The Short Track Coffee Story

For us, community lives under the lights of a local short track.

My love for short track racing began in the early 1980s. Every Saturday night, my father loaded my two brothers and me into the car and headed to historic Macon Speedway in Illinois. Macon: if you know, you know. 

Those nights taught me that short track racing is about more than cars. It is about families, friendships, traditions, and the people who keep local racing alive.

After serving 34 years as a logistician in the United States Army, I retired with a deep appreciation for the importance of community. Throughout my military career, coffee was part of the routine. Before sunrise, after long days, and during difficult moments, people gathered around a cup and talked.

After retirement, I began traveling extensively to short tracks again.

At one race, I looked around at the fans, crews, drivers, officials, volunteers, and track workers and realized something: I had found a community I wanted to be part of again.

I did not just want to attend races. I wanted to contribute to the culture and help tell the stories of the people keeping grassroots racing alive.

That realization became Short Track Coffee.

We tell racing stories, celebrate local tracks, and offer coffee that already feels at home in the experience.

Short Track Coffee is veteran-owned, but it is built around America’s grassroots racing community.

Every bag celebrates the racers, crews, officials, track owners, sponsors, volunteers, photographers, concession workers, and loyal fans who make race nights possible.

Whether you are heading to the track before the gates open, sitting in the grandstands under the lights, working on your car on a late night, or enjoying a quiet cup at home, we hope Short Track Coffee keeps you connected to the culture that makes local racing special.

Thank you for being part of the story.

See you at the track.

David Thompson
Chief Racing Fan & Founder
Short Track Coffee Company
coffee@shorttrackcoffee.com