| "NSS" | |
|---|---|
  Tri-oval | |
| Location | 4847-F McCreary Road Lebanon, TN 37090 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (UTC-5 DST) |
| Coordinates | 36°02′39.91″N 86°24′45.43″W / 36.0444194°N 86.4126194°W |
| Capacity | 38,000[1] |
| Owner | Dover Motorsports (2001–2021) Speedway Motorsports (2021–present) |
| Opened | 2001 Reopened: 2021 |
| Closed | 2011 |
| Major events | Current: NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 (2021–present) NASCAR Xfinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 (2001–2011, 2021–present) Federated Auto Parts 300 (2001–2011) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 (2001–2011, 2021–present) Former: IndyCar Series Firestone Indy 200 (2001–2008) ARCA Menards Series Nashville ARCA 150 (2001–2008) |
| Tri-oval | |
| Surface | Concrete |
| Length | 1.333 miles (2.145 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | 14° turns 9° frontstretch 6° backstretch |
| Race lap record | 22.9685 sec. (208.461 mph (335.485 km/h)) ( Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara IR-02, 2003, IndyCar) |
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee (though the track has a Lebanon postal address), about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is currently hosting the Ally 400, a NASCAR Cup Series regular season event, the Tennessee Lottery 250, and the Rackley Roofing 200.[2]
It is a concrete oval track 11⁄3 miles (2.145 km) long. Nashville Superspeedway is owned by Speedway Motorsports, which acquired the track’s previous owner Dover Motorsports in December 2021. Nashville Superspeedway is the longest concrete oval in NASCAR. Permanent seating capacity was approximately 25,000, but was expanded to reach up to 38,000 beginning with the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event in 2021.[3] Additional portable seats are brought in for some events, and seating capacity can be expanded to 150,000.[4] When the track was constructed infrastructure was put in place to expand the facility to include a short track, drag strip, and road course. However these plans never evolved and in 2021 the land was sold and warehouses were constructed on the site. [5]
History
At its peak, the facility hosted four major races each year: two NASCAR Xfinity Series races and two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races (one per year prior to 2010). The IndyCar Series Firestone Indy 200 was run at the track from its opening until 2008. Each feature event was usually accompanied by a companion event from lower-tier series such as ARCA and Indy Lights. NASCAR continually showed little interest in staging a NASCAR Cup Series race at the track.
In October 2009, Dover Motorsports decided to close Memphis Motorsports Park, and the Memphis Truck race originally scheduled for late June 2010 was moved to Nashville Superspeedway on April 2, one day prior to the annual Nationwide Series race at the track. The April Truck race was known as the "Nashville 200". Nashville Superspeedway became the only facility on the circuit to host two Truck Series races without hosting a NASCAR Cup event.
As is a Nashville metropolitan tradition, specially-designed Gibson Les Paul guitars are presented to race winners in place of conventional trophies.[6] The track also has a reputation for producing many first-time winners.
The track is referred by the classic term of a "superspeedway" (a track of one mile (1.6 km) or longer, compared to a short track), and is named to differentiate itself from the 0.596-mile (0.959 km) Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway (previously known as Nashville Speedway USA) at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville. Until 1984, Nashville Speedway USA had conducted a pair of 420-lap Cup races, but NASCAR pulled its sanctioning license from the circuit after disputes over who would manage the track took place prior to the start of the 1985 season.
Closure
Following sluggish attendance for major events and no prospects of gaining a Cup Series event, Dover Motorsports announced that the track would not seek NASCAR sanctions in 2012, effectively shutting it down, on August 3, 2011. In the announcement, Dover also hinted that the track was up for sale.[7] The track remained available for private use, such as car and tire testing.[8]
The track also remained available, and has been used, as a filming location for various television and film projects. From 2012 to 2014, Nashville Superspeedway was used for testing by NASCAR teams[9] before NASCAR banned all private tests in 2015.
