Brakes put on SI speedway.

International Speedway Corporation has halted plans to build a 82,000-seat NASCAR racetrack on Staten Island after years of resisting fierce political opposition.

Community members opposed the racetrack on the grounds that the 450 acre site might be contaminated and that it might draw unwanted automobile traffic to the island, issues which overcoming would have added significant financial challenges, said Lenny Santiago, spokesperson for ICS.

ICS had projected the track would add sorely needed jobs and over $250 million to the economy every year. However, ICS has not given up on the idea of building a New York track.

"We are going to continue our efforts to search for a site to build a speedway in the New York market similar to the one we had planned for on Staten Island, though it may have to be tweaked somewhat in some other way to fit the site," Santiago said.

Likewise, construction work that began in 2005 bringing landfill to the Staten Island site will continue as ICS tries to determine whether to sell part or all of the property to another developer, Santiago said.