On August 14, 1970, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that businessman Carl "Curly" Price was aiming to sign a lease for a plot of land near Nellis Air Force Base from the City of Las Vegas to build a drag strip, a road course, and a proposed oval. By February 1971, the complex — initially known as the Las Vegas Motor Speedway — was under construction. The facility held its first races on May 16, 1971, on a 0.5 mi dirt oval, sanctioned by the Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts.
The drag strip held its first races on February 26, 1972, hosting the first day of the National Hot Rod Association Open Drag Championships. The International Motorsports Association scheduled road course events later that year, but the facility fell quickly into financial trouble and disrepair. The city of Las Vegas considered revoking Price's lease in September 1975, citing roughly $3,400 in unpaid monthly payments, vandalism, and stolen bleachers. After a series of legal proceedings, Price's lease was officially terminated in July 1976 by Clark County District judge Howard Babcock, who also ordered Price to pay $22,140. Price appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, which effectively halted major racing at the complex for an extended period; he lost the appeal in February 1980.
In 1981, drag racer Alex Rodriguez and his son Alex Rodriguez Jr. were appointed by the city to take over operations from the strained partnership of Terry Ainsworth and Harold Ellis. Rodriguez invested $75,000 in immediate improvements and a track repave. In 1984, the complex resumed stock car racing events. In 1985, a new 0.375 mi oval was built using donated barriers from the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, opening in November of that year. By 1987, Rodriguez had invested over $500,000 into the complex and received honours from the NHRA as one of the best facilities in the United States. The city approved terminating Rodriguez's lease in March 1988, though he continued to operate the track until December 1990.
In May 1989, the complex was sold to Richie Clyne, director of the Imperial Palace Hotel's automobile museum, for $1,070,000. Clyne and investor G. Robert Diero renamed it the Las Vegas International Raceway. In 1993, David Juberg and Craig Graham took over a lease to run the complex from Clyne, renaming it the Las Vegas Speedway Park.
Around 1993, Clyne began researching the feasibility of a NASCAR-style superspeedway. On November 30, 1994, Clyne announced plans to build a $65–70 million, 100,000-seat facility capable of hosting NASCAR Winston Cup Series races, with an opening scheduled for April 1, 1996. In May 1995, Clyne and IndyCar Series president Tony George officially announced a 200-mile race to christen the track, to be held on September 15, 1996. Construction proceeded on schedule; the paving of the racing surface was completed in March 1996. Sahara Hotel owner Bill Bennett joined as a part owner later in 1996. Imperial Palace Hotel owner Ralph Engelstad was later revealed to be funding the majority of the project.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway officially opened to the public on September 13, 1996, for IndyCar practice. Its first race, according to a Review-Journal writer, was "violent," with heavy winds and numerous crashes; attendance was reported at 67,132. Two months later, the track held its first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. In 1997 the track hosted its first NASCAR Busch Series race, and secured rights to host a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race weekend starting in 1998.
In December 1998, Bruton Smith and SMI announced plans to buy out the complex for around $215 million. Smith appointed Chris Powell, a former media relations manager for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, as track general manager. In 2000, the 0.375 mi oval was modified and renamed the "Bullring."
In its current form, the main oval is measured at 1.500 mi (2.414 km) with 20 degrees of banking in the turns and 9 degrees of banking on the frontstretch and backstretch. Before 2006, the track had 12 degrees of banking in the turns. Within the main track's frontstretch there is a 0.25 mi oval built in 2006. The infield road course was built as part of the original 1996 construction. The track has also used a "roval" layout during select races.
The complex is located between Interstate 15 and Las Vegas Boulevard and expanded from 200 acres at opening to over 1,200 acres as of 2015.
In 2006, general manager Chris Powell announced a $25–27 million renovation project. Major changes included increasing turn banking from 12 to 20 degrees, increasing capacity to 141,000, constructing a new infield media center (a three-story 60,000 sq ft building, currently known as the LocaliQ Digital Center), a redesigned interactive garage known as the Neon Garage, and narrowing the racing surface by 20 feet to 50 feet. Drivers Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, and Tony Stewart criticized the changes; the general manager was praised by Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Ron Kantowski. Plans to build a 127-unit condominium tower overlooking Turn 1 were abandoned after Nellis Air Force Base and United States Air Force officials cited safety risks from regular flight training; SMI CEO Bruton Smith initially refused to comply before relenting after the Air Force lobbied Clark County.
The most consequential incident in the track's history occurred on October 16, 2011, during the IZOD IndyCar World Championship, which had been set as that year's season finale. IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard offered a $5 million bounty to any non-IndyCar driver who could win the race; after numerous drivers rejected it, the challenge was assigned to part-time driver Dan Wheldon, who would start last. On lap 11, a crash involving 15 cars resulted in Wheldon's death from massive head injuries. IndyCar cancelled the race immediately. The track and SMI subsequently requested a buyout of their contract with IndyCar, ending high-speed open-wheel racing at the oval for over a decade. IndyCar returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022 only for the Indy Autonomous Challenge, a driverless vehicle competition for college engineering teams using modified Indy NXT-based cars, held as part of the Consumer Electronics Show.
The track hosts two annual NASCAR Cup Series weekends: the spring Pennzoil 400 and the fall South Point 400. It also hosts the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (including the spring LiUNA! 300 and the fall Focused Health 302). The track formerly hosted the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series' Ecosave 200.
The track hosted Indy Racing League events annually from 1996 to 2000. In 2004, despite Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) going bankrupt, the newly formed Champ Car World Series held a race on September 25. Champ Car returned in 2005 before refusing to renew for 2006.
The half-mile clay dirt oval hosted the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series from 1996 to 2006 and from 2009 to 2019. High Limit Racing is scheduled to run at the venue in 2025 on the NASCAR Cup weekend.
In 2014 the track hosted a race for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, but the race was abandoned due to bad weather; results were determined by qualifying speeds. The 2015 event ran successfully. The 2016 event was cancelled due to high winds.
The track complex includes a drag strip originally opened in 1972, a 0.375 mi paved oval (the Bullring), and a 0.5 mi clay dirt oval that opened in November 1996, hosting a World of Outlaws event. In 1999, after Smith's purchase, the track announced a new 0.25 mi drag strip to replace the original; named "The Strip," it opened in April 2000. In 2017 the drag strip was expanded to four lanes. A 0.25 mi oval was built within the main track's frontstretch in 2006.
In 2011, the Electric Daisy Carnival moved its flagship location to the track from Los Angeles following controversies involving injuries and the death of a 15-year-old. The track has held the event annually since. In 2013, the track hosted the World Long Drive Championship. Since 2012, Enrico Bertaggia, a former Italian Formula Three driver, has run the Dream Racing exotic car programme at the track. The track also hosts the "Driver's Edge" driving education course. In 2020 the track hosted a graduation ceremony for Faith Lutheran High School and served as a venue for Roborace Season Beta. Since 2023 the track has hosted a Las Vegas branch of the FoodieLand Night Market.
At its peak the track held over 140,000 seats. In 2015 the track announced the removal of 15,000 seats in the third and fourth turns to make way for RV parking. In 2017 capacity was decreased to around 80,000 seats to accommodate increased premium seating. In 2025, Powell announced his retirement following the 2025 Pennzoil 400, with Shriners Children's Open executive director Patrick Lindsey named as his successor.
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