Fairgrounds Speedway

Fairgrounds Speedway

1911 Race at Tennessee Fairgrounds
Location	Nashville, Tennessee
Capacity	15,000
Owner	Tennessee State Fairgrounds
Operator	Bobby Hamilton, Jr. and Chad Chaffin
Broke ground	1904 , 1958
Opened	1904
Former names	Music City Motorplex Nashville Speedway USA Nashville Motor Raceway Nashville Motor Speedway Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville Nashville International Raceway
Major events	CRA Super Series All-American 400 NASCAR Busch East Series 150 Whelen Southern Modified Tour
Oval
Length	0.596 mi (0.959 km)
Banking	Turns - 18 degrees Straights - 3 degrees

Fairgrounds Speedway is a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racetrack located at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The track is one of the oldest tracks in the United States. The track held NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) races from 1958 to 1984. Major feature and touring series winners at the track win a guitar.

Track configuration

The speedway is currently an 18 degree banked paved oval. The track is 0.596-mile (0.959 km) long. Inside the larger oval is a quarter-mile paved oval.

The track was converted to a half-mile paved oval in 1957, when its began to be a NASCAR series track. The speedway was lengthened between the 1969 and 1970 seasons. The corners were cut down from 35 degrees to their present 18 degrees in 1972. The track was repaved between the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

Track history

The track first featured "horseless carriages" and motorcycles on June 11, 1904 on a 1 1/8 (1.125) mile dirt oval. Races were canceled after a motorcycle ran in to the back of a car that was lining up. Harness (horse) racing events were also held at the track.

In September 1904 another series of races was organized. Most of the entrants came directly to Nashville from the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Racing pioneer Barney Oldfield was one of the entrants. People marveled at cars driving over 60 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour).

The track began holding annual events in September 1915 to coincide with the state fair. Many of the same drivers from the Indianapolis 500 brought their cars down to Nashville.

Local tracks sprange up and began running weekly Saturday night shows (collectively called the "Legion Bowl"), and the local racers competed at the track for the 1954 through 1957 State Fairs. In 1958 car racers decided to build a paved racetrack. The racers ended opposition from horse racers by building a horse track. The racers got a 10-year lease from the state fair board in order to build a paved 1/2 mile track which shared the frontstretch with a 1/4 mile track. On July 19, 1958, the first race was held at the new speedway. Races were held only on the 1/4 mile track (except for special events).

A 1959 NASCAR Grand National race of 200 laps in 1959 was unique; it was the first time an entire starting field (12 of 12 cars) finished the race, one of four instances it has happened in NASCAR Nextel Cup history. That would not happen again until 36 years later, when the entire field at the 1995 Tyson Holly Farms 400 finished the race.

The original cars (since 1948) were 1930s model cars called "Modified Specials". By 1964 the parts for cars were too hard to find, so the track changed to newer 1950s model cars called "Late Model Modifieds". Some of the early stars of the track decided to retire.

1960s

The 1960s also frequently brought drivers from outside Nashville, most notably the Alabama Gang. The Alabama Gang (from Hueytown, Alabama) included future NASCAR legends Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, and Nashville native Red Farmer.

Coo Coo Marlin was the first back-to-back champion in 1965/1966. 1968 champion P.B. Crowell decided to retire, and hired the talented young Darrell Waltrip to drive his car.

Several changes happened at the track in the 1960s. Lights were added to the 1/2 mile track in 1965, and races in the main division moved to the big track. A fire burned the grandstands at the 1965 State Fair. Weekly Tuesday night races were added, and fans were awed by the crazy Figure-8 drivers barely missing each other as they crossed each other's paths. New grandstands were built and the track was lengthened (and banked to 35 degrees) in 1969.

1970s

The bankings in the corners proved to be too fast, so the banking was reduce to 18 degrees. The new ownership decided to hold no weekly races in 1979.

The 1970s also featured talented drivers that would progress to NASCAR's highest division. Second generation drivers Sterling Marlin (son of Coo Coo) and Steve Spencer (NASCAR) Mike Alexander (NASCAR) (son of car owner R.C.) were all track champions. Alabama Gang member Jimmy Means took the track title home to Alabama in 1974 before he moved on to NASCAR's Winston Cup.

1980s

The track returned to hosting weekly races in 1980. In 1984, the top NASCAR series fielded its final race at the facility after disputes with city government and track management. The new headline division featured smaller Camaro-type bodies called "Late Model Stock Cars". The new division caught on slowly, and only 13 drivers competed in the first race. The division finally caught on in 1987. NASCAR stars that raced in 1987 or 1988 included Bobby Allison, Sterling Marlin, Mike Alexander, Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, and Dale Earnhardt. Third generation driver Bobby Hamilton won track championships in 1987 and 1988.