Attempted sale
On May 29, 2014, it was announced that NeXovation, Inc. would be purchasing the racetrack and all assets and equipment from Dover Motorsports for $27 million.[10] However, the deal never materialized and Dover Motorsports reopened the sale of the track on July 28, 2015. NeXovation had invested $2.9 million (mostly nonrefundable) into the track, mostly in deadline extensions, and Dover pulled out of the sale after another deadline was missed and no payment was received.[11] The deal with NeXovation was ultimately canceled, though the company lost approximately $2.9 million in earnest money.[12]
On August 25, 2016, Dover announced it had reached an agreement to sell the property to Panattoni Development Company in a $44.7 million deal. Panattoni planned to convert the site into a distribution and logistics park, the primary usage of commercial real estate in the area.[13] In 2018 the deal was reduced to a 147 acres (59 ha) portion of the property only,[14] with another 132 acres (53 ha) being sold in 2019;[15] Panattoni also held an option on an additional 97.17 acres (39.32 ha) to be exercised before 2022.[16]
Reopening and sale
On June 2, 2020, reports began to surface that Nashville Superspeedway would reopen in 2021 and would host a NASCAR Cup Series race, with a date of Sunday, June 20. The race replaced one of the two races the series ran at Dover International Speedway, which was also owned by Dover Motorsports.[17] On June 3, NASCAR confirmed that the track will reopen to host a Cup race in 2021, replacing one of the two Dover dates.[18] The track brought on sports management executive Erik Moses as track president in August 2020 ahead of the reopening.[19] The race was announced as the Ally 400.[20] On March 23, 2021, Goodyear hosted a tire test at the track. Each manufacturer was represented, with Christopher Bell (Toyota), Chase Briscoe (Ford), and Kurt Busch (Chevrolet) turning laps around the track. The inaugural Ally 400 was won by Kyle Larson.
On November 8, 2021, Speedway Motorsports agreed to purchase Dover Motorsports for $3.61 per share in cash for an approximate total equity value of $131.5 million. The close of the deal was subject to certain conditions and was completed and closed by December 22, 2021.[21]
Records
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: Aric Almirola, 29.557 sec. (161.992 mph), June 20, 2021
- NASCAR Cup Series Race: Ross Chastain, 3 hrs. 7 sec. (132.914 mph), June 25, 2023
- NASCAR Cup Series (race lap): Kevin Harvick, 29.856 sec., June 26, 2022[22]
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying: David Stremme, 28.811 sec. (166.561 mph), June 2007
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Race:
- 300 miles (2001–2011): Scott Wimmer, 2 hrs. 14 min. 12 sec. (134.095 mph), March 22, 2008
- 250 miles (2021–): Justin Allgaier, 2 hrs. 5 min. 44 sec. (119.319 mph), June 25, 2022
- NASCAR Xfinity Series (race lap): A. J. Allmendinger, 31.214 sec., June 25, 2022[23]
- NASCAR Truck Series Qualifying: Nick Sanchez, 29.571 sec. (161.915 mph), June 23, 2023
- NASCAR Truck Series Race: Kyle Busch, 1 hr. 27 min. 55 sec. (136.459 mph), April 2, 2010
- NASCAR Truck Series (race lap): Nick Sanchez, 30.351 sec., June 23, 2023[24]
- IndyCar Qualifying: Scott Dixon, 23.271 sec. (206.211 mph / 331.864 km/h), July 18, 2003
- IndyCar Race: Buddy Lazier, 144.809 mph (233.047 km/h), July 21, 2001
- IndyCar (race lap): Sam Hornish Jr., 22.9685 sec., July 19, 2003[25]
- Indy Lights (race lap): Paul Dana, 26.2774 sec., July 17, 2004[26]
Feature race winners
NASCAR Cup Series
| Season | Race Name | Date | Winning Driver | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Ally 400 | June 20 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet |
| 2022 | Ally 400 | June 26 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet |
| 2023 | Ally 400 | June 25 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet |
NASCAR Xfinity Series
- 2005: Race postponed from Saturday to Sunday due to rain.
