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CUP: Racing History Takes A Beating In Nashville
Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville will shut it doors after this weekend...
Larry Woody  | http://www.RacinToday.com  |  Posted October 27, 2009   Charlotte, NC

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The track provided training for such prominent future administrators as Eddie Gossage (Texas Motor Speedway president), Ed Clark (Atlanta Motor Speedway president) and Tom Roberts (PR service).

The Fairgrounds was the home-track proving ground for such rising NASCAR stars as Darrell Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hamilton and more than a dozen other area racers who went in to compete in the Cup series.

“No weekly track in the county has a richer history and tradition than this one,” Denson said. “Now it’s about over. It’s a sad day for Nashville and a sad day for racing.”

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Larry Woody is a veteran, award-winning sports journalist. Woody began working at the Nashville Tennessean in the 1960s and took over the auto racing beat full time in the early 1970s.


Larry can be reached at lwoody@racintoday.com

Editor’s Note: Larry Woody, a senior writer for racintoday.com, has been inducted into the Fairgrounds Speedway Hall of Fame.

Woody, 62, covered his first race at the track in the late 1960’s for The Nashville Tennessean. After college graduation and a tour in Vietnam as a combat infantryman he returned to the paper and spent 40 years traveling the country as a racing reporter and columnist. He retired from the newspaper two years ago, having received the McLemore Award as the nation’s premier motorsports journalist.

“I’m honored to be in the same Hall of Fame as Darrell Waltrip, Sterling and Coo Coo Marlin, Bobby Hamilton, Marty Robbins and so many other great Nashville drivers and racing personalities,” Woody said. “They weren’t just my story subjects – they were my good friends.

“After a half-century they’re closing the old track but they can never take away the memories. It’s been a heckuva ride.”

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Jim Pedleyis a veteran, award-winning sports journalist who has worked at, among other places, the Boston Globe, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Kansas City Star. Pedley spent more than 10 years covering auto racing for the Kansas City Star. Pedley can be reached at jpedley@racintoday.com





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