George Montgomery and Bud Stall cleared the racetrack through a wooded area on the south side of North Long Lake.

[2] It was also an NHRA-sanctioned track, with the first official event there an NHRA race, at the opening; Top Fuel Dragster was won by Doc Halladay.

[3] With the help of St Paul sports promoter Dennis Scanlan, it hosted a 2-heat USAC Indy Car race in 1969.

In the 1970s, the Donnybrooke track began holding Funny Car events, in particular the Crown Auto Funny Car Championships, and in time, NHRA was convinced to stage a national event at Brainerd: in 1982, Shirley Muldowney (in Top Fuel Dragster), Frank Hawley (Top Fuel Funny Car), and Lee Shepherd (Pro Stock) were the headline winners at the first Quaker State North Star NHRA Nationals.

[8] In 2005, Tony Schumacher turned in a speed of 337.58 mph (543.28 km/h), "the fastest quarter-mile time ever",[9] and in 2016 and 2017, national NHRA records in Funny Car were set there.

In the summer of 2006, Jed and Kristi Copham of Forest Lake, Minnesota,became the new owners of Brainerd International Raceway.

The dragstrip dates back to 1969, when Donnybrooke converted the mile-long straightaway on its road course to a drag strip and hosted an NHRA Divisional Points Race.

Tony Schumacher, set the world record for top fuel dragsters with a 337.58 mph (543.28 km/h) run in 2005.

[13] As of June 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Brainerd International Raceway for different classes are listed as: