It’s been 20 years, but Golden Mountain Speedway will reopen with a practice this Friday, April 4. For many racers, it’ll be the first time they’ve turned laps on the dirt track in Sparta, Tennessee.
“Drivers are telling me they can’t wait to get out on the track for practice this Friday,” owner and promoter Deke Waters said. “There aren’t too many drivers who raced on this track. Most of them were just kids when the track opened in 2002 and then closed abruptly in 2005. But the fans, they remember it and are excited that we are reopening Golden Mountain Speedway.”
Two decades of neglect add up.
“Twenty years of growth saw the fences completely covered with vines,” said Waters. “There were trees in the infield. We had to redo everything on the track.”
Waters is banking on the burgeoning population in the Sparta area. He wants to make a good first impression, with a cleaned-up facility and new equipment in the concession stands. Waters understands food service. He owns three Little Caesars franchises. Plus, he promises in “by 7 out by 11 programs,” with five classes a night. Those divisions include 604 late models, open wheel modifieds (UMP rules), front-wheel drives, Crown Vics and steelhead late models (Topless Outlaws rules).
Waters also pledged to work with nearby Crossville Speedway 45 minutes away. Both will run Friday nights, but he said they’ll alternate weekends. Special events include visits by the American All-Star Series on May 9 and Topless Outlaws on July 11. Opening night is scheduled for Friday, April 11.
“Our plan is to break into it slowly on the first year,” Waters said. “We want to make sure we put on a great show in a timely manner. On our second year’s schedule, I’d like to see the super late models racing here on one of the fastest tracks in Tennessee.”
Ultimately, Waters, who has raced late models, said he invested in Golden Mountain Speedway because he loves the sport.
“It will be good for racing and good for the local economy,” said Waters.
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.
