Cleveland Speedway
The future of the historic Cleveland Speedway in southeastern Tennessee has been in limbo for months, but that may be about to change. After having been scheduled for action and then rescheduled by the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy court in Chattanooga on multiple occasions, the property has finally been sold at auction.
The new owner of the facility that has operated as a dirt track since 1954 is Al Chapman. The retired Chattanooga real estate developer purchased the 22 acres, equipment and other assets for a reported $801,700 in what had previously been described as a “lock, stock and barrel” sale.
According to a report on Chattanooga TV station WDEF, the new owner has no immediate plans for the property. But the report did say that keeping the facility operating as a race track is an option. Chapman also said that the property could be used for other purposes.
Heir to the speedway, David Johnson told WDEF that the process had many bumps in the road.
“It’s been really frustrating,” Johnson declared. “We’ve had offers that were turned down, a lot of court time. A lot of trips to the courts downtown and in and out of attorney meetings. So, it’s been difficult and then of course it was open for a little bit and closed.”
Another report on television station WRCB estimated the cost of grandstand repairs on the property at over $100,000. This same report also put the total value of Chapman’s purchase at $887,000 with a 10% buyer’s premium added into the bid price.
The speedway has hosted events sanctioned by numerous Dirt Late Model organizations throughout its history, including races within the past decade for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and the Southern All Stars Dirt Racing Series. The track’s spring Shamrock event, held near the time of St. Patrick’s Day every year, often served as the kickoff to the dirt racing season in east Tennessee while The Gobbler, held near the time of the Thanksgiving holiday, typically ended the racing season in the area.
Cleveland Speedway was at one time run by Joe Lee Johnson, the first winner of the World 600 in Charlotte and father of Hall of Fame driver Ronnie Johnson. Control of the venue was assumed by the ownership duo of Monty Morrow and Ronnie Willkomm in 2004. After the track filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2011, Willkomm became the sole operator.
InsideDirtRacing.com will continue to follow this story.
