The track was constructed in 1958 on a small rural potato farm owned by attorney Marvin Drucker. After hosting dirt track events in the 1950s and early 1960s, the course was paved in 1962 at a length of just over 1 mile (2 km). Despite the improvements, the track drifted into decline and was considered to be in "ghost-track status" by the late 1960s.
Revival came in 1970 when track manager John McGill formed Mahoning Valley Motorsports to take over operations. Funded by sponsorship from Gulf Oil, the track's length was nearly doubled to the current 2 miles (3 km). McGill transformed Nelson Ledges into a pioneering facility for amateur racing, introducing programs that became standard across the country — tire barriers, driver schools, member days, and showroom stock endurance racing.
Nelson Ledges holds the distinction of being the first circuit in the United States to be completely covered by tire walls. The close proximity of Goodyear's Akron manufacturing facility made tires cheap and plentiful, and founder Marvin Drucker recognized the opportunity to dramatically improve crash protection by stacking tires around the perimeter of turns. The innovation spread rapidly to other tracks across America.
The track pioneered endurance racing formats that became central to American amateur motorsport. In 1968, Nelson Ledges hosted its first 24-hour race, the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges, which at the time was the only continuous 24-hour motorcycle race in the United States.
In 1980, the circuit hosted the inaugural Longest Day of Nelson, a 24-hour automobile endurance race in which teams of two or more drivers race showroom stock cars continuously. The event is widely credited with effectively inventing showroom stock endurance racing as a format, which spread to tracks around the country in subsequent years.
Both events ran continuously for years before the track fell into neglect in the mid-1990s. By 1997, track manager McGill described the surface as "too trashed" to host the Longest Day of Nelson, and the 24-hour motorcycle race was also discontinued. The track subsequently lost its SCCA certification.
From 1975 to 1977, Nelson Ledges Road Course served as a stop on the Trans-Am Series, hosting top-level professional sports car racing on its challenging layout. The circuit's compact but technical character made it a demanding venue for competitive racing.
In 2003, management of the track was handed over by John McGill to his son and daughter, Scott and Kerrie Lane. Numerous upgrades were undertaken to restore the facility from its derelict state, and the circuit gradually returned to active racing.
Following the death of founder Marvin Drucker in 2015, the track was purchased by real estate investors Brian Ross and Brian Ross Jr. Under current owner Brian Ross Jr., the facility has seen major new investment. In 2018, the ChampCar Endurance Series returned to Nelson Ledges for the ChampCar Summer of 24s, and the track was repaved with the pit lane upgraded to handle around-the-clock racing.
The Sports Car Club of America recertified the course in 2020 and sanctioned two events including the Nelson 24. Plans were announced to revive the Longest Day of Nelson in 2021 as an SCCA-sanctioned event; the race was postponed and rescheduled for 2022.
John McGill's contributions to American club racing were formally recognized by the Sports Car Club of America in 1975, when the organization created the John McGill Award in his honor. The award is still given annually to recognize significant contributions to the SCCA Club Racing Program, cementing the legacy of the work done at Nelson Ledges in shaping the broader landscape of American amateur motorsport.
The track also hosts car control and safety clinics alongside its racing events, continuing the educational mission that McGill and Drucker established during the circuit's formative years.