The grandstands have traditionally been packed for The Hangover
One almost has to laugh when the term “off-season” is mentioned in relation to dirt racing. With barely over a month having passed since the last time fans in this region gathered at 411 Motor Speedway for “The Leftover” on the weekend following Thanksgiving, fans are prepared to venture back to the Seymour, Tenn. facility owned by Mitch and Tanya McCarter to take in what is quickly becoming one of the biggest races in this region, “The Hangover”.
For that matter, I-75 Raceway near Sweetwater, Tenn. raced into early December of 2016 so the area’s racing slate continued even beyond the time everyone had partaken of leftovers.
The leadership of 411 Motor Speedway made the decision to host a New Year’s Day special event back in 2011, essentially assuring that track the right to kickoff the dirt racing season. Early on, the Limited Late Model class was the featured division among multiple classes to compete on that day. Now, the event has progressed into a Super Late Model show that pays $4,000 to the victor.
Dawsonville, GA driver Donald McIntosh has scored two consecutive wins in this race and will be looking to add a third trophy and paycheck to his collection this Saturday.
This year “The Hangover” will be contested on New Year’s Eve due to the first day of 2017 falling on a Sunday.
Fans will be standing in line for tickets on Dec. 31 rather than New Year’s Day this time
Dirt racing fans in east Tennessee can now essentially enjoy the sport they love all year long as this race gets the season rolling with other special events coming at Boyd’s Speedway later in January and most area tracks coming to life by March if not earlier. And again, the season will likely stretch to the Thanksgiving holiday and beyond in the region in 2017.
Furthermore, east Tennessee is not the only part of the country to race over virtually the entire calendar year. Fans were treated to racing inside the former football stadium in St. Louis earlier in December and the now traditional beginning races of the national Dirt Late Model scene crank in Arizona and Talladega, Alabama in January.
But keep in mind, the upcoming season is about far more than “The Hangover”. Over the past three years, InsideDirtRacing.com has provided live updates, race recaps, and feature stories for an average of 60 races per year and there is little reason to believe that won’t continue in 2017. But it seems like we just finished the 2016 season…and we did.
So no, there is no “off-season” in dirt racing. That is true of east Tennessee and beyond.
