The track was carved from a soybean field by farmer and businessman Til Huset in 1953, with racing beginning in 1954. After a two-year hiatus in 1956 and 1957, the facility reopened in July 1958 following Huset's sale of the property to the Sioux Falls Stock Car Association, a group of drivers who had been boycotting the nearby Soo Speedway. The association operated the track for three decades, introducing weekly sprint car racing in 1980. The World of Outlaws national tour made its first visit in April 1983, with Sammy Swindell winning that inaugural event. In 1988 the Rubin family — Clarence Rubin and his sons Greg and Steve — purchased the facility and ran it through 2014.
In 2015, Chuck Brennan, owner of the Badlands Entertainment Group, acquired the track and rebranded it Badlands Motor Speedway. Brennan invested approximately six million dollars in a major renovation that added new suites, concession stands, restrooms, updated seating, HD video boards, and an upgraded lighting system. Under the new name the facility expanded its programming beyond traditional oval racing to include monster truck events, tractor pulling, Endurocross competition, and large-scale concerts. In 2016 the track hosted a $100,000-to-win 410 Sprint Car show and a $250,000 Gold Cup sprint car race.
The Badlands era was also marked by a notable tragedy. Bryan Clauson, a highly regarded sprint car racer, won his final career victory at the track during a July 31, 2016, All Star Circuit of Champions event before dying one week later from injuries sustained at another race.
Badlands Motor Speedway closed abruptly on May 18, 2017. Subsequent zoning disputes complicated the sale process: Minnehaha County Planning and Zoning informed Brennan in June 2018 that the conditional-use permit allowing the racetrack to operate had expired, which would have affected any transfer of ownership. Although the zoning issue was eventually resolved, by late 2018 Brennan announced plans to demolish the facility if a sale was not concluded by year's end. Those plans were deferred to give former owner Steve Rubin time to seek financing to reacquire the track.
In mid-July 2020, Tod Quiring — owner of the Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota — purchased the facility. Quiring announced an August reopening date and the restoration of the historic Huset's name. The first race under the new ownership was a $20,000-to-win All Star Circuit of Champions event on August 2, 2020, with the All Stars returning to the track for the first time since 2014 and for the fifteenth time overall.
One of the track's most celebrated single-event attendances came in 2013 when NASCAR driver Tony Stewart visited to compete in a sprint car race. The event exceeded grandstand capacity — drawing an estimated ten thousand or more fans — and Stewart required a police escort to reach the facility. The Rubin family era also recorded an unusual milestone in September 2015 when twelve-year-old Jayden Larson won a B-Modified feature race, becoming the youngest winner in the track's history. Larson had obtained special clearance from the United States Racing Association to compete without a driver's license.
Throughout its history Huset's Speedway has hosted multiple national touring series:
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars
All Star Circuit of Champions
USAC National Midget Cars
USAC National Sprint Cars
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
AMSOIL Championship Snocross
Huset's Speedway stands as one of the enduring short-track institutions of the Northern Plains. Its history reflects the broader rhythms of American dirt-track racing — community-driven origins, periods of expansion and investment, moments of crisis, and eventual revival under new stewardship. From Sammy Swindell's 1983 World of Outlaws victory to Bryan Clauson's final win in 2016, the track has witnessed races that became part of sprint car lore. Its reopening in 2020 after the turbulent Badlands era signaled continued relevance in the national short-track racing calendar.