The facility opened in 1994 and immediately entered top-tier American drag racing by hosting the NHRA Virginia NHRA Nationals. The track remained an NHRA venue through the 2000s before switching to the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) beginning in 2010. It returned to NHRA sanctioning in 2012.
A significant change came on 30 January 2018, when NHRA announced that a professional national event would return to Virginia Motorsports Park. The move was triggered by the NHRA Summernationals relocating from Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, after that facility cancelled all drag racing operations. The first Virginia NHRA Nationals under the reinstated arrangement took place in early June 2018. That event ran for two seasons before NHRA removed it on 25 March 2020 as part of a schedule reduction to nineteen events prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Virginia NHRA Nationals returned in May 2022. It was not held in 2023 but returned to the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule in 2024, with the event scheduled again for 20–22 June 2025.
Tommy and Judy Franklin purchased Virginia Motorsports Park in 2017. Tommy Franklin is also one of the co-founders of the Professional Drag Racers Association, a regional sanctioning body for professional eighth-mile doorslammer racing. VMP is a PDRA member track; its Pro Modified classes are divided by power-adder type — turbocharger/supercharger, nitrous oxide, and an entry-level 632ci limit format — while the Pro Stock class runs Mountain Motor specification. The facility has hosted the PDRA Brian Olson Memorial World Finals since October 2019, establishing it as a key destination on the PDRA calendar.
The concrete surface has produced some of the quickest times recorded at the facility during the renewed NHRA era. In Top Fuel, Brittany Force holds both the elapsed time record (3.654 seconds) and the speed record (335.82 mph / 540.45 km/h), both set at the 2022 Virginia NHRA Nationals. The Funny Car elapsed time record also belongs to the 2022 event, with Matt Hagan running 3.853 seconds and reaching 335.82 mph. In the Pro Stock Motorcycle category, Gaige Herrera set the elapsed time benchmark of 6.703 seconds at the 2024 Virginia NHRA Nationals, while Angie Smith holds the speed record at 201.37 mph (324.07 km/h), also from 2022.
In addition to the main dragstrip, the property includes a dirt track alongside the pavement that hosts tractor pulling, motocross, and other motorsport events. The facility also serves as the venue for the annual Dinwiddie County Fair each October, making it a multi-purpose destination for the local community beyond professional drag racing weekends.