A YouTuber exploring Kentucky Speedway, which hasn’t hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race since 2020, found something unexpected sitting in one of the track’s garages: a NASCAR stock car.
The YouTuber, who runs the channel DecayingMidwest, was checking out the largely unused racetrack when he stumbled across a yellow-and-black No. 6 stock car with Trevor Bayne’s name above the door, covered in dust.
“Holy god,” he said in his video. “Yo, I cannot believe this is in here.”
The car still had its Goodyear tires, racing dashboard and gear shifter, all intact.
“It’s got the net. The freaking net. That’s the safety net,” he said while inspecting the car.
He also noticed something a little unusual for a NASCAR race car. It had a passenger seat.
“This is the coolest thing ever,” he said. “I’m so glad I checked these.”
The Mystery NASCAR Car Has An Interesting History
According to The Drive, the car features the Performance Plus Motor Oil paint scheme he used during the 2016 and 2017 NASCAR seasons. Bayne, who won the 2011 Daytona 500, drove the No. 6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.
However, the car found inside Kentucky Speedway appears to be a retired stock car used by the NASCAR Racing Experience, wrapped to look like Trevor Bayne’s car. That explains the passenger seat; those cars gave customers rides around NASCAR tracks.
The discovery is somewhat reminiscent of another YouTube video featuring an actual 2002 Dale Earnhardt Jr. race car that had been sitting at a different racing facility, Pikes Peak International Raceway, for years. Pikes Peak, in Fountain, Colorado, has been open and closed several times since 1997. In May, it was stated that the track’s 2026 season would be its last, as the land would be converted into a mixed-use redevelopment.
Kentucky Speedway Isn’t Actually Abandoned
Kentucky Speedway may look like a deserted island, but Speedway Motorsports, LLC still owns it. The company also owns speedways in Atlanta, Bristol (TN), Charlotte, Dover, Las Vegas, Nashville, New Hampshire, North Wilkesboro (NC), Sonoma (CA), and Fort Worth.
Speedway Motorsports purchased Kentucky Speedway in 2008, and in 2011, the track got its first top-tier NASCAR race. After the 2020 season, NASCAR moved its date to Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The track was then used for driving experiences through 2024 and has been used to store thousands of Ford trucks.
In fact, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office warned people in 2025 that entering the property without permission is trespassing. When videos of the allegedly abandoned facility began circulating online, dozens of people were charged.
While exploring, the YouTuber also found old track signs, piles of Goodyear tires and other racing equipment.
“This whole thing used to be full of race cars,” he said. “What an incredible place, man.”