Firebird Raceway

Firebird Raceway is a motorsport facility in Ada County, Idaho, designed for drag racing and motorcycle competitions. It features a straight racing strip with spectator areas alongside the track where visitors can watch high-speed events unfold.

The track was established in 1968 by Bill New and his wife Ellanor, quickly becoming a center for drag racing in the region. Its recognition on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018 made it the first drag racing facility in the nation to receive this designation.

The annual NAPA Auto Parts Ignitor, a Top Fuel event, has run since 1971, and the Pepsi Nightfire Nationals since 1972; both remain fixtures of the track's calendar. Bob Riggle opened the venue on July 28, 1968, with a run in his Hurst Hemi Under Glass wheelstander, a car that lifted its front wheels off the strip.

The track sits just west of Highway 16 between Star and Emmett, at about 2,700 feet (825 m) elevation, so plan for high-desert heat on summer race days. Events cluster around the annual Ignitor and Pepsi Nightfire Nationals; check the schedule before travelling, as the venue is otherwise a working dragstrip rather than a daily attraction.

On opening day, July 28, 1968, Bob Riggle performed in his Hurst Hemi Under Glass, a Plymouth Barracuda with its engine moved to the rear so it could rear up on its back wheels. The raceway was incorporated on May 11, 1968 by Ronald Ashley, J.S. Chapman and J.W. Korn, and has stayed in the New family's hands since Bill and Ellanor New took over its management.