Summit Point Motorsports Park, Racing Circuit

Summit Point Motorsports Park is tucked away in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, around 70 miles from the Baltimore-Washington area, and has quietly thrived on club racing, track days and driver training for over half a century. It opened in October 1969 as Summit Point Raceway, one of many road courses born in the 1950s and 60s to serve America's growing appetite for sportscar racing, and benefited from having little nearby competition. The original 1.85-mile, eight-turn layout was quickly reworked, with a new Carousel complex added after a year to bring the Main Circuit up to its current two miles and ten turns. Early years drew IMSA and SCCA national and regional events, including races contested by film star Paul Newman in a Datsun 510, before the energy crises of the 1970s pushed the track into a brief closure in 1979. Former Formula Vee champion Bill Scott bought the bankrupt facility in 1980 and revived it, increasingly focusing on racing schools and advanced driver training, including accident-avoidance and counter-terrorism instruction for government agencies. Growing demand led him to build the Jefferson Circuit, a dedicated training course, in 1996, prompting the rename to Summit Point Motorsports Park. The technical 22-turn Shenandoah Circuit followed in 2004, complete with a replica of the Nürburgring's banked Karussell corner. Today the facility runs three road courses plus kart and skid-pad areas, and was sold in 2018 to security firm Xator Corporation. Season highlights include the Jefferson 500 vintage race and the 12 Hours at the Point endurance event.

Operated by: Summit Point Motorsports Park