Does NASCAR own Daytona International Speedway? All you need to know

The International Speedway Corporation, a company founded by Bill France Sr. under the name of Bill France Racing, Inc., initially owned the Daytona International Speedway. However, the ISC went defunct in 2019 and was later acquired by NASCAR. Therefore, the current owner of Daytona International Speedway is NASCAR.

The date goes back to 1953 when France Sr. founded the ISC for the construction of the Daytona International Speedway. From then until 1998, ISC remained a single company. In 1998, ISC merged with Penske Motorsports and became one of the largest Motorsports companies in the North American continent.

ISC and Penske Motorsports worked together for nearly two decades until NASCAR purchased it for approximately $2 billion. This purchase gave the governing body ownership of 13 tracks, including Daytona International Speedway, which hosted 18 of the 36 annual races.

Besides the 13 tracks, ISC also owned a few other tracks, such as Tucson Speedway, Rockingham Speedway, Pikes Peak International Raceway, and Nazareth Speedway. However, over time NASCAR sold a few tracks to different individuals but retained most of them, including the Daytona International Speedway.

The Daytona International Speedway is arguably the most iconic racetrack in America, alongside Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For NASCAR fans, the Daytona 500 is the pinnacle of the sport, kicking off the season each year in spectacular fashion. In 2025, the Daytona 500 will take place on February 16, from 2:30 PM ET.

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How many tracks does NASCAR own currently?

NASCAR reportedly owns 12 tracks where its races are held annually. These include the 2.0-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, and the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

Aerial view of action on track taken from Goodyear blimp above Daytona International Speedway during the NASCA Cup Series Daytona 500 - Source: Getty

The list also includes the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, Florida, the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway at Homestead, Florida, the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway at Kansas City, Kansas and the 0.526-mile Martinsville Speedway at Ridgeway, Virginia.

The remaining tracks are the 2.0-mile Michigan International Speedway at Brooklyn, Michigan, the 1.0-mile Phoenix Raceway at Avondale, Arizona, the 0.25-mile Route 66 Raceway at Joliet, Illinois, the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega, Alabama and the 2.45 mile Watkins Glen International at Watkins Glen, New York

Of these tracks, Talladega Superspeedway is the longest, while Daytona International Speedway has the largest seating capacity, at 101,000. Among the 12 tracks mentioned, Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway are the newest, having been acquired by NASCAR in 2007. Richmond Raceway, opened in 1946, is the oldest.