The spirit and energy of a community are legible in the landscapes it creates. In the years following World War II a significant social and physical landscape developed in the communities of Southwest and Western Virginia - the Virginia speedways. The speedways’ featured event, stock car racing, quickly carried the special spirit and energy of the mountain region throughout the Commonwealth. The Virginia Speedways Project is dedicated to understanding the Virginia speedways as a significant physical and social Virginia landscape neglected in contemporary scholarship. This on-going research is documenting the lost landscape of Virginia’s early speedways and fairgrounds, their relationship to the Good Roads Movement and automobiles role in changing experience and perceptions of the landscape. The research is revealing the Virginia speedways as active, energized gathering places, deeply rooted in their communities. Rooted in their communities through strong family ties, the speedways served an important community social and recreational gathering places. The remaining Virginia speedways are landscapes of community pride, social intercourse, ritual, and entertainment. The Virginia Speedways Project is revealing the sites, energy and spirit of the speedways to be a significant contemporary layer of the Virginia landscape, a regional landscape of historical importance and significant economic impact.