Speedway Park was established following the closure of Rowley Park Speedway after the 1978/79 speedway season. Rowley Park had operated in the Adelaide suburb of Brompton since 1949 but closed due to reasons such as the track becoming too small for faster cars and complaints from local residents about noise. The new speedway's land was located near the town of Virginia, which had previously hosted speedway at Thunderbird Speedway from 1969 to 1974. The Adelaide International Raceway also had an 805-meter paved oval used for speedway in the mid-1970s. The new location for Speedway Park offered ample on-site parking and was surrounded by market gardens, eliminating noise complaints. However, its northern location contrasted with the centrally located Rowley Park site, which was accessible by public transport.
The Speedway Park track is a 430-meter long clay-surfaced oval with a width of 16 meters and a camber of 1.2 meters. It is surrounded by a 1.8-meter high concrete retaining wall with an additional 3 meters of catch fencing. The venue can accommodate over 10,000 spectators. The Racing Drivers Association of South Australia originally ran and promoted the speedway, holding its first official meeting on 2 November 1979. Unlike Rowley Park, which had a dolomite surface, Speedway City has a clay surface that suited car racing categories like Sprintcars, Speedcars, and Super Sedans. However, this surface was less popular with Solo and Sidecar riders, who found the sticky clay and concrete wall made racing more dangerous. Bikes last ran regularly at the speedway in 1985, with Sidecars making a few appearances in the 1990s. From 1985, bikes raced at the motorcycle-only North Arm Speedway.
In the mid-1980s, the RDA sold promoting rights to MJS Promotions, run by Mike Powell and John Hughes. The speedway then became known as Winfield Speedway Park due to a naming rights deal with Winfield. This aligned it with other Australian venues sponsored by Winfield, including Claremont Speedway and Liverpool City Raceway.
On 1 November 1985, Speedway Park hosted the first Australian Sprintcar Masters to coincide with the inaugural Australian Formula One Grand Prix on the Adelaide Street Circuit. Randy Kinser won the Masters. Formula One drivers Derek Warwick and Patrick Tambay did 'hot laps' in sprintcars, leading to a fine for Warwick from the FIA. Jackie Stewart reportedly described Sprintcar racing as the "Most exciting form of motorsport in the world."
The speedway has hosted numerous Australian championships, including the Australian Sprintcar Championship in 1980, 1988, 2000, and 2014. Other titles include the Australian Speedcar Championship, Australian Super Sedan Championship, Australian Sidecar Championship (1982), and Australian Solo Championship (1983). Billy Sanders famously told the crowd to "Get Stuffed" after winning the Australian Solo Championship in 1983. The venue has also hosted various South Australian championships.
Speedway City has had two fatal accidents. The first occurred on 25 January 1985, when solo rider Kevin O'Connell died after hitting a concrete wall. This led to the permanent move of bikes to North Arm. The second fatality was in 1993 when Speedcar driver Tony Boyle died eight days after an accident on 22 January.
From 2001 to 2016, Speedway City was owned by Bob Sincock and managed by Wendy Turner. The venue was renamed Speedway City in 1996 from Speedway Park. It was also known as Truckworks Speedway City until the end of the 2009/10 season. In 2016, Bill Miller became the promoter, and the venue was renamed Adelaide Motorsport Park.
On 28 January 2012, Speedway City hosted the 50th Anniversary Australian Sprintcar Championship, won by Brooke Tatnell. Brooke Tatnell's father, George Tatnell, won the 1988 championship at the speedway. The annual "George Tatnell Cup" for Sprintcars honors George Tatnell. George Tatnell and Kym Bonython are honored with stands named after them in turns 1 and 2.
From 1979, the track announcers were David Sabine and Rob Kelvin from Rowley Park. Sabine retired in the early 1980s, replaced by John Trenorden and Gary Hoffman. When MJS Promotions took over, Kelvin was joined by Brian Lamprell. John Cobby replaced Lamprell around 1990. Rob Kelvin commentated until the early 1990s. John Cobby continues as the lead announcer as of 2015. Mal "Rosie" Rosenzweig was the infield commentator for over 20 years.
The track length is 430 meters (470 yards), with a width of 16 meters and banking of 1.2 meters. The surface is clay. The safety fence consists of a 1.8-meter concrete wall with 3.0-meter-high weld-mesh topped with 1.6-meter chain mesh, with 1 meter at a 45-degree angle to the infield with cable attached. The spectator fence is a 1.0-meter-high cyclone mesh, 3.5 meters beyond the catch fence. Lighting is TV quality, with 72 x 1500-watt Metal Halide lamps mounted on 18 poles.
As of June 2016, lap records include: 410 Sprintcars: 11.60 by Matt Egel (5 February 2015); 360 Sprintcars: 12.17 by Brendan Quinn (15 November 2014); V6 Sprints: 13.91 by Aiden Hall (20 April 2014); Formula 500: 14.11 by Brock Hallett (3 December 2011); Speedcars: 14.117 by Todd Waddell (15 November 2014); Late model: 14.47 by Matt Crimmins (5 February 2015); Super Sedans: 14.71 by Ryan Alexander (9 April 2016); Wingless Sprints: 14.94 by Todd Wigzell (20 April 2014); AMCA Nationals: 16.32 by Jake Armstrong (23 April 2016); Legend Cars: 17.53 by Tyson Williams (27 March 2016); Street Stocks: 18.32 by Darren Flatman (23 March 2010); Junior Sedans: 19.14 by Kooper Grieg (23 April 2016). The longest-standing current track record is the 2-lap Speedcar record of 29.2 held by Rod Bowen, set on 30 January 1998.
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