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The Abandoned Sierra Mesa National Raceway

It's not often that I write about something that isn't macabre or death-related, but this always interested me. I do have an affinity for the abandoned. The skeletal remnants of those who came before us, so well preserved, as if suspended in time. I love these bits of Yuba-Sutter culture that still exist, even if defunct. One such thing is the "ghost" of the Sierra Mesa National Raceway, just off  Highway 20, 9 miles east of Marysville in Browns Valley. 

Many people pass by it every day, none the wiser to its existence or its history.


Photo Credit - "13clicks, found @ Jalopy Journal"

According to NA Motorsports, Sierra Mesa was described as "A 3/8 mile dirt oval (Other say 1/2 mile, and later asphalted in 1972) operated in 1970 and 1971. The 1/2 mile paved oval operated from about 5/1/1972 to 10/14/1973"

The remains of the track are on the south side of CA 20 about a mile west of the marked location on the map. It's interesting because if you look at the overgrown oval, you can see "Pit Lane" on its west side.


Looking at the image from Google Earth, it denotes that this was the "First Paved Oval Race Track On the West Coast". The accuracy of this is debated on race forums.

Photo from Sierra Mesa National Raceway

The track was used twice in 1972 to host two Nascar events. 

1972 Sierra Mesa 100
(Photos Courtesy of Racing References)



Winner - Ray Elder, 71 Dodge, Carruthers, CA
Miles - 50 
Laps - 29
Speed - 66.666






 Winner- Jack McCoy, '72 Dodge, Modesto, CA
Miles- 100
Laps- 3
Speed- 80.000  

(Roy Elder came in second on this day)
Elder and McCoy head-to-head at Ascot Park, Ca
Source NW Stock Car Racing


Seeing that this racetrack was obviously home to a few high profile events, one can't help but wonder why it was shut down, putting it out to pasture? (See what I did there? *nudge nudge*)

According to a 2013 Appeal-Democrat news article, about the possibilities of a new raceway in Yuba County, it says, "that paved venue, parts of which can still be seen off Highway 20, didn't have lights, and the heat during the summer kept fans away for the most part until the track closed in 1974."

On another racing forum, another racing enthusiast named Jerry Burns recalls of the raceway, "I remember that an irrigation canal ran through the track and you cross it on a wooden bridge that was part of the track." Looking at the layout of the land, and the patches of greenery just around the track when the hills have gone golden, I believe it.



Sierra Mesa Grand Prix Motocross

The raceway also had a Moto-cross track that zigzagged through the hillside just above the oval. (photos below)


Sierra Mesa Grand Prix Motocross Map and Brochure photo Credits to Dave Coupe' on Facebook.

Sierra Mesa National Raceway




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  1. UnknownAugust 3, 2019 at 4:09 AM

    Hello. My name is Lance. I live in Reno You wouldn't happen to know who and/or how I might be able to contact so I may gain permission to access the property on which Sierra Mesa Natonal Raceway is locatedon one of my trips to go see my mother in Wheatland

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  2. t_niffJanuary 15, 2020 at 5:53 AM

    From what I have been told. The land owner has no interest or intention about letting people explore the site. It's an insurance nightmare apparently. That is also why you see the cuts across the track. It was done to make sure no one drove on it. Because it was too expensive to remove.

    ReplyDelete
  3. t_niffJanuary 15, 2020 at 5:56 AM

    My father built and ran Sierra Mesa. If I was wrong about it being the first paved race track on the West Coast. I'm sorry. See I was the one that added that marker along with the name.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownMarch 9, 2020 at 10:08 PM

    My Dad Ed Brown from Meridian Ca also raced on that track. He was listed in the paper as the local hero

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMay 31, 2020 at 3:35 PM

    Such a shame it's just sitting there

    ReplyDelete

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