The complex opened as Firebird International Raceway in 1983 on land owned by the Gila River Indian Community. Its first National NHRA event was the Fallnationals in 1985, at which Gene Snow won the Top Fuel category and Bob Glidden clinched the 1985 NHRA world championship.
On 17 May 1987 the venue held its only IMSA GT race, the Arizona 300. That event set the East Course race lap record that still stands: 0:56.920, set by Willy T. Ribbs in a Toyota Celica Turbo in the IMSA GTO class. The existing GTU lap record from the same day — 1:01.290 — was set by Lee Mueller in a Nissan 300ZX.
In December 1992, three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna tested an IndyCar on the East Course with Team Penske. Senna was reportedly intrigued by the prospect of switching to American open-wheel racing but ultimately chose to remain in Formula One. The facility describes the East Course as the only road circuit in the United States that Senna ever tested on.
In March 2013, the Gila River Indian Community and operator Charlie Allen failed to reach agreement on a lease extension, and the facility closed in April. By June 2013 the community had signed with a new operator, and the complex reopened under the name Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park — named after the adjacent tribal casino and resort — following more than one million dollars in renovations that included repaving the drag strip. The first event under the new name was the NHRA Arizona National on 22 February 2014.
In March 2022 it was announced that the venue would close in February 2023, after the NHRA Arizona Nationals, due to the planned widening of Interstate 10. An outpouring of support from the racing industry and fans led the Wild Horse Pass Development Authority to reroute the road project and preserve the circuit. Track officials announced a return to the original identity, renaming the facility Firebird Motorsports Park. The venue entered this new era under track manager Casey Buckman and business administrator Connie Bopp, whose combined motorsports experience totals more than fifty years.
The complex includes multiple racing surfaces. The East Course — 2.01 km (1.25 mi), ten turns, clockwise — served as a preferred IndyCar test track for many years and remains the primary road-course venue. A 2.6 km (1.6 mi) Radford Racing Course of fifteen turns is operated by the Radford Racing School. A West Course covers 1.8 km (1.1 mi) and an off-road dirt loop measures 1.13 km (0.70 mi). The quarter-mile NHRA-sanctioned concrete drag strip and the 3.9 km (2.4 mi) Firebird Lake oval for drag boat racing complete the facility's track inventory.
The NHRA Arizona Nationals has been held at the facility since 1985 and remains the anchor event. The drag strip's current records include a Top Fuel elapsed time of 3.643 seconds and a Top Fuel speed of 337.92 mph (543.83 km/h), both set by Brittany Force at the 2020 NHRA Arizona Nationals. The Funny Car speed record of 337.16 mph (542.61 km/h) was set by Courtney Force at the 2018 edition, while the elapsed time record of 3.823 seconds was set by Matt Hagan in 2022. Pro Stock records of 6.498 seconds and 213.77 mph (344.03 km/h) were both established by Mike Edwards at the 2013 Arizona Nationals.
Other series that have used the facility include the SCCA World Challenge (1992), the AMA Superbike Championship (1995), Formula D (2016), the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (2010–2020), and Nitrocross (2021–2023).
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