Avalon Raceway, a 390-metre clay-sand oval dirt track in Lara, Victoria (near Geelong), opened in November 1976. Brothers Doug and Norm Drew—local drivers—built it on Old Melbourne Road after Torquay Speedway closed, fulfilling a need for a regional venue. It was officially opened by Corio Shire president Mike Parks and has a capacity of about 10,000.
Early years featured motorcycle speedway as the main draw. World champions Ole Olsen, Ivan Mauger and Barry Briggs competed against Australians including Phil Crump, while sidecars proved popular; the track hosted the 1980 Australian Sidecar Championship and multiple Victorian titles.
In the early 1990s, increased clay content in the surface ended bike racing and suited sprintcars, which had dominated Australian speedway since the late 1970s. Avalon became a regular World Series Sprintcars venue and hosted the Australian Speedcar Grand Prix from 2003 to 2010. Other longstanding events include the Presidents Cup, Easter Sprintcar Trail, Invitational Jackpot, K-Rock Cup (Super Sedans), West Coast Classic and various national championships. The outright lap record (10.930 seconds) was set by Steven Lines in a 410 sprintcar on 12 November 2011.
Still family-linked and operated by Corio Park Pty Ltd, Avalon continues as one of Victoria’s major speedway complexes. It hosts multiple classes (sprintcars, speedcars, super sedans, street stocks, modifieds and more) and plans 2026–27 events marking 50 years of racing.