The site's racing history predates the current oval. St. Louis International Raceway was established on the property in 1967 as a drag racing facility by Wayne and Ruth Meinert, built on dormant swampland near the Mississippi River — earning it the nickname The Swamp. A full quarter-mile drag strip was operational by 1971. In 1985, a road course was added by then-owner Jody Trover with 2.600-mile and 1.010-mile configurations; ARCA, IMSA, and the Trans-Am Series all raced there in the inaugural year.
In 1994, Long Beach Grand Prix promoter Chris Pook acquired the facility for $21.5 million. The original tracks were demolished across 1995 and 1996, and a new oval and drag strip were constructed at a cost of $25 million. The revitalised venue, renamed Gateway International Raceway, opened in 1997.
The 1.250-mile oval features different banking radii in each pair of corners: Turns 1 and 2 are tighter, constrained by the path of Illinois Route 203 along the backstretch, while Turns 3 and 4 are banked at a wider radius. This asymmetry gives the track an egg-like shape comparable to Darlington Raceway, offering a different handling challenge in each half of the circuit.
In 1998, Dover Motorsports purchased the facility, also owning venues including Nashville Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway. The group ceased Gateway's operations on 3 November 2010 when it could not sustain the venue commercially. On 8 September 2011, local St. Louis real estate developer and former Indy Lights driver Curtis Francois re-opened the facility, renaming it Gateway Motorsports Park and ultimately completing the purchase on 1 May 2013. In April 2019, technology company World Wide Technology acquired naming rights, giving the track its current name.
The first major race at the modern facility was a CART Championship Series event held on 24 May 1997, timed deliberately the day before the Indianapolis 500 to provide an open-wheel alternative without direct conflict. CART returned annually until 2001, when the race switched to the Indy Racing League. After declining attendance, the IRL event was dropped after 2003. The IndyCar Series returned in 2017 for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, following a multimillion-dollar oval resurfacing project earlier that season. The race has continued since, and in August 2021 IndyCar announced a renewed five-year contract with the venue. The 2021 event also saw former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean make his first oval start.
At the conclusion of the 2023 race, Scott Dixon won by a margin of 22.2256 seconds, breaking the previous record margin held by Juan Pablo Montoya from 2000.
In September 2021, it was announced that the NASCAR Cup Series would visit World Wide Technology Raceway for the first time, with the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 held on 5 June 2022 — the event sold out, a first in the track's history. In August 2024, the NASCAR Cup Series date was moved from June to September, placing it within the Round of 16 of the Cup Series Playoffs. The NASCAR Xfinity Series also announced a return to the track in 2025 for the first time since 2010.
During qualifying for the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300, Michael McDowell set a new Cup Series track record with a lap of 32.318 seconds at 139.241 mph.
The NHRA has held its annual Midwest Nationals at the facility since 1997. A landmark moment came at the 2008 event when John Force secured his 1,000th competitive round win on his 59th birthday. The 2004 event was marked by the death of Top Fuel driver Darrell Russell in a second-round crash; one of the drag strip grandstands bears his name. In 2025, Brittany Force set a venue speed record of 340.47 mph in Top Fuel.
The infield road course, expanded in June 2019 to a 2.000-mile configuration incorporating Turns 1 and 2 of the oval, hosts Formula Drift and Trans-Am Series events. During winter months the oval infield is converted to a drive-through Christmas light display.