The circuit is an 18-degree banked paved oval measuring 0.596 miles (0.959 km) in length. A smaller 0.250-mile (0.402 km) paved oval is situated inside the main oval. The track was originally laid out as a half-mile oval in 1958, then lengthened between the 1969 and 1970 seasons. Banking in the corners was reduced from 35 degrees to the current 18 degrees in 1972 to address speeds considered dangerously high. The surface was repaved between the 1995 and 1996 seasons.
The site hosted its first motorsport events on June 11, 1904, when automobiles and motorcycles raced on a 1.125-mile dirt oval that doubled as a harness horse racing track. A race that day ended prematurely after a motorcycle struck a car still lining up on track. A second series of races followed in September 1904, drawing entrants—including racing pioneer Barney Oldfield—directly from the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. Crowds marveled at cars exceeding 60 mph.
Annual racing events tied to the Tennessee State Fair began in 1915 and attracted drivers from the Indianapolis 500 field. Local racers ran weekly Saturday night shows collectively known as the Legion Bowl through the early 1950s, competing at the fairgrounds during the State Fairs of 1954 through 1957.
In 1958 a group of local car racers, having negotiated a 10-year lease with the state fair board, paved a half-mile oval sharing its frontstretch with an existing quarter-mile track. The first race on the new surface was held on July 19, 1958. NASCAR's first sanctioned Cup event followed on August 10, 1958, when Joe Weatherly won before a capacity crowd of 13,998.
A 1959 NASCAR Grand National race at the track achieved a singular distinction: all 12 starters finished—the first time an entire starting field had completed a Cup race, one of only four such occurrences in Cup Series history.
The 1960s brought prominent outside talent to Nashville. The Alabama Gang—Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, and Nashville native Red Farmer—raced regularly at the track. Country music star Marty Robbins competed in his trademark purple and yellow cars. Coo Coo Marlin became the first back-to-back champion (1965–1966). Darrell Waltrip began his career at the track driving for 1968 champion P.B. Crowell.
The speedway was lengthened and banking raised to 35 degrees in 1969, then the banking was reduced to 18 degrees after the corners proved excessively fast. Second-generation drivers Sterling Marlin and future NASCAR regulars Jimmy Means and Mike Alexander all won track championships in the 1970s.
Over the 42 Cup races held at Nashville from 1958 to 1984, Richard Petty won nine and Darrell Waltrip won eight—including five of the final seven Cup events between 1981 and 1984. In 1984 NASCAR departed following a dispute with city government and track management, with Geoff Bodine defeating Waltrip in the final Cup event. Counting all NASCAR, USAC, ASA, and local-track appearances, Waltrip is the all-time wins leader at the facility with 67 victories.
After NASCAR's Cup Series departure, the headline division shifted to Late Model Stock Cars, which took several seasons to attract a full field but eventually became the core of weekly racing. NASCAR stars including Bobby Allison, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, and Dale Earnhardt appeared at the track in 1987 and 1988. Third-generation driver Bobby Hamilton won consecutive track championships in 1987 and 1988.
The track hosted NASCAR Busch Series races in 1984, 1988, 1989, and from 1995 to 2000, as well as NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events between 1996 and 2000, before both series shifted to the newly opened Nashville Superspeedway for 2001.
The ARCA Racing Series visited in 1992, and the series returned with an annual 200-lap race beginning in 2015. The venue was renamed Music City Motorplex in 2003 under promoter Joe Mattioli III.
The All American 400, a 400-lap super late model stock car race established in 1981, became the track's signature event. It was co-sanctioned initially by the All Pro Super Series and the American Speed Association, later taken over by the NASCAR Southeast Series through 2000, and revived under ARCA and CRA Super Series banners in 2003.
In December 2018, track operator Tony Formosa Jr. reached an agreement with Speedway Motorsports—operator of Bristol Motor Speedway—to co-manage Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and pursue infrastructure upgrades. A December 2021 agreement in principle between Speedway Motorsports and Nashville Mayor John Cooper outlined plans to revitalize the facility and restore NASCAR Cup Series events to the venue.
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series visited in 2019, running a doubleheader with the quarter-mile oval covered in dirt. The Superstar Racing Experience held its 2021 season finale at the track.
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway was included in Sierra's NASCAR Racing 2 via the Grand National Expansion Pack and subsequently adapted for NASCAR Racing 1999 Edition, NASCAR 4, NASCAR 2002, and NASCAR 2003. In October 2019, iRacing laser-scanned the facility for inclusion in the service, releasing the track in the 2020 Season 4 update. The track also appears in SRX: The Game, released in 2021.
The track produced a number of drivers who advanced to NASCAR's national series. Coo Coo Marlin won four track championships. Sterling Marlin (Coo Coo's son) won three. Bobby Hamilton won two. Jimmy Means, Andy Kirby (three championships), and Jeff Green all used the track as a stepping stone. Deborah Renshaw became the first woman to lead the points standings in a NASCAR-sanctioned series when she topped the charts at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.