For the first time in many years, Sugar Creek Raceway has a large schedule featuring many big events. The Blue Ridge, Georgia, dirt oval starts off its 2024 season with the American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products on April 6.
This year represents the second season under promoters Todd Freese and Rick Norton.
“We were just a couple of friends running around racetracks,” Freese said of himself and Norton. “Scott Stewart, the guy who owns the racetrack, approached us about running it.”
Freese’s modest take ignores the fact that the two had also sponsored cars. Plus, Freese operated a wrecker at many NASCAR events for nearly 30 years. Both are business owners and they hope to combine their business acumen with their love of racing to help Sugar Creek Raceway prosper.
This year they hope to draw fans, such as themselves, to the track just 20 minutes south of where Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia meet.
The look to do this through a schedule packed with touring series visits. Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals (May 3). Topless Outlaws (May 18 and September 21). Red Clay Series (June 15). USCS sprint cars (July 12). Cumberland Plateau Open Wheel Modifieds (July 27). Southern All Stars Series (August 24). And, yes, the American All-Star Series.
When Freese and Norton took over, they invested heavily into improving the surface at the track. After a recent practice session, Freese received confirmation that it was money well spent.
“One guy called me,” said Freese. “He told me, ‘I’ve been racing for 15 years — I know a lot of racetracks. I can absolutely say that was the best surface I ever raced one.’”
The American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products will be the first this season to take advantage of that surface on Saturday, April 6. The rest of the night’s schedule includes 602 late models, open wheel modifieds, street stocks, pony stocks, and front-wheel-drives.
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Outside Groove is a sponsor of the American All-Star Series. The American All-Star Series paid for the production of this article. The content is not subject to the approval of the American All-Star Series.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
