Making History

About the Track
The Jennerstown Speedway Complex is located in Jennerstown, Somerset County in the Western PA’s Laurel Highlands, at the intersection of Rt 30 and Rt 985.

Jennerstown Speedway is a .522 mile polymer based asphalt oval with a 550ft front stretch banked at 6º and turns 700 ft banked at 9º.

Jennerstown Speedway hosts Saturday night racing from May to September.

Weekly Divisions include Late Models, Modifieds, Street Stocks, Chargers and the Fast ‘N Furious 4’s. Special events include the ISMA International Super Modified Association, SuperCup Stock Car Series and Enduro races.

The Jennerstown Speedway Complex takes great pride is providing, fun, affordable, family entertainment.  Our 6pm start time allows the younger fans the opportunity to enjoy the entire show.  At the completion of each weekly show everyone in attendance is invited into the pits to meet the drivers and see the cars up close and in person.  Please visit our schedule page to view our events and promotions.

The History of Jennerstown Speedway
Jennerstown Speedway, one of the oldest short-track facilities in the United States, has undergone a number of transformations leading up to today’s state-of-the-art motorsports complex.

Constructed in the late 1920s as a flat half-mile dirt oval, the Jenners Fairgrounds, as the speedway was then known, played host to ‘big car’ racing (forerunners to the sprint cars of today) during the 1930s. Among the leading local drivers of that era were Butch Gardner and the ‘Pennsylvania coal miner’, Mike (Little) Serokman.

Following World War II a smaller, lighted dirt quarter mile track was built in the infield in 1953. Laird Brunner became the first weekly promoter to present stock car racing, which had replaced the midgets as the post-war entertainment craze sweeping the nation. At that time the half-mile was abandoned. The half mile track was again rebuilt in 1967 and was used briefly. Brunner was followed by the successful promotional team of Carmen Amica/Dick Basserman, who guided the speedway during the early 1960s. Other promoters during the quarter mile era included Lou Smith and George Kittey. The half-mile was restored and briefly used in the mid-1960s, but was quickly closed again due to poor track conditions. During this early era, drivers such as Fuzzy Rubritz, Blackie Watt, Jimmy Burns, Joe Viglione and Johnny Grum thrilled motorsports enthusiasts at the track which featured outlaw and Penn Western Racing Association-sanctioned contests.

A major modernization project took place in 1967 when local businessmen John Frambaugh, Sam Turrillo, Bill Philson, John Philson, Doc Whitney, Harry Horne and Piney Lasky purchased the grounds and completely rebuilt the track into one of the fastest half-mile dirt ovals in the nation. For the next 20 seasons Jennerstown was known for its winged open wheel sprint car and dirt late model action. Names like Lou Blaney, Milt Miller, Bobby Marhefka, Turk Burkett, Jim Nave and Gary Martz were in the headlines.

Over the course of time Lasky became the sole owner of the facility, and in 1987 made the decision to move Jennerstown to the next level by paving the track and bringing asphalt racing back to Western Pennsylvania for the first time since the famed Heidelberg Raceway was sold for development in 1973. Lasky also upgraded the grandstand and concession areas, affiliated the track with NASCAR, and brought major sanctioned events to the Somerset County speed-plant. Lasky died unexpectedly in 1994, passing the torch to his son, Stanley Jr., who ran the operation for the next five seasons. Lasky then sold the complex in 2000 to former speedway late model champion Steve Peles and Hooter’s Restaurant’s founder Bob Brooks.

After three seasons at the helm, Peles and Brooks sold their track to Dave Wheeler, who initiated an immediate upgrade in operations. Wheeler repaved the oval in 2004 with a $350,000 polymer-based racing surface. Jennerstown Speedway hosted oval track racing through 2008. Dormant from 2008 to 2013, the roar of engines returned in 2014 with Barry Awtey (Late Models), Chris Brink (Modifieds), Teddy Gibala (Street Stocks), Steve Long (Chargers), and Steve Settle (Hobby Stocks) earning divisional Championships.

In the Spring of 2019 John Morocco, Richard Pologruto, and Larry Hemminger purchased the Speedway from Dave Wheeler after completing a multi year lease.