Smoky Mountain Speedway has decided to cancel their final race of the season, a Southern All-Stars race scheduled for October 6-7. News came down this afternoon via press release.
Citing a tough financial year, the decision was made to cancel the remaining event and focus on 2018 at the Maryville, Tennessee track.
“It has been a tough year for us,” said Roger Sellers in the press release, co-owner of Smoky Mountain Speedway. “The weather got us the first race of the year when we were snowed out. That put us behind and we never got caught up. Some of our other events we do well with weren’t as good for us this year. It’s been a frustrating year.”
Sellers indicated the track was very successful in 2016, but saw attendance dramatically drop for most 2017 events.
“We tried all kinds of things this year and nothing we did worked for us,” Sellers stated in the press release. “The frustrating part is we had a similar schedule last year and had our best year since Larry (Garner), Stanley (Best), and I have operated the track. We’ll sit down in the next few weeks and evaluate where we are, how we do things, and try to get back where we were for 2018.”
Sellers added he and the other co-owners, Larry Garner and Stanley Best, will evaluate everything from their schedule, to types of events they hold, and better fan experiences for the 2018 season.
The track also announced the upcoming hall of fame induction ceremony would be rescheduled for a race next spring.
The news of Smoky Mountain’s early closure comes on the heels of other tracks optin to end their season’s early. Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Kentucky announced over the weekend their final events were also cancelled. Soon after that news broke, track owner Larry Yantz said the track is now for sale.
Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Kentucky also closed early to re-organize, but is set to re-open this weekend.
