Marvin Ford, 71, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, November 5. He promoted Fort Payne Motor Speedway in Fyffe, Alabama, and the United Championship Racing Alliance (UCRA).
After Fort Payne Motor Speedway rained out last Saturday, Ford went home, where he suffered a cardiac event.
“Marvin poured everything he had into Fort Payne Motor Speedway and the UCRA,” said UCRA race director Larry Johnson. “He was respected. Marvin went above and beyond for every racer. He didn’t run from his drivers — he was easy to contact and listened to them. Marvin wanted to help any racer any way he could.”
Prior to promoting, Ford raced late models and flagged at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Georgia. He purchased the now-defunct Green Valley Speedway in Glencoe, Alabama, operating it from 1988–97. In 2012, Ford bought Fort Payne Motor Speedway. In 2014, he founded UCRA.
“Marvin was knowledgeable of all things about racing,” Steve Hixson, Fort Payne Motor Speedway and UCRA public relations manager said. “He would teach anyone who listened and was helpful to all of the drivers.”
Ford loved putting on a show, both for fans and drivers.
“Marvin was visiting Boyd’s Speedway [in Ringgold, Georgia] a few years back,” said Hixson. “The track announcer was supposed to race [then-promoter David] Duplissey, but he relinquished his spot to Marvin. The surprise was that it was a foot race. Marvin went on to win.”
When Ford started UCRA, he targeted the weekly racers.
“UCRA is for the everyday racer,” Johnson said. “Marvin felt that big purses would bring in the cherry pickers. It’s the everyday racers who keep dirt tracks going, and he wanted to reward those drivers.”
Most of all, many remember Marvin Ford for his dedication to the sport.
“He lived more than two hours away [from Fort Payne Motor Speedway] in Rome [Georgia],” said Johnson. “He would work the track all day, sleep in a bed above his office, and wake up early the next morning to get back at it and make the track perfect for the drivers.”
Funeral services will be held at 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, at Henderson & Sons Funeral Home, South Chapel, 3002 Maple Rd, Rome, GA 30161.
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
