The speedway was built by Vern Carman, who had previously promoted a smaller 1/5-mile dirt track in Dayton, Iowa. Recognising the limitations of that earlier venue, Carman constructed the larger 3/8-mile banked oval on the outskirts of Boone. A Grand National event had already been running at his Dayton facility since 1965. The first documented race at the Boone track was held on 23 July 1967 and drew 50 cars and more than 4,300 spectators, carrying a guaranteed purse of $4,000.
The facility developed a distinctive pre-race tradition: surface preparation by John Deere tractors, conducted while "Green Acres" played over the public address system, became known as "farming the track" and remained a regular feature of race nights. Infrastructure improvements through the 1990s and early 2000s added new safety walls, expanded grandstands, additional catwalks, an updated leaderboard, and a jet dryer described at the time as the only such device operating on a dirt track in the country.
The Grand National was Boone Speedway's signature event during the first two decades of its operation. George Barton of Ankeny, Iowa, won the inaugural edition in 1965 and went on to claim four titles in total, adding victories in 1967, 1969, and 1973 to establish himself as the most successful driver in the event's history. Other multiple winners included Ed Sanger of Waterloo, Iowa, who won in 1976, 1978, and 1983; Curt Hansen of Dike, Iowa, who won in 1977 and 1980; Denny Hovinga, who won in 1971 and 1979; and Butch Householder, who won in 1966 and 1970.
Former ARCA champion and Daytona 500 pole sitter Ramo Stott of Keokuk, Iowa, won the 1974 Grand National. Joe Kosiski of Omaha, Nebraska, won the rain-delayed 1981 edition and became the first winner from outside Iowa in the event's history. The Grand National was discontinued in 1984 when then-owner George Barton sold the facility; subsequent owner Robert Lawton chose not to continue the event.
The IMCA Super Nationals were inaugurated in 1983 at the Vinton Raceway in Vinton, Iowa, before relocating to Boone Speedway, where they became a permanent September fixture. The event expanded over subsequent decades into a week-long programme covering IMCA Sport Compacts, Hobby Stocks, Northern Sport Modifieds, Stock Cars, Late Models, and Modifieds. Making the Saturday championship feature is regarded as a significant achievement in grassroots dirt racing.
Car counts grew steadily to reflect the event's national standing. In 2022, 995 cars registered for the Super Nationals. In 2023, a record 1,014 entries had been received by the Friday of race week. During the 2023 event, plans were publicly discussed for "Boone x2", a second track of identical layout to be built adjacent to the existing facility, with the current circuit to be replicated by laser scanning to accommodate the expanding car count.
The winner of each Saturday championship feature receives a new IMCA-legal engine donated by Karl Performance of Des Moines, distributed through an engine auction that follows the final features.
A World of Outlaws Late Model Series race at Boone, named the Hawkeye 50/100, was scheduled from 2020 but its first running was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event debuted in 2021 as a two-day programme pairing WoO Late Models with IMCA classes. The Saturday finale carried a $30,000 prize for the winner, the highest single-race payout in Boone Speedway's history at that time. The 2022 edition was reduced to a single day and 50 laps, partly because of industry-wide shortages in dirt racing tyres and fuel, with a revised winner's payout of $20,000.
Regular Saturday-night competition at Boone Speedway features IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern Sport Modifieds, IMCA Hobby Stocks, and IMCA Mod Lites. Events are broadcast live via the IMCA.tv streaming service.