Dale McDowell
In December of 2013, Dale McDowell and David Duplissey purchased Boyd’s Speedway from brothers Richard and Robert Harvey. Since then, the Ringgold, Georgia track has undergone a number of changes that have included a shift in the weekly racing schedule and an overall upgrade of the facility.
And those changes are just the beginning according to McDowell as the track looks to take on more special events to supplement its weekly racing shows. Most notably, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will pay its first visit to the third-mile clay oval located just outside of Chattanooga, Tenn. on April 1, 2016.
Boyd’s will close out its 2015 season this Saturday night with a $5,000-to-win Southern Nationals Bonus Series event.
“I had actually talked to those guys periodically throughout the year trying to get something ready,” McDowell explained of the deal with LOLMDS officials. “What we’re trying to do is get some of the major events in. We’re just trying to step it up and that’s the first step in the process, I guess.”
Prior to the change in ownership, Boyd’s had typically operated as a Friday night track. However, McDowell and Duplissey felt as if the speedway was ready for a change in date after they made numerous improvements to the property. But there proved to be a few complications with the move.
“We actually bought the track when Cleveland was not operating so we went to Saturday nights and competed against North Georgia,” McDowell pointed out in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “But then when Cleveland came back and then decided they were going to Saturday nights, it was going to put three of us within 45 miles on Saturday. What we then decided to do was alternate with North Georgia.”
With fans and racers already of the mindset that Boyd’s races on Friday nights, the decision was ultimately made to return to the track’s traditional day of the week.
“Really, Boyd’s has always been a Friday night race track, but with the amount of money David has spent there to build the facility up and make it a Saturday night track and bring in special events we obviously wanted to be on Saturday nights,” the former winner of the Dirt Late Model Dream said. “Next year, we’re going to back up to Friday nights just simply because North Georgia and Cleveland are on Saturday nights and the local race fans are used to the Friday night show at Boyd’s.”
Those Friday nights are basically for the facility’s weekly shows. Whenever touring series events are brought in, a change will be in order. In which case, the track owners hope for cooperation from their neighboring speedways.
“All of our specials will probably be on Saturday nights,” McDowell stated. “Hopefully we can all work together and make it work out. It’s tough. Friday night confines it to a small group and it’s hard for people from the Nashville area or the Birmingham area or Knoxville area to get there so we’ll see how it works out. We’re changing up some classes for next year as well.”
McDowell has been actively involved in the day-to-day operation of the track since he became part of the ownership team. He may be seen driving a water truck, or operating a grader as well as organizing races and luring drivers. However, that might change a bit in 2016. But that won’t change the quality of the racing or the operation of the facility.
David Duplissey
“As for me, I’m going to go out and race more myself,” he insisted. “But we’ve got some good guys there who can make it happen and I’ll be there through the week and for all the special events.”
The veteran racer has found track ownership to be a bit of an eye opening experience. But it’s been an experience he has enjoyed.
“It’s a lot of work,” he explained. “Even though I’ve been around it all my life, there’s a lot more to it behind the scenes than you actually realize. We’re going to be patient and see what happens down the road as far as the weekly racing goes but we’re really focused on the specials and trying to build those.”
“It’s fun to be a part of it.”
