Despite threatening weather, Smoky Mountain Speedway experienced its largest crowd ever, even bigger than its previous record, a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event. The headliner? No, it wasn’t super late models, it was American Big Rig Racing.
“It drew people from everywhere because it was different,” Smoky Mountain Speedway owner Roger Sellers said. “The people looking for tickets and information weren’t our regular customers.”
The track knew so by the questions they fielded over the phone.
“People were asking, ‘What is tier parking?’ and ‘What are pit passes?’ These are things race fans would know,” said Smoky Mountain Speedway’s Casey Bailes. “Ticket sales went through the roof. We had a lot of people who were new to motorsports that were coming to this show. We also had our sportsman late model and street stock classes as part of the program to introduce newcomers to dirt racing.”
Both the track and series promoted the event via social media, but they used old-school tactics, too. On Friday, American Big Rig Racing trucks went to the Chrome Shack, a big rig accessory dealer and track sponsor. From there, the trucks visited the local Harley-Davidson dealer. The promotion did not stop there.
“The trucks were secured overnight at the Harley dealership,” Sellers said. “Saturday morning at 11 a.m. I requested that the Blount County Sheriff’s Office escort the trucks to the speedway. They arrived with lights flashing. I’m convinced the attention from the Friday visits and the police escort brought in another 1,000 fans.”
The American Big Rig Racing series feature did not disappoint, either.
“You could hear the fans cheering in the control tower,” said Bailes. “There was a carnival type atmosphere.”
However, some of the more traditional dirt racing fans voiced their thoughts, too.
“Some racers were critical,” Sellers said. “They say the track is an event center because I’ve had rodeos, flat track motorcycle racing, and monster trucks — and now big rig racing. I do care about racing, but money being made is thinner by the day. To get a boost like this keeps us in business.”
Without an empty seat, Sellers wondered what would have happened if it were a sunny day.
“Where would have I put any more people if that weather forecast wasn’t for rain?”
Sellers said. “We had the Lucas Oil late models in ’20—our previous biggest show—and this one buried it. It was simple and exciting—the key to success.”
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.
