Paul Amidon was a crewman working area racing events when, in 1958, he decided to build his own racetrack on land he owned at the outskirts of Hornell, New York.[1] The track opened in 1959 with a lack of race car entries and a rough and dusty track surface. Amidon quickly switched to hosting the more popular “B-Class” (sportsman) and “Modern” (hobby stock) cars, and resolved the track surface issues.[2]
The Hornell region was a significant repair and maintenance center for the railroad, with a massive railroad yard and repair shops that were among the largest in the country at the time.[3] Many race spectators were on train crews that were subject to short notice calls to work. To accommodate them Amidon installed a telephone in the announcer booth so that the train dispatcher could have crew members paged.[1]
Racing continued through the 1965 season, after which Amidon had the property restored for farming operations.[1][4][5]