West Virginia Motor Speedway Cancels Remaining 2022 Schedule

“Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward”. That said, we deliver unfortunate news that West Virginia Motor Speedway is closing down for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Regrettably our gates will swing closed for the rest of 2022, however, plans for an abbreviated but mighty 2023 racing schedule are already underway which includes the anticipated return of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

After much excitement and a labor intensive rebuild in 2020, hopes we’re high for the massive 5/8 mile facility to operate an expanded racing schedule. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone as anticipated in that regard which has led to this decision. The large venue has been plagued by numerous factors over the last couple seasons including low car count, lack of sanction support, reduced fan attendance and now suffering from a devastatingly low attended concert.

Rising inflation, fuel prices and a troubling economy has also become a major factor for the speedway. At this time, WVMS Promotions, LLC is limited to the only option of stepping back, regrouping and accessing in order to continue operation of the facility in 2023 and beyond. The candidness of this press releases matches the honest ambitions that promoter Cody Watson has had and continues to have for the place since day one.

“I’ve spent thousands of hours at the track pouring my heart and soul into this, so getting to this point… it’s tough. It definitely hurts. More importantly, I want everyone to know that we’re not giving up but we do have to take a step back to regroup. I hope everyone understands and sees that” stated Watson.
“We’ve explored a lot of avenues to keep operating this season but eventually there comes a time where you just have to pause, step back and take a hard look at all options going forward. I want to thank everyone who has played a part in supporting the track and hope to continue to receive that support as we plan our schedule for 2023” added Watson.

Advanced tickets for any future events have been refunded in full. We apologize for any inconvenience. Our 2022 VIP campground spots will be honored for the entire 2023 racing schedule as well. We look forward to also working with our speedway partners again in 2023.

West Virginia Motor Speedway will still play host to the Lewis & Clark circus this weekend, July 22nd – 24th. That event is being hosted and produced by Lena and Vandier Reis.

We appreciate your understanding and hope to see you at one of our events in the future. More plans will be forthcoming as we continue to work hard in trying to secure a few of the nation’s premier series’. If you have any further questions we ask you email us at visitwvms@gmail.com.