NASCAR Truck Series
| Season | Race Name | Date | Winning Driver | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Federated Auto Parts 200 | August 10 | Scott Riggs | Dodge |
| 2002 | Federated Auto Parts 200 | August 10 | Mike Bliss | Chevrolet |
| 2003 | Federated Auto Parts 200 | August 8 | Carl Edwards | Ford |
| 2004 | Toyota Tundra 200 | August 14 | Bobby Hamilton | Dodge |
| 2005 | Toyota Tundra 200 | August 13 | David Reutimann | Toyota |
| 2006 | Toyota Tundra 200 | August 12 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Toyota |
| 2007 | Toyota Tundra 200 | August 11 | Travis Kvapil | Ford |
| 2008 | Toyota Tundra 200 | August 9 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Toyota |
| 2009 | Toyota Tundra 200 | August 1 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | Chevrolet |
| 2010 | Nashville 200 | April 2 | Kyle Busch | Toyota |
| Nashville 200 | August 7 | Todd Bodine | Toyota | |
| 2011 | Bully Hill Vineyards 200 | April 22 | Kyle Busch | Toyota |
| Lucas Deep Clean 200 | July 22 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | |
| 2021 | Rackley Roofing 200 | June 18 | Ryan Preece | Ford |
| 2022 | Rackley Roofing 200 | June 24 | Ryan Preece | Ford |
| 2023 | Rackley Roofing 200 | June 23 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet |
IndyCar Series
| IRL IndyCar Series history | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Date | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Team |
| 2001 | July 21 | Buddy Lazier |
Dallara | Oldsmobile | Hemelgarn Racing |
| 2002 | July 20 | Alex Barron |
Dallara | Chevrolet | Blair Racing |
| 2003 | July 19 |  Gil de Ferran |
Dallara | Toyota | Team Penske |
| 2004 | July 17 | Tony Kanaan |
Dallara | Honda | Andretti Green Racing |
| 2005 | July 16 |  Dario Franchitti |
Dallara | Honda | Andretti Green Racing |
| 2006 | July 15 |  Scott Dixon |
Dallara | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 2007 | July 15* | Scott Dixon |
Dallara | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 2008 | July 12* | Scott Dixon |
Dallara | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
- 2007: Race postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain.
- 2008: Race shortened to 171 laps due to rain.
See also
References
- ↑ "Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway is sold out at 100% capacity". The Tennessean.
- ↑ "2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule release: Dirt track racing returns, road racing set at COTA and Road America". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
- ↑ Welcome to Nashville Superspeedway
- ↑ Welcome to Nashville Superspeedway
- ↑ "Site next to Nashville Superspeedway sells for $14.35 million". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ↑ "Unique trophies in NASCAR". NASCAR. September 25, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
- ↑ Motorsports, Dover (August 3, 2011). "Dover Motorsports, Inc. Declines 2012 NASCAR Sanctions for Nashville Superspeedway". businesswire.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ↑ Tom Kreager [@Kreager] (December 22, 2011). "Dover Motorsports will make Nashville Superspeedway available for testing starting in 2012. Superspeedway no longer hosting NASCAR races" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ Rickard, Caitlin (February 22, 2014). "Superspeedway still idling". Lebanon Democrat. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
- ↑ Allen, Danielle (August 25, 2016). "Agreement reached to sell Nashville Superspeedway". Nashville, TN: WKRN. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
- ↑ Humbles, Andy (July 31, 2015). "Nashville Superspeedway sale reopened". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
- ↑ Ward, Getahn (August 25, 2016). "Nashville Superspeedway to be sold to developer Panattoni". The Tennessean. Nashville, TN. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
- ↑ Ward, Getahn (August 26, 2016). "Distribution park planned for Nashville Superspeedway site". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ↑ Humbles, Andy (March 22, 2018). "Nashville Superspeedway parcel in Wilson County sold for $5.1M to launch redevelopment". The Tennessean. Nashville, TN. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ↑ Humbles, Andy (June 28, 2019). "Developer takes option to buy 132 more acres at Nashville Superspeedway in Wilson County". The Tennessean. Nashville, TN. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ↑ Smith, Xavier (January 15, 2020). "Company expected to build facility near Superspeedway". The Wilson Post. Lebanon, TN. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ↑ Humbles, Andy (June 2, 2020). "2021 NASCAR Cup Series race to be scheduled at Wilson County's Nashville Superspeedway". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ↑ Albert, Zack (June 3, 2020). "NASCAR Cup Series to race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2021". NASCAR. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- ↑ "Veteran sports, entertainment executive Erik Moses named Nashville Superspeedway's new president". NASCAR. August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ↑ Morris, Chuck (January 19, 2021). "Ally Financial to sponsor NASCAR's return to Nashville Superspeedway". WSMV. Nashville, TN. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Speedway Motorsports to Acquire Dover Motorsports, Inc". www.businesswire.com. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
- ↑ "2022 Nashville NASCAR". Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ↑ "NASCAR Xfinity 2022 Tennessee Lottery 250 Race Statistics". Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ↑ "NASCAR Truck 2023 Rackley Roofing 200 Race Statistics". Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ↑ "2003 Nashville Indycars". Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ↑ "2004 Nashville Indy Lights". Retrieved 24 June 2023.
External links
- Nashville Superspeedway Official Site
- Nashville Superspeedway race results at Racing-Reference