Kentucky’s Hidden Hollow Speedway is nothing like the former Lucky 7 Speedway. Its promoter Stephen Breeding has rebuilt it from the ground up, loosely following the original lines of the track and putting in all-new facilities. It’s a rebirth not only for the Eastern Kentucky track, but perhaps also for Breeding himself.
When his father, Tim Breeding, passed away in 2021, Stephen lost all interest in the sport, selling his equipment and the Tennessee campground his father owned. However, Stephen, would drive by the site of Lucky 7 Speedway on his way to work in Wheelwright, Kentucky.
“I kept thinking about that property [of Lucky 7 Speedway],” Stephen, of Isom, Kentucky, said. “I finally got a hold of the people who owned and came to a deal.”
Stephen bought the property in October 2024, but he wasn’t interested in the track at first.
“What I had planned on doing was opening up a campground for ATVs,” said Stephen. “I wanted to do something close to home for the community like my Dad used to do. He was pretty big in our small town. He’s the guy who helped everybody — it didn’t matter who you were.”
Friend Tony Sturgill approached him.
“[Tony] said, ‘Why don’t you open that racetrack?’” Stephen said. “I said, ‘I don’t want to open the racetrack. I ain’t fooling with dirt racing anymore.’ The more I kept working on the place, I said, ‘Well, let’s just see how many people want it done.’ What [Tony] did, he made a video about it and there were 30,000, 40,000 views. I said, ‘All right, if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right. We’re not going to cut corners.’”
Lucky 7 Speedway sat dormant for more than a decade. Stephen said that vegetation grown up so much that a path just big enough for an ATV could get through to the track. He cleared the land and went to rebuilding the track as Hidden Hollow Speedway. The only thing that remains from the previous facility is the rough shape of the track, that’s it. Stephen invested a lot of time and money into improving the facility, driven by a vision.
“I had a dream one night, and my dad was in it,” said Stephen. “We were at this place right here and we were building a track. Ever since then, it’s lit a fire under me.”
Stephen Breeding has aspirations of Hidden Hollow Speedway attracting some of the top series in racing to Eastern Kentucky. He hopes to make it a gem that brings out people from afar and provides an economic boost to an area struggling in recent years.
The first series to visit the newly revitalized Hidden Hollow Speedway? The Dirt Rich TV American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products on Friday, August 15. It’s part of a series doubleheader weekend that includes Lawrenceburg Speedway on Saturday, August 16.
Stephen promises it will be a quick, efficient show, with great racing. In fact, he mentioned he just recently got pointers on how to prepare the track from another promoter who earned a good reputation for his track work — Mitch McCarter, formerly of 411 Motor and Volunteer speedways.
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.
