In 1913, the Orange County Fair Society director, George Martin, who was an auto racing enthusiast, brought the idea of replacing the horses with automobiles to the board of directors but his proposition was denied for six straight years.
 Martin's idea was vetoed by the board but he was stubborn and he argued, talked and persisted until he finally convinced the board of directors to at least try it in 1919.
The race was witnessed by 5,000 in attendance and was won by James Benedict driving a Benedict Special powered by a Deusenberg motor.
1924 saw the track resurfaced with clay from a nearby pond, which was found to be soft enough for the horse races that still occasionally took place on the track yet tacky and stable enough for auto racing.
This "hard clay" allowed for the track to gain a reputation for its speed that persists to this day.

Auto racing continued at the speedway each year until the beginning of World War II when motorsports nationwide was suspended due to shortages of gasoline, iron, steel, rubber and aluminum.
 Weekly stock car racing began on April 16, 1950 and has continued every week since that time.

In 1946, after World War II ended, the Harry Clay Oval was renamed Victory Speedway, Inc and saw the return of ARDC Midget racing.
 Stock car racing officially began at the speedway on September 18, 1948 as Rocky Dinatale is credited with the first-ever stock car win.
 The first fully contested championship season began on April 16, 1950 and the first race of the season was won by Tex Enright driving # 407 Modified coupe.
 Enright would later go on to be one of the most popular flagmen in dirt track auto racing.

Today, the Orange County Fair Speedway still operates on a weekly basis from April to September.
 Nicknamed "The House of Power", the Orange County Fair Speedway boasts a long history of dirt track auto racing where many legendary northeast dirt track drivers have tested the boundaries of the hard clay.
 The speedway has been home to many dirt track modified drivers such as Frankie Schneider, Ray Brown, Will Cagle and Buzzie Reutimann and drivers of today are still testing their limits on the 5/8-mile track; like Brett Hearn, Rich Eurich, Danny Johnson and Jerry Higbie.

In addition to auto racing, the facility will begin a new era of motocross racing on a race track built in 2013 outside of turns 3 and 4.

On November 26, 2014 speedway owner Mike Gurda announced that in 2015 the speedway will run as an independent track and end its sanction with DIRTcar NorthEast.
In 1913, the Orange County Fair Society director, George Martin, who was an auto racing enthusiast, brought the idea of replacing the horses with automobiles to the board of directors but his proposition was denied for six straight years.  Martin's idea was vetoed by the board but he was stubborn and he argued, talked and persisted until he finally convinced the board of directors to at least try it in 1919. The race was witnessed by 5,000 in attendance and was won by James Benedict driving a Benedict Special powered by a Deusenberg motor. 1924 saw the track resurfaced with clay from a nearby pond, which was found to be soft enough for the horse races that still occasionally took place on the track yet tacky and stable enough for auto racing. This "hard clay" allowed for the track to gain a reputation for its speed that persists to this day.
Auto racing continued at the speedway each year until the beginning of World War II when motorsports nationwide was suspended due to shortages of gasoline, iron, steel, rubber and aluminum.  Weekly stock car racing began on April 16, 1950 and has continued every week since that time.
In 1946, after World War II ended, the Harry Clay Oval was renamed Victory Speedway, Inc and saw the return of ARDC Midget racing.  Stock car racing officially began at the speedway on September 18, 1948 as Rocky Dinatale is credited with the first-ever stock car win.  The first fully contested championship season began on April 16, 1950 and the first race of the season was won by Tex Enright driving # 407 Modified coupe.  Enright would later go on to be one of the most popular flagmen in dirt track auto racing.
Today, the Orange County Fair Speedway still operates on a weekly basis from April to September.  Nicknamed "The House of Power", the Orange County Fair Speedway boasts a long history of dirt track auto racing where many legendary northeast dirt track drivers have tested the boundaries of the hard clay.  The speedway has been home to many dirt track modified drivers such as Frankie Schneider, Ray Brown, Will Cagle and Buzzie Reutimann and drivers of today are still testing their limits on the 5/8-mile track; like Brett Hearn, Rich Eurich, Danny Johnson and Jerry Higbie.
In addition to auto racing, the facility will begin a new era of motocross racing on a race track built in 2013 outside of turns 3 and 4.
On November 26, 2014 speedway owner Mike Gurda announced that in 2015 the speedway will run as an independent track and end its sanction with DIRTcar NorthEast.
Orange County Fair Speedway