Brian Smith grew up going to Tazewell Speedway. He first raced the high-banked oval in 1988 with a 1968 Pontiac Firebird. Now he and his wife, Paula, have entered an agreement to purchase the facility from Gary and Shirlene Hall.
“The place is just special,” Brian Smith, of Barbourville, Kentucky, said. “The fans are so loyal; the action is so thrilling.,” Smith said. “The turns are banked 30 degrees; the straightaways banked in the 20s of degrees. Late models turn the track in 11 seconds. Side bite is not important because the banking of the track catches you. You don’t feel the car roll over, whereas a flat track will pull a driver out of his seat. You can go to any other racetrack and it won’t be the same.”
It’s that banking and high-speed nature that’s made Tazewell Speedway feared as much as it’s beloved.
“You tear up less equipment here,” said Brian. “I’ve run all season without tearing up my car and have gone to one flat-track race and wrecked all my equipment. Tazewell is one of the greatest dirt tracks in America. [It’s] a unique track that looks intimidating when you watch racing on it, but it’s not so bad when you are driving on it.”
Besides racing at Tazewell, Brian and Paula Smith have another personal connection to the track. Before they could drive, Brian’s parents would pick up Paula and take the young couple to the Tazewell Speedway for date nights. Paula will work in the track’s office while Brian will oversee much of the staff he plans to retain from the Halls’ ownership of the facility. Likewise, Gary Hall has agreed to help the Smiths with prepping the track. Brian intends to apply the business acumen he acquired while running his siding and gutter business.
“I worked in the business my father created,” Brian said. “I don’t plan on being a race director, tech inspector, or holding any other position at my track. I’ll be the guy that makes sure everything is going right. I want Tazewell Speedway to run smoothly and I want to try to make everyone happy, which I know will be impossible at times, but I’ll do the best I can.”
Brian also plans to make improvements to the storied dirt oval.
“Bathrooms will be upgraded and easier to access,” said Brian. “That’s the first thing Paula asked me to do. I’m looking into LED lights for the track. The PA system will be improved.”
When faced with the possibility of purchasing the track that meant so much to him over the years, Brian thought it over for a month.
“A friend said I needed therapy because I wanted to buy Tazewell,” Brian said. “He said he had just the therapy I needed. ‘I’ll tie you up and kick you in the balls 10 times. That will get that racetrack off your mind,’ [he said.] I thought about what he said but it didn’t change my mind. I called Gary [Hall] and said, ‘Let’s do it!”
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.
