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Great read, MRM. 
TN Racinnews
Coffey gets the votes, Smoky Mountain Speedway will re-open
By Michael Moats
The Blount County (TN) Commission unanimously voted to sell Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tennessee to businessman and late model driver Kevin Coffey. The vote took place at their January 18 meeting. It opens the door for racing to resume at the 42 year-old facility after sitting idle in 2006.
The track was purchased by the county for a fairgrounds site in December 2005 from former owner Denny Garner. The sale sparked criticism from racers who faced losing their racetrack and from county residents who objected to buying the site because of location and the sale price. The county paid $785,000 for the track, which was appraised at just under $500,000.
Since the county took possession of the speedway, it has sat idle. When news on nearby Atomic Speedway was closing for good to make way for a trucking terminal, Coffey began to work on his plan to buy the track from the county.
Since the track was county-owned property, Coffey had to go through a number of steps to convince various committee and commission members to sale the site to an individual. Following the unanimous vote, Coffey was relieved to have the process over and get to work on the facility.
“I’m looking forward to the hard work ahead,” Coffey said with a laugh. “I’m over the part I was not looking forward to. The rest of it I’ll enjoy because I’m in construction. I love to go into a run down place and turn it around. I’ve got crews ready to go, they’ve been on standby, and I can start moving forward with my plans.”
Once the paperwork is signed, Coffey will address the improvements that need to be made to get the facility reading for racing this season. A new electrical system, new lighting, and grandstand repairs are just some of the improvements that will be addressed over the next two months. Coffey estimates it will take approximately $200,000 to make the necessary improvements.
Under the plan approved by the commission, Coffey will purchase the property for $820,000. Coffey will initially make a $125,000 down payment and will begin making payments, with no interest, starting next year. After five years of payments, there is an option to rework Coffey’s payments to the county or Coffey could seek an outside loan to pay off the remaining $470,714.29 that will be owed to the county.
Coffey is eager to get started on making the 4/10-mile track one of the top tracks in the area and across the region.
“There will be improvements over the next three to five years,” Coffey said. “The first thing we need to do is make the necessary improvements to satisfy the insurance company. Once we do that, we can start working on other things to make this a great facility. I’ve got a long plan, but we’ll have to take things step-by-step."
Many consider Smoky Mountain Speedway, to be the most storied of all east Tennessee tracks. Opened in 1965, the then ½-mile track quickly became a favorite among fans and drivers with its speed and competitive racing. In late 1965, the track hosted its first NASCAR Grand National (now Nextel Cup) event and hosted other Grand National events through 1971 until NASCAR downsized its schedule. The track began to struggle in the mid 70’s and eventually closed.
The track re-opened in 1979 as a dirt track and was shortened to its current 4/10-mile configuration in the late 80’s. The track also known as “The Mountain” has seen its share of ups and downs over the years. In addition to hosting NASCAR events, Smoky Mountain has also hosted the Hav-a-Tampa Dirt Series, O’Reilly Southern All-Stars, NDRA, World of Outlaws Late Model Series, and other series. Coffey’s ownership will add another interesting chapter to an already interesting history of the speedway.
TN Racinnews
Coffey gets the votes, Smoky Mountain Speedway will re-open
By Michael Moats
The Blount County (TN) Commission unanimously voted to sell Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tennessee to businessman and late model driver Kevin Coffey. The vote took place at their January 18 meeting. It opens the door for racing to resume at the 42 year-old facility after sitting idle in 2006.
The track was purchased by the county for a fairgrounds site in December 2005 from former owner Denny Garner. The sale sparked criticism from racers who faced losing their racetrack and from county residents who objected to buying the site because of location and the sale price. The county paid $785,000 for the track, which was appraised at just under $500,000.
Since the county took possession of the speedway, it has sat idle. When news on nearby Atomic Speedway was closing for good to make way for a trucking terminal, Coffey began to work on his plan to buy the track from the county.
Since the track was county-owned property, Coffey had to go through a number of steps to convince various committee and commission members to sale the site to an individual. Following the unanimous vote, Coffey was relieved to have the process over and get to work on the facility.
“I’m looking forward to the hard work ahead,” Coffey said with a laugh. “I’m over the part I was not looking forward to. The rest of it I’ll enjoy because I’m in construction. I love to go into a run down place and turn it around. I’ve got crews ready to go, they’ve been on standby, and I can start moving forward with my plans.”
Once the paperwork is signed, Coffey will address the improvements that need to be made to get the facility reading for racing this season. A new electrical system, new lighting, and grandstand repairs are just some of the improvements that will be addressed over the next two months. Coffey estimates it will take approximately $200,000 to make the necessary improvements.
Under the plan approved by the commission, Coffey will purchase the property for $820,000. Coffey will initially make a $125,000 down payment and will begin making payments, with no interest, starting next year. After five years of payments, there is an option to rework Coffey’s payments to the county or Coffey could seek an outside loan to pay off the remaining $470,714.29 that will be owed to the county.
Coffey is eager to get started on making the 4/10-mile track one of the top tracks in the area and across the region.
“There will be improvements over the next three to five years,” Coffey said. “The first thing we need to do is make the necessary improvements to satisfy the insurance company. Once we do that, we can start working on other things to make this a great facility. I’ve got a long plan, but we’ll have to take things step-by-step."
Many consider Smoky Mountain Speedway, to be the most storied of all east Tennessee tracks. Opened in 1965, the then ½-mile track quickly became a favorite among fans and drivers with its speed and competitive racing. In late 1965, the track hosted its first NASCAR Grand National (now Nextel Cup) event and hosted other Grand National events through 1971 until NASCAR downsized its schedule. The track began to struggle in the mid 70’s and eventually closed.
The track re-opened in 1979 as a dirt track and was shortened to its current 4/10-mile configuration in the late 80’s. The track also known as “The Mountain” has seen its share of ups and downs over the years. In addition to hosting NASCAR events, Smoky Mountain has also hosted the Hav-a-Tampa Dirt Series, O’Reilly Southern All-Stars, NDRA, World of Outlaws Late Model Series, and other series. Coffey’s ownership will add another interesting chapter to an already interesting history of the speedway.
