PittRace Is Shutting Down
The big news in club racing last week was that PittRace, also known as PIRC (Pittsburgh International Race Complex), has been sold and will cease operations at the end of 2025. This is not the first track sale or closure in recent memory, unfortunately. Race tracks are shutting down faster than they are being built. Whether it be to build an Amazon distribution center, a housing development, or a data center (rumored to be the case for PittRace), the relatively poor economics of a race track mean that a developer might make you an offer you can't refuse.
While I'm saddened by the loss of what was possibly my all-time favorite race track, I understand it, although many in the racing community do not.
The track was privately owned by a couple, Jim and Kathy Stout. They purchased the track, initially known as BeaveRun, in 2011 and have since spent tens of millions transforming it into a premier track facility.
There have been numerous rumors and speculations regarding the sale and closure of the track, but one aspect of the sale seems particularly divisive: the presumably wealthy owners of the track are now even wealthier, and in the process, many in the racing community feel betrayed.
It's hard not to speculate when something like this occurs, so rumors have been circulating about the sale price and what will become of the track, but I have not seen anything credible. All we truly know is that they are ceasing operations on December 31, 2025. In other words, the new owners will not be continuing where the Stouts left off in running the race track.
Is this announcement message shared above enough information to turn the pitchforks on the Stouts? I don't personally think so. For what they have done to improve the track and facilities, it is clear that they care(d) about motorsports and racing. Whether they want to retire (they're 80!), or were offered so much that it would be foolish not to sell, or whether there are darker factors at play, such as health issues, is anybody's guess. Regardless, it was a privately owned enterprise, and the decision to sell was the Stout's alone.
Sadly, this is another domino falling in what seems to be a slowly dying sport. I imagine that we will be seeing much more of this in the decade to come.
Pour one out for PittRace.
2026 NASA Champs, Where Art Thou?
Typically, NASA announces the following year's location on the first day of their Championship event, but that did not occur at the 2025 Champs, hosted at Ozarks International Raceway in early September.
Now, over a month later, no announcement has been made. Inquiries made by me and others have gone unanswered. This is certainly odd for the organization that is typically proud to drive up hype for the next Champs during the height of excitement for the current Championship event.
My only guess is that this has something to do with the abysmally low entry numbers from the 2025 Ozarks Raceway Championship event: only 39 TT drivers and 81 racers. The 81 racers were divided across 16 classes, resulting in an average field of 5 cars. The entries were so low that one month before the event was to take place, NASA announced they'd be opening up the entries to HPDE 3 and HPDE 4 participants for the first time in Championships history.
Numerous friends have expressed interest in making a push for the '26 Champs if they are on the east coast again, so let's hope this is just a scheduling hiccup, and not a negative sign about the health of NASA or the events following a poor showing in 2025.
SCCA Runoffs Crashes
...or more specifically, Spec Miata crashes. The SCCA Runoffs (their version of the national championships) were at Road America again last weekend. Last year, you may recall there was a horrific crash in Qualifier 1 of Spec Miata. Jim Drago ended up turned around just after the kink, parked stationary facing the wrong direction, with a cloud of dust obscuring him. Danny Steyn hit him head-on at over 100mph, putting them both in the hospital for weeks and in wheelchairs for months. Neither of them has made a "full" recovery yet.
Unfortunately, this year, there was another bad crash, again in Spec Miata Qualifier 1. An apparent hub failure sent a car barrel-rolling at the exit of turn 8, and the ensuing dust cloud shrouded it from view.
As if the barrel-roll weren't bad enough, a pack of cars charged straight into the dust cloud, and another nasty collision ensued. It was confirmed in the video's comments that the turn 8 corner station was waving the yellow flag before the pack came through.
This time around, the drivers were "okay," thankfully. One of them even had a backup car to continue racing at the Runoffs. Nevertheless, still a scary accident to occur, especially in a qualifying session.
Be careful out there.
Let's drive faster together