Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) is a semi-inactive racetrack in the Colorado Springs area within the city limits of Fountain, Colorado. The speedway hosted races in several series including the Indy Racing League and two NASCAR series (Busch and Truck) until operations were suspended from August 2005. A wide variety of amateur racing groups use PPIR for racing and training as the circuit is now closed to sanctioned professional auto racing due to the purchase of the track by PPIR LLC from NASCAR/ISC in 2008 after the track was put up for sale in 2006. The sale included a clause that prohibited sanctioned professional auto racing, as well as the need for additional safety upgrades at a cost of $1 million+ for professional racing series that the new ownership had no interest in implementing with the clause in place. On May 19, 2026, it was announced that the 2026 season was the final year for the track, as the property is planned for mixed-use redevelopment.

By October 12, 1997, it was "the fastest 1-mile paved oval anywhere".

History

Racing in the Pikes Peak Region included 19th century horse tracks (e.g., to the west of Colorado Springs' Palmer House along Fountain Creek by 1882 (image link to the Library of Congress) and to the north by 1903, the "Roswell Racing Park"), Chapters: The Giles Classified Business Directory of Colorado Springs [p. 559] … of Colorado City [p. 715] … of Manitou [p. 755] and the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb started in 1916 on the 1915 Pikes Peak Highway. In 1938, a track was north of the Alexander Aircraft factory and another was to the factory's southeast at the south end of the Nichols Field taxiway. On the Pike's Peak Ocean-to-Occan Highway west of the city was the end of the 1951 Colorado sports car rally (terminus at the Crystola Inn), ("on the Ute Pass above Colorado Springs") a 1953 dirt dragstrip "some four miles east of Colorado Springs" was used for "the first statewide drag race", and a stock car track was along Powers Road in the early 1960s. The "last local track" for auto racing east of the city through the late 1970s was the Colorado Springs International Speedway which "had crowds in the 3,000-4,000 range on summer weekends". The Platte Avenue go-kart track closed , the greyhound track closed and is now an off track betting facility, and the Olympic velodrome in Memorial Park is one of the remaining racing venues within the city.

Pikes Peak Meadows Pikes Peak Meadows was a dirt horse racing track facility opened in 1964 south of Colorado Springs and north of Pueblo, Colorado, with a large, blue, covered grandstand on the west. After its horse racing ended in 1993, C. C. Myers "announced plans in May 1996 to build a major auto racing facility" at Pikes Peak Meadows.

Speedway development In 1997, "Apollo Real Estate Advisors LP formed a joint venture January 30 with Raceway Associates, a partnership headed by California contractor and developer C.C. Myers Inc, to own and run the 1,300-acre" speedway complex. The asphalt track was constructed below the "normal ground level", C.C. Myers planned "to get a big-time NASCAR race in 1998", and the facility had an open house for the local community on May 31, 1997. The first race's attendance (June 8) was 16,810, the Richard Petty Driving Experience used PPIR from July 2–17, the first IRL Series race on June 28 was televised, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN2ih-Lmirk 1997 IRL Race TV Broadcast and a NASCAR Winston West 500K race was held in July 1997.

International Speedway Corporation

Earlier in 1996, a competing track near Denver in Adams County, Colorado was attempted by Penske Motorsports, Inc. which merged in 1999 with the International Speedway Corporation. In 2002 ISC gained "the right of first refusal should PPIR owners decide to sell their 1,200-acre complex" and in October 2005 for $11 million, "bought out the owners of Pikes Peak International Raceway" (racing operations were suspended and the scoreboard was moved to Texas Motor Speedway.) In 2006, meetings "between attorneys representing [Commerce City, near Denver] and International Speedway Corporation" were conducted before ISC "announced in February that it was eyeing land in Commerce City as well as eastern Aurora for the track. It envision[ed] a $360 million to $400 million track and stadium that could hold 75,000 to 80,000 fans." A new opposition group, Commerce City Citizens and Business Alliance, endorsed anti-raceway candidates which won local elections, and in May 1997 "ISC executive Wesley Harris said the 1,300-acre parcel the company was considering near Denver International Airport was not compatible with its needs". ISC sold PPIR in November 2006 (the purchase closed in the first quarter of 2007), and PPIR operations resumed in 2008.

