County Land Preservation Effort Could Secure New Egypt’s Future As A Speedway

(Excerpts Of Story by Len Sammons that was published in Tuesday, March 3, 2026 edition of the Area Auto Racing News)

The outlook for auto racing this season at New Jersey’s New Egypt Speedway is bleak, but owner Fred Vahlsing is offering a measure of hope. In a phone interview Friday with Area Auto Racing News, Vahlsing said securing the long-term future of racing at the Route 539 facility remains his top priority before any potential sale to new ownership.
“I don’t see a season coming to fruition at all this year, but I can see a future,” said Vahlsing.
“The County (Ocean) is interested in preserving it as a speedway. They wrote me a letter recently, and I filled out the application and sent it back, but that will take six to eight months. If they do preserve it, there will definitely be racing there next year.”
Owner Willing to Take Less Money To Keep Speedway Tradition Alive
Vahlsing co-purchased the 80-year-old raceway 19 years ago as an investment and later took full ownership. A nearby business owner, Vahlsing, had little to no interest in racing at the time, but he’s kept it alive for nearly two decades with a host of different general managers handling the day-to-day operation.
“It’s my goal to sell it as a race track, but I’ve been trying for three years without success. When the County read the articles in the Asbury Park Press, they came to the realization that I was going to sell it, maybe for light industrial or something else other than a race track, and they sent me the application,” said Vahlsing.
“What I envision is that they’ll do something to keep it as a speedway, and then people need to come out and support it, something that hasn’t happened in recent years. There are those who do support the track, but not enough. Other local tracks are not getting the support they need either to survive.”
Last season, New Egypt opened an aggressive schedule on the 7/16th-mile D-shaped clay speedway with the Super DIRTcar big-block Modified Series on March 29.
This year, it appears the speedway will remain dormant. Vahlsing wasn’t asking for the track to make money, just to pay the bills, but it didn’t happen.
The 2025 season ended on a downer. A two-day All-Star event in late September was rain-shortened despite an effort by officials and racers to dry the track numerous times.
The headline 50-lap Modified feature and Sportsman features were rescheduled to the day before this year’s Super DIRTcar Series opener at the end of March. That event was removed from the schedule after the first of the year when Vahlsing decided he would not open the speedway this season.
After looking over the year-end report, Vahlsing decided in January to keep the gates closed until the property was sold. After several recent visits by potential purchasers interested in keeping the facility as a speedway with no takers, it was listed by a real estate company for $8.5 million.
“They’ve listed it in different ways, trying to get someone involved in racing, or someone who wants to get involved in owning a speedway interested,” said Vahlsing.
“People have looked at it, but then they realize how much has to go into running it. I’ve not had one offer. I’ve talked to a few, showed them what you had to do, but no offers.”
$8.5 Million Price Tag Scared Buyers
Potential buyers with a racing background have said the sale price is simply too risky for their own financial stability going forward. While Vahlsing has said he’s willing to drop the price for someone who would commit in writing to keeping the speedway, even a reduced price was still too much to get a signature on a sales document.
Should the County restrict the property’s use to auto racing, it would, in a sense, narrow the pool of potential buyers for Vahlsing, but at the same time make the sale price more reasonable to those wishing to become owners of a dirt speedway.
“I’m willing to take a discount price. I’ll take the hit to keep it as a speedway,” said Vahlsing.
“If people want it for something else and are going to make big money on it, then screw them — I want all my money,” said Vahlsing.
“But if the County preserves the speedway, pays four or five for it, I can then sell it to someone who wants a speedway for a couple of million. I want to see someone come in here and get it back open and make money doing it.”
Vahlco Wheels Also Listed For Sale
In the interest of retiring at some point in the near future to his second home in Florida, Vahlsing has recently listed Vahlco for sale as well.
“Vahlco is a really good deal. For $2½ million, someone gets all the equipment, designs, and inventory. It’s a really good product — the best racing wheels out there. We sell all over the world. The sale price is cheap. The wheel business does really well. I’m just getting old,” said Vahlsing.