Waning Sands Speedway

A dilapidated but operational dirt oval track in Waning Sands, home to weekly stock car races, demolition derbies, and a subculture of racing regulars held together by grudge and gasoline.

Waning Sands Speedway is exactly the kind of weather-beaten dirt oval that American racing was built on — a half-mile circuit of packed clay carved into the desert floor, surrounded by a wooden grandstand that's been structurally unsound for three decades without actually collapsing. The Friday night stock car series has been running since 1978 with a rotating cast of racers who work day jobs in Ambrosia and Kelly and build cars in their barns from whatever they can weld together. The monthly demolition derby is the track's signature event and draws crowds from as far as Vice City, mostly for the pure destructive joy of watching cars rendered into origami in real time. The adjoining drag strip is open to anyone with a valid license, a running vehicle, and a chip on their shoulder, and at any given weekend a solid 40% of the racing there is settling personal arguments with horsepower.