Nashville's Superspeedway Ventures - part 2

Part 1: Nashville's Superspeedway Ventures - 1960s-1970s

In late 1978, promoter Bill Donoho sold his interest in the Fairgrounds lease to racer Lanny Hester and CPA-lawyer-businessman Gary Baker. A couple of years later, Hester sold 25 percent of his interest to Stanley King - a local construction contractor. Hester, Baker, and King planned to develop their own superspeedway - independent of Donoho's plans from the previous few years.

Baker subsequently partnered with California businessman Warner Hodgdon. The partnership then bought out Hester and King and proceeded with their plans to build a track in an undisclosed location.

In late 1980, however, promoter and former racer Boyd Adams announced plans for his superspeedway - Tennessee International Raceway. Unlike Donoho who planned to build southeast of Nashville, Adams announced his track would be built in Robertson County - about 30 minutes northwest of Nashville. As advance prep for the project, Adams purchased thousands of grandstand seats, scales, medical equipment, etc. from the Ontario Motor Speedway. The Ontario track closed following its final race - the LA Times 500 Cup race - in November 1980 after Dale Earnhardt clinched his first Cup title.

From the jump, however, Adams encountered a myriad of challenges including (1) local residents who wanted nothing to do with the project with concerns about noise, traffic, crime, pollution, etc. and (2) a lack of support from NASCAR President Bill France, Jr.

June 10, 1981 - The Tennessean

April 24, 1981 - The Tennessean

Baker announced his speedway plans in November 1981. Prior to partnering with Hodgdon, he floated the vague statement that others were interested in joining with him. A rumored investor was Richard Petty - similar to the arrangement Bill Donoho promoted in the mid 1970s. In the end, however, Baker was convinced Hodgdon's finances and construction project experience would be the key elements to build the track.

Baker's announcement had other vague aspects. He did not name a location for the track nor a timeline for its construction. In subsequent news reports, Baker did acknowledge the effort would take two or three years.

Despite news of Baker's planned development, Adams continued onward with his project. He had to change sites a couple of times to satisfy local citizens and politicians, but he finally negotiated a governmental development bond to help ensure project financing.

March 9, 1982 - The Tennessean

About a year later, however, Adams was no closer to fulfilling his dream than Donoho years earlier. Local opposition continued to be a thorn in his side, and he finally pulled his project into the garage.

April 27, 1983 - The Tennessean

Two months after Adams noted his project was dead-in-the-water came the stunning news that Baker sold his half-interest in Nashville's Fairgrounds track to Hodgdon. With the transaction, Hodgdon became sole "owner" of the track's lease. Hodgdon opted not to negotiate an extension of the Fairgrounds lease beyond 1987. That decision led some to believe he still planned to build a replacement track and move all racing away from the Fairgrounds. The reality, as it turned out, was far deeper than anyone fathomed.

About 18 months after buying out Baker, Hodgdon filed bankruptcy. His ownership interest in the Fairgrounds lease as well as other race tracks such as Bristol, Rockingham, and Richmond along with half-interest in Junior Johnson's race teams were caught in his dire financial challenges.

As Hodgdon's assets and liabilities were debated, negotiated, distributed, settled, etc., another casualty of the bankruptcy filing was the Nashville area superspeedway. Though Hodgdon was not in a position to build a new track, Baker continued to pursue the project on his own. Such plans, however, were murkier than ever.

The location of Baker's and Hodgdon's planned track wasn't announced in 1981. Over time, Baker purchased several acres in in Franklin, TN just off I-65. He could not, however, accumulate all that was needed to fulfill the development.

Without the remaining acreage, Baker divested the land. Instead of a speedway, Cool Springs Galleria was constructed on the site and opened in 1991. The mall has spurred a ton of retail, sales and property tax revenues, attractive housing, desirable schools, etc. As someone who now lives about 10 minutes from the location, it's hard to imagine how different Franklin would have become had the track been built.


One vestige of Baker's involvement remains near the mall. Baker's Bridge Ave. runs perpendicular from the top of the mall across I-65 and to Carothers Parkway. One wonders if the track would have been built on the west side of I-65 with parking and other fan amenities on the east side.


Though Adams' plan ended in spring 1983 and Baker's plan effectively ended in July 1983 with his sell-out to Hodgdon, the idea of a new Nashville-area track continued.

A trio of investors/developers - with no racing experience or connections - announced in mid 1985 they planned to build a 1.6 mile track in Robertson County - not far from Adams' failed location. The track was to be named Music City Motor Complex. Baker assessed their likelihood of success as low.

June 4, 1985 - The Tennessean

July 18, 1985 - The Tennessean

Baker's prediction was spot-on. Within just a few months, the developers learned what others had already experienced. Without community support or a commitment from NASCAR, no spade of dirt would be turned.

August 2, 1985 - The Tennessean

A new racing wildcatter, Jesse Rogers, arrived on the scene in 1992. Rogers acquired over 1,000 acres of land near Shelbyville, TN - about 60 miles south of Nashville. Shelbyville is known worldwide for its annual Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration. Rogers, however, planned to bring several hundred horsepower to the area.

Rogers'  Rocky Top Speedway plans included a uniquely-shaped two-mile superspeedway, a road course, a drag strip, a golf course, camping areas, and a motorsports museum.


Three years later, however, the song remained the same. Financing challenges. Legal woes. Delays. Yada, yada, yada. As with all the predecessor projects, Rocky Top turned to Rocky Slop.

After nearly three decades of announced and fizzled speedway projects, middle Tennessee racing fans got some unexpected news. Dover Downs Entertainment announced with great fanfare their plans for a new superspeedway in November 1997. Dover acquired the lease for the Fairgrounds track and set plans in motion to build what was to become Nashville Superspeedway in Wilson County - about 35 miles east of the Fairgrounds.

