Fans are the real ones who are caught in the mess as the political turmoil makes the situation unbearable. NASCAR’s second oldest continuing track, the iconic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is the source of pain for ardent enthusiasts. Fans are deeply scorned ever since the news about the short track’s reconfiguration broke out.

While the city officials including the Mayor are seriously considering an overhaul, tearing the half-a-mile track to accommodate EV racing, former drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr and Richard Petty are taking a stand, expressing their solidarity to restore and preserve the 119-year-old venue.

Dale Earnhardt Jr picks a side in the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway controversy

For the unversed, there’s a massive debate going around in Nashville with the neighbors and surrounding locals demanding a revamp on the Fairgrounds speedway. While they are blaming the noise and congestion caused by racing events for this, avid fans have no other option other than to demand preservation of the iconic track to its full glory instead of pushing it into sudden death.

This has caused a giant rift with the City officials on one front and ardent fans along with former drivers on another, head-to-head. To make matters worse, the city Mayor, Freddie O’Connell, and authorities are seriously considering a total revamp to convert the short track into an EV racing facility with housing and green spaces.

With the authorities inclined towards a tear-down, racing fans have united after fierce short-track advocate Dale Jr, whose unbridled passion for the sport brought back North Wilkesboro, announced his stance. The JR Motorsports co-owner has put up a story on Instagram, expressing his solidarity. Not just Junior, NASCAR’s greatest driver, Richard “The King” Petty also has shared his take, urging the organization to bring back NASCAR events to the track to counter the proposed plan of demolition.

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The Nashville tug-of-war explained

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As mentioned above, the situation is pretty serious. Despite the city officials’ move to tear down the 119-year-old facility, Bristol Motor Speedway President, Jerry Caldwell has come forward to offer his support. Started originally as a carriage racing track in 1904, the 0.5-mile track quickly became a coveted venue for auto sports.

NASCAR came along in the early 1950s and the rest was history. But now to maintain and preserve the historical venue to its full glory, the authorities need funding and a lot of it. To be precise, the estimated cost is around the $100 million mark. However, many locals deem it unfair to let their tax money go into the restoration project even after voicing their disagreement.

Despite being on the verge of losing the coveted facility, fans are offering a stiff resistance with greats like, Petty coming out in favor. The 7-time champion urged the sanctioning body to bring the All-Stars race, saying that, “They can’t tear it down if you do that.” 

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What do you think? Should the fans let a historical venue like Fairgrounds go to waste? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.