New Egypt Speedway owner looks to sell as another NJ racetrack closes

✅Owner Fred Vahlsing says the track won’t open for racing in 2026

✅Vahlsing, who has owned it since 2006, shared no specific reason for the decision

✅Fuel sales, leasing, and the quarter midget track will continue operations

NEW EGYPT — The owner of a longtime New Jersey race track says it will not open for racing in 2026.

New Egypt Speedway,  first opened in 1946 as a quarter-mile dirt track along Route 539 will remain closed as owner Fred Vahlsing tries to sell the now 7/16th mile D-shaped clay oval track he has owned since 2006. No specific reason for the decision was given in the announcement.

"Vahlsing is open to a buyer or another party to operate the speedway for the upcoming season and beyond," the announcement says.

Truck parking, fuel sales and “space for lease” will still be available at the track. The quarter midget track will also continue to operate for the South Jersey Quarter Midget Association.

"Our program is alive, well, and full-speed ahead. Quarter midget racing continues exactly as planned — same location, same track, same commitment to our drivers and families," the SJQMA said on its Facebook page. "We’ll continue delivering the racing experience our families know, love, and build their weekends around."

ALSO READ: Mom robbed at gunpoint in South Brunswick pre-school parking lot

New Jersey motorsports faces steep economic pressures

The track was the destination of the New Jersey Freedom Convoy in March 2022, a rolling protest against COVID-19 vaccination mandates that began on Route 17 in Mahwah. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan held a rally with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin at the track in 2013.

Running an auto racetrack can be a dicey economic proposition. The motor sport industry faces competition from casinos, online gambling, fantasy sports and online racing combined with less interest, rising costs and the expenses of maintaining aging facilities, according to the auto racing website TheRaceTourque.com

The future of the Wall Stadium Speedway is also uncertain as the current management said the just-concluded season would be their last.

Atco Dragway closed suddenly in July 2023, while Raceway Park in Englishtown is threatened by plans to turn the site into affordable housing. The township pushed back against a plan in 2019 to convert the property into 348 townhouses and apartments to be built by Pulte Homes. The township said at the time the land was not zoned for residential use.

Township Administrator John Tobia said in November that there is currently no plan, housing or otherwise for the property. The Township Committee is moving forward with a study of potential redevelopment.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom