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It has been a little more than a year since Southampton Motor Speedway reopened after being dormant for nearly 20 years, and the speedway recently highlighted this milestone with a Grand Re-Opening Bash.

The event, which ran from Friday, Aug. 30,-Sunday, Sept. 1, featured drifting practice and a Track Therapy Throwdown Grassroots Mini-Series.

Christopher Plummer, co-owner of the Capron-based speedway, said the grand reopening went well.

“We had over 60 drivers through the weekend and hundreds of spectators,” he said. “It was an absolute blast, and everyone had a great time with lots of drive time.”

He noted there were around 350 spectators on hand, which he said is quite a lot for the speedway’s drift events, and both drivers and spectators came from the area and beyond.

“Drivers come from all over the East Coast, from Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia,” he said. “Spectators are split 50/50. We have a good amount of local support, as well as family and friends that come to support their favorite drivers.”

Plummer shared some details on the events offered during the reopening bash, including their appeal to participants.

“Most of our drivers are focused on the grassroots style of drifting,” he said. “They like to hang out and drive with each other in a safe and friendly environment. It is less about competition and more about improving your skills with friends. 

“That being said, we do host the Track Therapy Throwdown Mini Grassroots Competition,” he continued. “This is a grassroots-style competition featuring a low entry cost and cash prizes. We use the track to equalize the playing field between different drivers and cars.”

He indicated that the Track Therapy Throwdown Grassroots Mini-Series is a six-round series where drivers compete in tandem battles for cash prizes and series points. 

“This is aimed for drivers new to competition to get their feet wet in a more relaxed competition environment,” he said.

Plummer highlighted some of Southampton Motor Speedway’s new offerings.

“Currently, we have added a competition karting series, which is constantly growing,” he said. “We have also recently added Time Attack and Spectator Oval Drag Racing, where people can drive their own cars on the track in a controlled, safe environment.”

He indicated that speedway leadership is working on developing an off-roading aspect to the facility for trucks, ATVs and dirt bikes. 

“We also can now rent the track for private days or test and tuning,” he said. “We are always looking for more types of racing at the facility, including stock car and circle track, but are still working on the hurdles of hosting those types of events.”

Plummer shared how he felt overall about the first year of the revived Southampton Motor Speedway and what he hopes to see from it in Year No. 2.

“The drifting community has supported us from the beginning,” he said. “Our driver count and spectator count continues to grow as the sport grows and more people realize the benefits of this low competition and family friendly environment we strive for. We are gaining support and traction for the other types of events we currently host and hope they grow into an awesome experience for 2025. 

“Our first year has been a wild ride, but we loved every minute of it,” he continued. “We continue to grow every month and hope we can support more and more styles of motorsports at the facility. With more support from the local community and outreach, we hope to continue to strive to meet our goals.”

“Oval Grudge Games” and round five of the SMS Kart Racing Series will be held Saturday, Sept. 14, followed by more events at the speedway throughout the fall and winter. 

For more information on the speedway, including details pertaining to tickets and upcoming events, visit www.SouthamptonMotorSpeedway.com.