Clark Rader Sr., together with his sons Ben and Clark Jr., broke ground on the facility in 1963 and completed construction in 1964. At the time, U.S. Route 40 was commonly known as the National Road or National Trail, and the Raders named the facility accordingly. At the time of opening, National Trail Raceway was among the five largest drag racing facilities of its kind in the United States.
The track's location between two public roads — U.S. Route 40 and Refugee Road — created a physical constraint that would define the facility's operating character throughout its competitive history: one of the shortest post-finish-line shutdown areas on any NHRA national event schedule.
The NHRA's Springnationals national event bounced among three different sites from 1965 to 1971 before Wally Parks, the NHRA's founder and head at the time, decided to move it permanently to National Trail Raceway in 1972. The decision reflected the strength of drag racing interest in central Ohio. The inaugural 1972 Springnationals at the track drew more than 40,000 spectators and over 600 cars, with admission gates closing while cars still queued on Route 40.
The event ran at the track for most of its history in mid-June, often near Father's Day weekend. Ohio's unpredictable summer weather frequently produced inconsistent track conditions, which made tuning difficult and contributed to numerous upsets during eliminations. Several drivers scored their first, and sometimes only, national event win at the Springnationals.
A landmark moment occurred in 1976 when Shirley Muldowney became the first woman to win a Top Fuel Dragster national event in NHRA history. In 1982, the first all-female professional final in the sport's history took place at the track, between Muldowney and Lucille Lee. The television coverage added to the event's profile, with Diamond P Sports producing syndicated coverage in the 1970s and the race broadcast on TNN, ESPN, NBC, and ABC at various points through the 1980s and 1990s.
In 2005, the event was moved from June to mid-May to take advantage of cooler temperatures and more consistent track conditions. Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher set an NHRA national speed record of 336.15 mph at the track that year. The following year, 2006, was the last time the Springnationals ran at National Trail. The event was subsequently moved approximately 100 miles north to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, after the 2006 season.
The short shutdown area between the finish line and Refugee Road was a persistent safety challenge. In the early 1980s the NHRA and track management deployed catch-nets on Springnationals weekends to help arrest cars that could not slow in time. In 1984, Top Fuel driver Doug Kerhulas drove into the catch-net as instructed when his car could not stop — the sudden deceleration nearly killed him. The nets were replaced in 1986 by sand pits, but in the same year Funny Car racer Gary Phillips carried enough speed through the pits to continue across Refugee Road and into the front yard of a neighboring farm. No vehicles or structures were hit. Track management subsequently negotiated with the Ohio State Highway Patrol to close that section of Refugee Road during Springnationals weekends, and worked with the adjacent landowner to reposition the sand trap.
The NHRA purchased National Trail Raceway from the Rader family in 1996 after the Raders declined a first offer; when the NHRA indicated it might relocate the Springnationals, a deal was reached. The track became one of a small number of facilities owned directly by the NHRA. Pontiac took over event title sponsorship, renaming it the Pontiac Excitement Nationals and later the Pontiac Performance Nationals.
In 2010 the NHRA still held ownership of the facility. Shelby Development, LLC purchased the track in 2017; that company also owned Heartland Motorsports Park in Kansas. Jay Livingston became general manager and co-owner. Big Ambitions, LLC acquired the property in 2019 with Livingston as sole owner. The International Hot Rod Association became the new owner in April 2025.
Beyond the Springnationals era, the facility has hosted the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the NMRA, the Buick Nationals, the Mopar Nationals, the Night of Thunder jet-car and wheelstander show, the NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, and PDRA events as a member track of the Professional Drag Racers Association's eighth-mile outlaw door-slammer circuit.