1990s

The 1990 season was dominated by Jeff Green. Mike Reynolds won the 1991 track championship. Mike Alexander won the 1992 track championship. Chad Chaffin won the 1993 and 1995 track championships. Andy Kirby won the 1994, 1996, and 1997 track championships. Joe Buford won the 1998 and 1999 track championships

In 1995, the track returned to the NASCAR circuit, hosting a yearly NASCAR Busch Series race and later, a yearly NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Those races would move to the new Nashville Superspeedway in 2001.

2000s

The track was renamed "Music City Motorplex" for 2004 by new promoter Joe Mattioli III, whose family owns Pocono Raceway and South Boston Speedway.

The 2007 schedule featured races in NASCAR's two regional series, including Grand National (Busch East) and a Whelen Modified (Southern) event.

In 2009, Music City Motorplex was to host an ARCA RE/MAX Series event on June 20, but it was announced on February 20, 2009 that the race would be moved to Mansfield Motorsports Park in Mansfield, Ohio^[1].

In 2009, the tracks prestigious All American 400 was canceled and not rescheduled because of severe rain and political issues with Nashville mayor Karl Dean, who has wanted the track and the Tennessee State Fairgrounds closed in order to redevelop the site. Controversy over the proposal has meant the track will race in 2010, although only with "major" events as the Champion Racing Association has taken control, with Tony Formosa holding rights to racing in 2010.

NASCAR Winston Cup track history

The track held at least one Cup race each year from 1958 to 1984.

A capacity crowd of 13,998 watched Joe Weatherly win the first NASCAR race on August 10, 1958.

Geoff Bodine beat Darrell Waltrip for his second career win in the last Winston Cup race at the track.

NASCAR left the track because the grandstands are too small, and because of a dispute over who would manage the track took place prior to the start of the 1985 season.

Of the 42 Cup races, Richard Petty has nine wins, with Darrell Waltrip right behind with eight wins. Waltrip won 5 of 6 races between 1981 and 1984. Waltrip's victory in the 1988 Busch Series event gives him the career best nine wins total at the track. Counting NASCAR, USAC, ASA, and local track races, Waltrip holds the all-time track record for wins with 67.

Busch Series events

The track held 9 Busch Series races in 1984, 1988, 1989, and from 1995 to 2000. The track was replaced on the schedule by the newly opened Nashville Superspeedway.

Craftsman Truck Series events

The track held 5 Craftsman Truck Series events between 1996 and 2000. The track was replaced on the schedule by the newly opened Nashville Superspeedway.

List of notable weekly drivers

The number and quality of former weekly drivers to reach the upper levels of NASCAR demonstrates how high the competition level must have been at the track, and the importance that the track has had to the sport.

Mike Alexander - 2 time track champion

Casey Atwood - 1996 Rookie of the Year

Bunkie Blackburn - regular weekly competitor

Joe Buford - 4 time track champion

Chad Chaffin - 2 time track champion

Mark Day - 2006 track champion

Jeff Green - 1 time champion

Bobby Hamilton - 2 time track champion (plus 2 time champion in a lower division)

Andy Kirby - 3 time track champion

Coo Coo Marlin - 4 time track champion

Steadman Marlin- Grandson of Coo Coo Marlin son of Sterling Marlin part time Busch series driver and part time Fairgrounds competitor

Sterling Marlin - 3 time track champion

( Steve Spencer ) - Track Champion, Rookie of Year, Tenn. State Champion, Track Record Holder

Jimmy Means - 1 time track champion

Jeremy Mayfield - regular weekly competitor

Chase Montgomery - ran the full 2000 season

Deborah Renshaw ^[2] - became the first woman to ever lead a NASCAR sanctioned series when the young woman climbed to the top of the points standings at Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville.

Darrell Waltrip - 2 time track champion

Use in gaming

The track was used in the Grand National Expansion Pack for Sierra's NASCAR Racing 2 game and was later converted for use in NASCAR4, NASCAR 2002 and NASCAR 2003.

References

1. ^ Mansfield Replaces Nashville on 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series Schedule: http://www.arcaracing.com/news.cfm?contentid=7671
2. ^ "To lure Cup race, two tracks take different tacks", Retrieved May 12, 2007

External links

• Official website
• Nashville420.com - NASCAR Races 1958 - 1984
• Save Nashville Speedway
• Middle Tennessee Racing News
• ARCA RE/MAX Series To Make Historic Return to Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Music City Motorplex

Coordinates: 36°7′50″N 86°45′44″W / 36.13056°N 86.76222°W / 36.13056; -86.76222