In 1963, Dale Halvorsen and Harvey Kropp, residents of Eagle, Nebraska, constructed the racetrack from farm ground owned by Halvorsen. Kropp served as the promoter of the races. The unique terrain allowed for a high-banked bowl-shaped racetrack to be carved out of surrounding hills, which also provided an easy location for above-track grandstands.
Kropp and Halvorsen promoted primarily open wheel racing events throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Their promotion of racing ended after an abbreviated 1976 season, during which the only death at the speedway occurred after Jim Golden flipped in turn one. The track remained dormant until 1978 when Paul Saenz leased the track from Halvorsen and raced Late Model Stock Cars weekly.
In 1984, John Beecham, his wife Laura Beecham, and John's brother Marty Beecham purchased the track. The Beechams began a major renovation project, razing the decaying original scorer's tower and concession stands. They constructed a new, two-level concession stand and scorer's/VIP area. The old seats were replaced with seating for approximately 5000 fans. The race program initially consisted of a Friday night winged sprint cars program and a Saturday night NASCAR-sanctioned weekly stock car program. For the 1985 season, the days of the stock car and sprint car program were reversed, and IMCA Modifieds were added to the Sprint Car show on Saturdays. The 1987 season saw the introduction of the USAC Midget Series in the Midsummer Midget Classic, which brought future NASCAR Sprint Cup stars to the track. Winners of the annual race include Jeff Gordon (1990) and Tony Stewart (1994).
In 1997, the Beecham Family sold the track to Craig Cormack and racing partner Dean Orth, operating as Eagle Entertainment, LLC. Cormack took full control of the racetrack in 1999 and continued the weekly program with stock cars on Friday and Sprint Cars & Modifieds on Saturday. As part of the new ownership, the wooden bleachers were replaced with concrete and aluminum stadium seating. An additional two sections of seats were added in 2000, including a 40-foot (12 m) high section of aluminum grandstand and a smaller section of 750-seat wood bleachers, increasing the seating capacity to 7500. The track focused on an entertainment model, emphasizing activity in the stands as well as on the track, and a 100,000-watt sound system was added in 1997. Notable was the inclusion of track announcer Rick Allen Schwieger, who is the current NBC Sports motorsport play-by-play announcer.
In 2001, blaming poor attendance and participation by race teams, Cormack ended the Friday night stock car program. After the 2005 season, again citing poor attendance, increased criticism on Internet Forums, and lack of profit during his ownership, Cormack closed the racetrack and put it up for sale. Former Late Model driver Roger Hadan entered a lease agreement with Cormack to operate the racetrack in 2006 and continued the relationship through 2007. Hadan added IMCA Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts to the Saturday Night program. Hadan also gained notoriety for promotion of school bus races and other novelty acts for fans. In 2007 he added a JumboTron. Since 2023 the High Limit Sprint Car Series has come to Eagle Raceway yearly.
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