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 made of black-colored 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."
For more information about the Santa Maria Speedway, including its 2025 racing schedule, click here to visit the track's official website.
After Years of Uncertainty, Santa Maria Speedway Revs Back into Business Reopening under new Local Ownership News Channel 3-12.
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