The ownership of the Smoky Mountain Speedway made the decision a couple of years ago not to host a weekly racing program on their track. Instead, the historic Maryville, Tenn. oval has become the home to special events from a number of dirt racing series’. The track has proven itself as a facility capable of hosting big races, and that will be further expanded in 2014.
Last year, SMS owners Roger Sellers, Larry Garner, Stanley Best and Kevin Coffey brought in the World of Outlaws Late Models Series for the first time since 2004. On May 17th of next year, the track will again host the WoO Late Models for a $10,000-to-win event. Last season’s event for the national touring series was a success by all accounts with a good car count and a packed grandstand.
Next year, the track will hold the distinction of being one of the few, if not the only, to host all three major national dirt late model touring series’.
New to the facility will be a $10,000-to-win feature race for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on June 21st.
“We’ve been working on this schedule since mid-season and we’re really excited with the outcome,” said SMS General Manager Casey Moses. “I actually spoke with Rick Schwallie during the Bulls Gap(Volunteer Speedway) Scorcher. We both had high hopes of getting Lucas to Smoky Mountain, but we really didn’t see it happening due to the big schedule Lucas holds and their prior commitments. Lucky for us, Rick called me with a Thursday date and I was tickled just to be on the schedule. Even better, a few weeks later he asked if I would pick up a Saturday night where a previous track had dropped out.”
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After running a limited schedule of only five races in 2013, the National Dirt Racing League looks to post a more aggressive list of events for the coming season. The series, under the leadership of owner John Kennedy and recently appointed director Kelley Carlton, will expand into the dirt racing hot bed of east Tennessee by visiting Smoky Mountain on March 8th.
Kelley Carlton, Casey Moses and Roger Sellers
“I’m also ecstatic about the NDRL date,” Moses declared. “We’re kicking off our season with these guys and feel very confident this will be a great series. I’ve spoken with John and Kelley several times over the past several months to hash out ideas and go back and forth with dates. Finally, we were able to nail down an early season weekend. Kelley is still in search for a partnering track for the weekend.”
Aside from these national series events, SMS will offer a steady diet of regional touring races throughout 2014. The Spring Nationals, Southern Nationals, Southern Nationals Bonus, Southern All Stars, Ultimate Super Late Models, Southern Regional, United Sprint Car and AMS Modifieds are among those on next season’s schedule.
“We have changed our schedule up for 2014 more than ever,” Moses added of her track. “We are really excited to see where ‘14 takes us.”
Moses added that scheduling and rules for support classes will be announced soon.
2014 Smoky Mountain Speedway Schedule of Events: (showing Day/Date/Sanction/Purse/Event Name)
Sat. March 8- National Dirt Racing League/$10,000 to win/Tipoff Classic
Sat. March 29- Ray Cook’s Spring Nationals Series/$6,000 to win/Plus AMS Modifieds $3,000 to win
Sat. April 26- Southern All Stars Dirt Series/$5,000 to win/Rockin’ with the Stars
Sat. May 3- United Sprint Car Series/$3,000 to win/Thunder in the Smokies
Sat. May 17- World of Outlaws Late Model Series/$10,000 to win/Mountain Outlaw 50
Sat. May 31- Southern Regional Racing Series/$5,000 to win/Tearin’ the Tops off Classic
Sat. June 21- Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series/$10,000 to win/Summer Showdown
Fri. July 11- Ultimate Super Late Model Series/$5,000 to win/Firecracker 500
Fri. Aug. 1- Ray Cook’s Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Series/$5,300 to win
Sat. Aug. 16- Southern Nationals Bonus Series/5,010 to win/10th Ole Smoky Moonshine Iron-Man Classic
Sat. Sept. 20- Southern All Stars Dirt Series/$5,000 to win/King of the Mountain Fall Classic
Sat. Oct. 11- Tennessee State Championship Race-Details TBA
