewing areas and additional concrete barriers. In 1987, two separate fires less than a month apart affected the facility's grandstands. The first occurred on April 26 due to a lightning strike, burning around 40% of the frontstretch grandstands. While plans were initiated to both repair and expand seating capacity, in June, another fire affected the frontstretch grandstands; this time due to a
blowtorch construction accident. In response, Jobe announced the construction of an enlarged grandstand made out of steel and aluminum with a capacity of 10,000. (pictured in 1991) won the
first NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway in 1988.|220x220pxOn November 30, NASCAR spokesman
Les Richter announced that PIR was awarded a
NASCAR Cup Series race weekend for the following year. To accommodate NASCAR, a $5 million renovation project was implemented, building a new VIP hospitality building, renovating the garage area, extending pit road by , and expanding permanent seating capacity to 30,000 in time for the
1988 Checker 500. The first Cup Series race at the facility ran as scheduled on November 6, with
Alan Kulwicki winning the event. The following year, another $2 million was spent on expansion, constructing a four-story VIP suite building on the track's first turn, the expansion of permanent seating capacity to "about 42,000", renovations to the facility's scoring tower and media center, and other upgrades related to beautification. In 1990, plans were drafted to add a 5,000-seat grandstand alongside the construction of a new infield road course, with the latter being completed two years later. The facility underwent a $800,000 refurbishment in 1991, adding 700 luxury seats and increased infield parking. That same year, PIR experienced its eighth fatality when
USAC Silver Crown Series driver Danny Milburn crashed during a Silver Crown race. In 1993, PIR ran its first night race, installing temporary lights to run a
IMSA GT Championship race. By 1995, seating capacity increased to "nearly 60,000", with Jobe stating that he had invested over $10 million (adjusted for inflation, $) into the facility. In 1997, Arizona Governor
Fife Symington approved state funding for a five-lane bridge to be built over the
Gila River that addressed long-lasting traffic concerns.
ISC purchase The first rumors of a potential sale of PIR came in November 1996, with the
Bruton Smith-owned
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) being named as potential buyers; according to the
Republic. Both Jobe and SMI spokesman
Humpy Wheeler denied the rumor, with Jobe stating he was getting "a little irritated" at the rumor. Jobe reaffirmed his position in another
Republic interview on March 22, 1997, stating, "How much stronger can I make this? I'm not selling." However, on July 14, the
Republic reported that PIR was "likely" purchased by the Florida-based
International Speedway Corporation (ISC). The purchase was confirmed in a press conference that same day, with ISC paying $46 million for the facility; Jobe remained as the president of PIR. In 1998, a new 5,000-seat grandstand in the track's second turn named in honor of
Bobby Allison was announced to increase seating capacity to "more than 72,000". Three years later, a new scoring pylon was built to replace the tower built in 1988. In 2002, Jobe retired as president of PIR, The following year, the track's dogleg was also reconfigured, with the dogleg being made wider for both increased safety and passing opportunities. The turn two wall was also extended to fully enclose the track. The project started in May and was completed in October for testing. In December, PIR began installing
SAFER barriers around the oval track's perimeter; the installation was complete by January 2004. PIR officials began lobbying for a second NASCAR Cup Series race weekend in February 2003. Despite Sperber stating the track was not seeking to install permanent lighting in January 2003, PIR officials initiated negotiations with Arizona politicians to use tax revenue to construct lights and other road renovations in further efforts to allure a second Cup Series weekend. After failing to receive it for 2004, a second Cup Series weekend for 2005 was officially awarded on May 14 after Arizona government officials approved an allocation of $5 million in state funding to renovate roads near PIR. A $5 million permanent lighting system to host night racing was installed soon after, being completed in March 2005. In 2006, new amenities were constructed, including an extension of the Allison Grandstand to 14,000 seats and a new luxury lounge. In 2010, seating capacity was reduced to 55,000 when seats were widened to .
2011 reconfiguration and 2018 renovations On November 19, 2010, ISC officials announced a $100 million long-term project aimed at PIR's "development". Approximately four months later, PIR track officials announced a repave and reconfiguration of the oval track; among said changes stated were the widening of the frontstretch by to , the track's pit road being pushed back, and the dogleg being "pushed out" by . Additionally, the apron underneath the dogleg, which at the time was covered in grass, was paved over, subsequently leading to drivers often cutting the dogleg apron. A ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony featuring driver
Jeff Gordon breaking the old pavement apart with an excavator was held on February 27, and construction began by April. The repave was completed by October of that year for testing, and it received positive reactions from numerous drivers, including
Tony Stewart and
Carl Edwards. Despite changes, both attendance and seating capacity continued to decline; by 2014, capacity decreased further to 50,000 according to the
Republic. On November 17, 2016,
NBC Sports reported that PIR officials submitted a renovation project for ISC officials to approve. 13 days later, the ISC board of directors approved the $178 million project. Within the project, plans were made to demolish the frontstretch grandstands, extend the Allison Grandstand, redesign the track's infield, shift the start-finish line to after turn two and before the dogleg, add additional suites, and implement other modernization improvements. In September 2017, Ingenuity Sun Media (ISM) bought the naming rights for PIR starting in 2018, with the track being renamed to "ISM Raceway". On August 20, 2018, Sperber announced his retirement as president of the facility, with ISC Design & Development director of business operations Julie Giese being named as Sperber's replacement. The renovation project was completed in time for the
2018 Can-Am 500. In 2019, seating capacity decreased to 42,000 according to ISC archive records. That same year, ownership of the facility was transferred to the sanctioning body of NASCAR when ISC was bought out by NASCAR. The following year, ISM and the speedway ended their naming rights relationship despite a 10-year deal, with the track renaming itself to "Phoenix Raceway". In November 2022, Giese stepped down as president of Phoenix Raceway to run operations for the
Chicago Street Course, with
Bell Bank executive Latasha Causey taking over the position. == Events ==