Dave Alley
NIPOMO, Calif. – After going through several years with an uncertain future, the Santa Maria Speedway is now back in business under new local ownership.
This past Saturday night, racing returned to a completely refurbished Speedway that is now owned by well-known local businessman Pat Cusack and his family.
“Our family acquired it the first part of January,” said Cusack. “The reason why is we had heard that it might turn into something else. There was a threat that it might go away, and we knew it was important. Kind of iconic thing with Santa Marians and people on the Central Coast. We had the opportunity and we’re blessed to be able to buy the facility and surround ourselves with the team of people that wanted to do the same. We’re happy to be able to try to move it forward.”
The race track is located on the southern end of Nipomo and is seen by thousands of people daily who pass by it while driving on nearby Highway 101.
Opened in 1964, the track has a long and colorful history and has been a popular venue for both locals and visitors alike through the many decades.
However, over the past 10-plus years, the track has passed through a handful of different owners, who struggled to keep the venue viable, leaving its future cloudy.
Now, with the Cusack family at the helm, it now has stabile ownership and direction, and will return to a full schedule of racing for the first time in many years.
“The speedway has always been great,” said Cusack. “I think everyone’s always loved it, but over time it sort of fell out of being a top shelf environment. We wanted to bring it back and we’ve been able to do it. We’ve spruced it up and we’ve polished it up. We’ve added and contributed capital to areas that needed needed to be repaired and we’re going to go forward with that and having fun doing it.”
For those who pass by on the road, many of the changes are extremely noticeable, particularly the return of the track’s iconic checkerboard pattern bleachers, which were repainted last week.
There is also new large-scale signage in the front with a modernized Santa Maria Speedway logo, as well as a new wall on the backside of the track opposite of the bleachers that is made of white-colored storage containers.
Cusack also pointed out the track now has new and improved lighting, a refurbished concession area and other new modern amenities.
“There’s been a lot of work done,” said Cuasack. “I think way more than we thought was here when we when we bid it off, but it’s been a great team of people. There’s been like no other business I’ve ever been associated with handraisers of people saying, ‘hey, what can we do to help?’ It’s so many people that have come and rallied behind it. That’s really kind of been almost the most fun thing is to see that come together. When you get that many people in this area that are helping, you end up getting something special like this. It’s been a great team effort, a lot of work, a lot more than we thought, but it’s turning out great, and we’re hoping the community really likes it.”
As for the racers, particularly those who from the Central Coast, they are thrilled to once again see the local venue reopen.
“I’m super excited that the speedway is back and back in operation,” said longtime driver Chad Weber. “I’ve been racing here for a long time. I’ve been racing for a long time and have had to travel out of town to race the last couple of years, so I’m really excited to be racing close to home and and back in front of my home community.”
“It’s huge,” said sprint car race Bryce Eames, a 2023 St. Joseph High School graduate. “My entire life I’ve traveled to the (Central) Valley or Northern California to run races and during the summer, it’s hot and just everyone wants to get out of the heat and come down to the Central Coast. We live in such a beautiful area. No better place to have a racetrack than than right here in Santa Maria, right on the Central Coast and some beautiful weather that always allows us to have really good races and puts on a really good performance for the fans.”
Last Saturday night, despite a significant amount of rain falling in the early morning hours, which threatened to cancel the track’s much-anticipated season opener, conditions dried just enough to allow for the green flag to fly.
“It was great to see and a long time coming,” said Cusack. “I think everybody was happy just to get it up and going so we could see how the clay was going to go, and the lightning was to work, and the PA system, everything else. It was fun just to see people coming back into the stands after having not been here for a while. There was a lot of kids and the food was good. I think everybody had a great time and we were working out a few kinks along the way, but that’s a that’s part of any process. We’re excited about moving on.”
There are about 20 races on the schedule for the 2025 season through early October, marking the the Speedway’s first full-season of racing since 2019.
“Come out and and check it out,” said Weber. “It’s really exciting. It’s amazing how many people that I talked to that drive by that know that it’s here that haven’t actually taken the time to come out and check it out. It’s a family fun night. It’s exciting and you can get involved. You can recognize some of the local drivers. You’d be surprised how many drivers are right here in the Central Coast.”
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For more information about the Santa Maria Speedway, including its 2025 racing schedule, click here to visit the track’s official website.
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