Though the track was built - unlike every other predecessor project - the effort wasn't without challenges. To add some local credibility, Dover partnered with Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Company as a minority investor. Gaylord owned the Grand Ole Opry, the Opryland theme park and hotel, and WSM radio. It also held naming rights to Nashville's new hockey and concert arena. Two years later, however, Gaylord announced it was divesting itself of its minority position. Dover then had to complete the project on its own.

After several delays, Dover finally began construction on the track in fall 1999. The Nashville Superspeedway hosted its inaugural events in April 2001- nearly three decades after Bill Donoho first visioned his big track.


Despite the hype associated with the new facility, Nashville Superspeedway just didn't resonate. After only 10 years of operations, Dover closed the track following the 2011 season.

Epilogue:

Boyd Adams competed with Gary Baker to build a Nashville-area superspeedway. Baker reassumed control of the Fairgrounds Speedway lease in 1985 as part of Hodgdon's bankruptcy proceedings. Three years later, he opted not to pursue a lease renewal. The Nashville Fair Board awarded Adams the lease beginning in 1988. Among other improvements to the facility, Adams replaced the track's grandstand seating with the seats from Ontario that he'd mothballed since 1981 - seating he had planned to install at his never-built Tennessee International Raceway.

Baker didn't realize his dream of building a superspeedway; however, he didn't end up empty handed. He parlayed the land he accumulated for the track into an investment in the Cool Springs retail area. He also returned to racing in the early 2000s as a team co-owner. Partnering with long-time racing enthusiast, music publisher, and former politician Mike Curb, the two purchased the assets of Brewco Motorsports. They moved the team from Central City, Kentucky to Nashville and operated multiple Busch/Nationwide Series teams until 2011. The doors were shuttered after additional sponsorship could not be secured.

With nearly a half-century of grand ideas and failed ventures to construct a new track, middle Tennessee racing has seemingly made a full lap. In recent months, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. via Bristol Motor Speedway has indicated its interest in helping renovate the existing Fairgrounds Speedway. Their plans and investment would help elevate the track to a first-class short-track jewel. Perhaps that vision is one everyone should have dreamed over all these years.

TMC

Nashville's Superspeedway Ventures - part 1

Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway hosted NASCAR's Grand National division (later Winston Cup Series) from 1958 through 1984. Following financial difficulties of the track's operator, Warner Hodgdon, NASCAR pulled its sanctioning agreement after 1984.

Though NASCAR and related financial support of the Winston Racing program returned later to the Fairgrounds with local racing, trucks, and Busch (now Xfinity) Series, Cup never returned. Many continue to believe that will forever be the case.

Perhaps more than ever, however, a glimmer of renewed hope recently appeared. Speedway Motorsports, Inc. has indicated a willingness to collaborate with the current operators of the track, the city of Nashville, and its Fair Board to revitalize the speedway.

SMI will be swimming upstream as it tries to navigate the good ol' boy network of Nashville politics and the changing citizenry demographics of areas surrounding the Fairgrounds. While many outside of Nashville think SMI's investment in the property is a slam-dunk, can't miss proposal, those inside the greater Nashville area understand (barely) the forces that more often than not have been against the race track the past several decades.

For over 50 years, local promoters, investors, and developers have visioned a future for Nashville-area racing well beyond the boundaries of the land-locked fairgrounds.

Bennie Goodman was originally a partner with Mark Parrish and Bill Donoho in the development of what is today Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway. Donoho later acquired the equity positions of both Goodman and Parrish. By the late 1960s, Goodman believed racing had already outgrown the fairgrounds - just 10 years or so after the half-mile and quarter-mile tracks opened.

Goodman along with a handful of partners (including singer Roy Orbison and future NASCAR flagman Doyle Ford) formed Nashville International Raceways, Inc. in early 1969. The company purchased land southeast of Nashville near the intersection of I-24 and Old Hickory Blvd. Though few details have surfaced, it is believed Goodman was the first to envision a middle Tennessee superspeedway.

Goodman's team could not secure guaranteed sanctioning from NASCAR and Bill France. The company then sold the land a year or so later, and Goodman and others made successful investments in other non-racing projects.

In mid-May 1973, Donoho announced plans to build a superspeedway at just about the same location as Goodman's planned project a few years earlier. Local racing would have remained at the fairgrounds, but Cup racing and other major events would have been moved to the new facility.


Donoho planned to have the track ready by mid-1974 for the annual Nashville 420. Instead, the project never got off the ground. Years later, Starwood Amphitheater opened not far from the planned site. Starwood hosted many epic concerts during the 80s and 90s.

In 1975, Donoho revamped his plan to build a new track just a couple of exits down from the site announced in 1973.

Perhaps in an effort to create more buzz and industry equity, Donoho announced some notable investors including NASCAR drivers Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough along with Loretta Lynn's husband, Mooney.

Donoho spent the better part of 1976-1977 working on his new project - including releasing an architectural rendering of the new speedway. Considering the era, the track was to be second to none including Charlotte and Daytona.

Despite his focused efforts, however, Donoho's multi-year plan to build a state of the art facility for future Cup racing was spiraling the wrong direction. By the end of 1977, Donoho found an old cemetery on his new property. A few months later, his track plans may just as well have been buried there.

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Donoho never realized his vision of building a new track. Furthermore, he sold his rights to the lease of the Fairgrounds track to Lanny Hester and Gary Baker in late 1978. By and large, Donoho's quarter-century run as a Nashville race promoter was over.

Part 2: The dreams of building a Nashville-area superspeedway did not end with Donoho's departure.

Source for articles: The Tennessean archives

TMC