Series and Races On December 6, 2012, USAC announced that PPIR would be on the 2013 USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series schedule.2013 Silver Crown Schedule Pikes Peak International Raceway would host the richest event in SRL Southwest Tour history as announced on April 23, 2013.

PPIR previously held the largest autocross racing series in the Rocky Mountain Region, PPIR Time Attack. The series consisted of 8-10 races per year on varying courses on the infield of the track. Courses ran from 40 seconds to 1 minute 5 seconds with competitors taking five runs to best their times. The series is based on weight to power and drivetrain classes, including front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, all-wheel drive and a XX class for non-conforming cars or non-street-legal cars.

Track closure On May 19, 2026, it was announced that the 2026 racing season was the final year for the track, as the property is planned for mixed-use redevelopment.

Events Current PPIR currently hosts a variety of grassroots motorsports events including, SCCA Solo (Autocross), time trials, National Auto Sport Association (NASA) events, as well as local enthusiast events such as track days, drifting, festivals, and car shows.

Former NASCAR Busch Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series + Truck Series Race Winners Date Race Name Driver Team Manufacture May 16, 1998 Tempus Resorts 300K 16 Ron Hornaday Jr. DEI Chevrolet May 16, 1999 NAPA 300K 2 Mike Wallace Ultra Ford May 21, 2000 Grainger.com 200 50 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford May 20, 2001 Jelly Belly 200 18 Joe Ruttman Bobby Hamilton Dodge May 19, 2002 Rocky Mountain 200 16 Mike Bliss Xpress Chevrolet

Indy Racing League + IRL Race Winners Date Race Name Driver Team Manufacture Engine June 29, 1997 Samsonite 200 Tony Stewart Menard G-Force Oldsmobile August 29, 1998 Radisson 200 Kenny Bräck Foyt Dallara Oldsmobile August 29, 1999 Radisson 200 Greg Ray Menard Dallara Oldsmobile June 18, 2000 Radisson 200 Eddie Cheever Cheever Dallara Infiniti June 17, 2001 Radisson Indy 200 Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Dallara Oldsmobile June 16, 2002 Radisson Indy 225 Gil de Ferran Penske Dallara Chevrolet June 15, 2003 Honda Indy 225 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Toyota August 22, 2004 Honda Indy 225 Dario Franchitti Andretti Dallara Honda August 21, 2005 Honda Indy 225 Dan Wheldon Andretti Dallara Honda

Lap records

As of September 2015, the fastest official race lap records at Pikes Peak International Raceway are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent Road Course (1997–2026): WSC 0:49.238 Andrea Montermini Ferrari 333 SP 1997 Festival of Road Racing Trans-Am 0:52.575 Tommy Kendall Ford Mustang Trans-Am 1997 Pikes Peak Trans-Am round Formula Lites 0:54.570 Vinicius Papareli Crawford FL15 2015 Pikes Peak Formula Lites round Superbike 0:54.748 Eric Bostrom Ducati 999R 2004 Pikes Peak AMA Superbike round Supersport 0:55.458 Jake Zemke Honda CBR600RR 2005 Pikes Peak AMA Supersport round Ferrari Challenge 0:58.207 Chris Cox Ferrari 360 Challenge 2000 Pikes Peak Ferrari Challenge North America round D-Shaped Oval (1997–2026): IndyCar 0:20.7067 Tony Kanaan Dallara IR-03 2003 Honda Indy 225 Indy Lights 0:23.9174 Paul Dana Dallara IPS 2004 Pikes Peak 100 Star Mazda 0:26.187 Graham Rahal Star Formula Mazda 'Pro' 2005 Pikes Peak Star Mazda round

References

External links