Opened in 1962, Sandown International Raceway made an immediate splash when it brought in the world's premier drivers for the Sandown International Cup that March. Jack Brabham, John Surtees, and Bruce McLaren comprised the inaugural podium for the open-wheel race, while names like Stirling Moss and Jim Clark were also on the entry list. The track held its original layout until 1984, when an infield section was added to meet minimum track length requirements to host World Sportscar Championship events; eventually, that layout evolved into the current 13-turn, 1.928-mile (3.104 km) course used today.

The Sandown 500 is the track's premier event, contested by numerous divisions since its first running as a six-hour race in 1964 and currently raced by the Supercars championship. The track also hosted six occurrences of the Australian Grand Prix before the event joined the World Driver's Championship calendar. Currently, Sandown hosts five event weekends per year, comprised of both modern and historic sports car and open-wheel racing machinery.