With multiple offers on the table, Dohn Broadwell Jr., the owner of Fayetteville Motor Speedway, said this year will be the last for the North Carolina dirt oval.
The track’s facilities take up 140 acres but is part of a 470-acre tract of land.
“A large regional developer approached me — and now I have several offers on the property,” Broadwell said. “It is not feasible to sell part of the land — only all of it.”
Broadwell became the sole owner of the property in 2004.
“I love automobiles, and I was in the grading business, so I felt owning the track was a great fit for me,” said Broadwell. “We did some serious renovations to the track in the 1990s — things like new lighting, barrier walls, and a million dollars of upgrades — a million dollars was a lot of money in the 1990s.”
While Broadwell enjoyed the speedway, he leased it out to several promoters over the years.
“I was involved with my business, and it took up all of my time,” Broadwell said. “Leaseholders operated the track and continued to make improvements over the years.”
David Mitchell and Shay Martin currently lease the track.
“A lot of people in this community have loved and supported the track for decades,” the promoters said on the Fayetteville Motor Speedway Facebook page. “You have made the track your ‘home away from home’ and shared many great memories with each other here. Our hearts are heavy for you….”
Broadwell acknowledged the viability of running a racetrack as a business.
“A number of promoters could explain how difficult it was to make money there,” said Broadwell. “The current promoters are great tenants. They shortened the track, did renovations to make it into a bullring. They have been great operators of the speedway.”
He also conceded the reality of building a new track in Fayetteville.
“It would be very difficult to permit a new track, mainly because of noise regulations,” Broadwell said. “There are a lot of new regulations in force since 1968, when the speedway was built.”
Remaining 2025 Fayetteville Motor Speedway Schedule
Sept. 27: Carolina Clash Super Late Models $7,500-to-win Carlton Lamm “Big C” Memorial Race
Oct. 4: Kelly Moore Memorial Street Stock Race & Mid-East Series Championship Races
Oct. 25: Ricky Sullivan Memorial (End of points season)
Nov. 8: Legends of the Fall
Nov. 29: Michael Freeman Memorial
“The track had really loyal and enthusiastic fans,” said Broadwell. “I know they are disappointed.”
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.
