- Earnhardt Jr.’s push to save Nashville Fairgrounds gaining NASCAR traction.
- Steve O’Donnell warns that bringing the venue back will be an uphill battle.
- Dale Jr.’s latest CARS Tour race has offered the prospect a glimmer of hope.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been fighting to keep Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on the map, and his latest play saw him climb into the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and take to the track in his CARS Tour Late Model Stint. But the push has not come without blowback. Not only did the naysayers take a dig at his efforts, but some critics also took personal aim at him, writing,
“Yet another North Carolina billionaire who wants to run up credit-card debt on the backs of Nashville taxpayers. I wish Dale Jr. and his good buddy Marcus Smith at Speedway Motorsports would just count their money in Charlotte instead of terrorizing neighbors in South Nashville.”
Dale Jr. did not let that pass. He fired back, “A billionaire??? I’d just buy the place.” Between the laps he has circled and the jabs he has fielded, the effort has not gone unnoticed in the garage. Now, even the sanctioning body is stepping into the frame.
NASCAR Executive Steve O’Donnell signals intent, but flags hurdles
Steve O’Donnell, president of NASCAR, said he wants a return to the Fairgrounds, speaking on the Door, Bumper, Clear podcast on April 14. “Nashville is one of our most historic tracks; we’d love to be there,” he said, adding that the zMAX Series “was proof NASCAR belongs in Nashville.”
Even so, O’Donnell did not sugarcoat the path ahead, calling it an “uphill battle.” The zMAX Series CARS Tour event, where Dale Jr. finished 12th, and teammate Caden Kvapil took the win, served as a litmus test for what a return might look like.
The attempt to bring NASCAR back for the first time since 1984 has run into resistance from residents and advocacy groups since it was first proposed in 2021 by Smith, who has pushed a plan to renovate the track.
O’Donnell pointed to the friction points. “When you think about the noise and everything, I mean they’ve got concerts (at nearby Geodis Park) and all kinds of stuff, they’ve got soccer.” He added, “Then there’s a pretty vocal group there about noise ordinances, what can you do? But there’s been a lot of plans put together around what we could do to offset some of that.”
He added that talks have been ongoing on a weekly basis. While Dale Jr. was in town for the CARS Tour race, the series he co-owns with Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Justin Marks, the driver made clear his priorities have shifted. For now, the focus is less on a Cup return and more on keeping the track alive.
Meanwhile, O’Donnell flagged the layout around the venue as an early warning sign because the officials built the soccer stadium right on top of the race track. It didn’t allow for a lot of movement and a lot of things going on.
“That was the first kind of red flag. Then there’s a pretty vocal group there about noise ordinances. But there’s been a lot of plans put together around what we could do to offset some of that,” he added.
Packed stands offer a peek at direction
If there is a silver lining, it showed up in the stands. A sellout crowd for the Tootsie’s Music City Showdown, featuring the CARS Tour, has breathed life into the idea that NASCAR could potentially find its way back to the Fairgrounds. Fans from across the country turned the event into a stop on their calendar, and in doing so, stirred fresh talk about preserving the track’s place in the sport.
The venue has seen its share of wear, and plans to modernize it and expand seating have stretched across five mayoral tenures. Former mayor John Cooper came close to a deal in 2021, with Speedway Motorsports set to invest in upgrades aimed at bringing Cup racing back to Music City.
That plan stalled before Cooper left office. Still, voices backing the project argue a NASCAR return would draw more fans and put the spotlight back on a track they believe needs it.
Opposition groups, for their part, have drawn a line. While some say they are not against racing in principle, they want a citywide vote on whether the site should be replaced with something they see as more in step with the neighborhood.
For now, the fight sits at a crossroads, with engines and racing fans on one side and petitions on the other.
