The first ever meeting was held at Funabashi in 1950, but the more traditional speedway and flat track dirt surfaces were banned by the government in the 1960s because they were considered too dangerous.

This is designed to prevent race fixing, which scandalised the sport during the years when it was taken over by the yakuza, most notably the Black Mist Scandal where NPB players and flat track racers conspired to manipulate races; as a result, crowds dwindled and it was saved when a motorcycle federation took it over in 1967.

The hard surface dictates riders lean round the corners rather similar to motorcycle road racing, than slide as in conventional Speedway, the sport from which Autorace was derived.

As in Speedway, the bikes have no brakes and are designed with the left handlebar higher than the right in order to help maintain stability while leaning the machine on the banked oval circuit.

[citation needed] The sport also spawned a manga called Speed Star, written by Shinya Iihashi and serialized in Young King from 2005 to 2007.