‘Right to race’ laws and the battle over America’s local racetracks

State lawmakers are trying to shield tracks from nuisance lawsuits − but the larger threat may be rising land values and redevelopment pressures.

By: Joshua Vadeboncoeur, Gardner-Webb University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: April 17, 2026

Words: 1,469

Last Updated: 3 months, 1 week ago

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By Joshua Vadeboncoeur, Gardner-Webb University

Across the United States, the local auto racing tracks that have anchored rural and working-class communities for generations are disappearing.

Some have lost out to real estate developers when suburban sprawl makes the land beneath them too valuable to ignore. Others are strangled, slowly, by noise complaints and nuisance lawsuits filed by residents who moved to the area long after the track had been built.

Now, state legislatures are pushing …

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