Nashville Superspeedway is a tri-oval intermediate speedway near Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It has held a variety of racing events since its opening in 2001, including NASCAR and the IndyCar Series. The track currently owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) since 2021 and led by track general manager Matt Greci.
The track has a current permanent seating capacity of 25,000, with potential to expand to 38,000 with temporary grandstands. It is one of three NASCAR tracks that features a concrete racing surface instead of the traditional asphalt; its sibling tracks in Dover, Delaware and Bristol, Tennessee, are the other two. Along with the main track, the track complex also features a road course layout that uses parts of the main track along with an infield road course that is used to make a "roval". The complex initially planned to expand further to include a drag strip, short track, and a dedicated road course; however, these plans were scrapped.
Initial plans for the track were announced in 1997 by Dover Downs Entertainment (last known as Dover Motorsports) as part of a rise of popularity in stock car racing in the 1990s and with hopes to bring back the NASCAR Cup Series to the Nashville area. The track opened in 2001 to host Indy Racing League and the NASCAR Busch Series. However, a decade later, all major racing left the track due to poor attendance caused by the failure to obtain a Cup Series race, and was left desolate and abandoned for nearly a decade. In 2020, in a surprise move, Dover Motorsports announced the return of NASCAR racing; this time with the NASCAR Cup Series.
Description
Configuration Nashville Superspeedway in its current form is measured at , with 14 degrees of banking in the track's turns, nine degrees of banking in the track's frontstretch, and six degrees of banking in the track's backstretch. Varying sanctioning bodies have disputed the length of the track; NASCAR's official measurement is at 1.33 mi, while IndyCar measures the track at .
Along with the main track, an infield road course was built with the main track's construction. According to The Daily News Journal, the course measured , and held its first races in July 2001.
Amenities The track is served by Interstate 840 and Tennessee State Route 452. State Route 452 was built as part of a project by the Tennessee Department of Transportation in 2000 in order to accommodate traffic for the track. According to The Tennessean, as of 2021, the track has a permanent seating capacity of 25,000, with potential to increase to 40,000 for NASCAR races with temporary grandstands. In 2023, a capacity with the temporary grandstands was reported at 38,000. At its peak, the track had a reported capacity of 50,000, with hopes of expanding to 150,000 according to a 2001 report by The Daily News Journal.
Track history
Planning and construction In the 1990s, a boom period of large-capacity and modern tracks that correlated with the rise of NASCAR occurred, with nationwide efforts being made to build tracks to lure a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race weekend. In November 1997, initial plans for a $25–30 million, 50,000-seat track to be built in the Nashville metropolitan area were made in a joint announcement between Dover Downs Entertainment (last known as Dover Motorsports) and Gaylord Entertainment (now known as Ryman Hospitality Properties), with hopes of the track hosting Winston Cup races. If successful, the track would be the first track to host Winston Cup races in Middle Tennessee since 1984, though the chance of success was met with heavy skepticism due to the track's small capacity. In the early planning stages, although track developers expressed desires to build the track and prioritize finding a location within Davidson County, they couldn't find a suitable 1,200-acre site, with developers getting suggestions to look outside Davidson County. Developers later stated that they planned to build an initial track that could hold 50,000, with potential to expand to 150,000 to 200,000 if needed.
Delays, opposition By March 1998, although a location had not been selected, developer Denis McGlynn was "confident" the track would open by 2000. In April, he expressed hopes of hosting NHRA and IndyCar events. On May 21, developers anticipated a site decision within "three or four weeks". Three days later, The Daily News Journal reported that McGlynn had narrowed down options to four sites, likely in Rutherford or Wilson County. However, by July, construction had been delayed, putting the project at risk. However, the News Journal reported that a plot of land owned by Harding University in northern Rutherford County was under consideration, along with a second undisclosed site. By month’s end, the company began efforts to purchase the land and other smaller parcels.
The project received mixed reactions from property owners in Rutherford County, with some refusing to sell. To further compound issues, many local residents voiced concerns about traffic and noise, with guarantees of a Winston Cup date still being thought of as a longshot. In August, Dover Downs Entertainment expanded its plans for Nashville Superspeedway, increasing the budget to $125 million and aiming to buy 2,600–2,700 acres to build an industrial park. In early October, Dover Downs opted to file a separate rezoning request for 1,600 acres of land along the Wilson County border, deciding to submit both plans; although the Rutherford County plot was preferred, the company considered moving the entire project solely to Wilson County due to about 230 acres of land not being sold by disinterested property owners. On October 20, with the Rutherford County plan receiving increased criticism and adamant holdouts, Dover Downs announced the project would proceed solely in Wilson County.
After a two-week delay for Wilson County officials to review the rezoning plans, the request was set for a hearing on November 7, with expanded plans to include a dragstrip, road course, dirt track, and a short track. The officials voted on December 21, approving the rezoning 22–3. This raised concerns over the future of Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, valued as a historic site despite aging facilities. In February 1999, a group opposing the track, County Residents Against Racetrack Havoc (CRASH), sued Wilson County, alleging zoning violations and subsequent potential delays in construction against the county.
Construction The local Wilson County Sports Authority, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and Dover Downs Entertainment agreed to raise $15 million for renovations concerning the track's infrastructure, which was approved by the Tennessee General Assembly in March 1999. Due to the delays, in April, the track announced that the opening year had been pushed back to 2001. By May, the track itself, which now had a budget of $47 million, was now in doubt if it could make a sufficient economic impact. That same month, developers announced a groundbreaking date in August or September 1999, with new plans to oversee a 1,000-acre plot of land for private development. In July, Gaylord Entertainment backed out of the partnership, but Dover Downs insisted that it would not affect the construction of the track; a groundbreaking date was later announced on August 12, to take place on the 26th of the same month. The track was officially named "Nashville Superspeedway" on the 25th.
Groundbreaking took place as scheduled. However, just before the groundbreaking ceremony, CRASH accused Dover Downs and Wilson County of "fail[ing] to follow its ordinances" and a lack of notice of intent to rezone, adding to their lawsuit. Three days after the ceremony, an analysis ran by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation found that building the 3,100-acre complex would seriously harm the habitat of the endangered Tennessee coneflower, with fears of destroying a major glade. As a result of this finding, CRASH attempted to tack on allegations of environmental destruction; the idea was repelled by track supporters, who claimed that the flower could survive the construction regardless and that CRASH paid no mind of the flowers until the finding was released. By January 2000, the NASCAR Busch Series (now known as the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series) stated that in 2001, they would move from its race at the Fairgrounds to Nashville Superspeedway, along with the longstanding flagship race of the Fairgrounds, the All-American 400. Four months later, developers began to work on the foundations of the track, hoping to open in April 2001. That same month, in an abrupt transition, the track switched general managers; Cliff Hawks, the executive director of the Fairgrounds, replaced Joe Ernest.
With the additions of Chicagoland Speedway and Kansas Speedway to the Cup Series schedule, the chances of the track's hopes of getting a Cup Series date dwindled heavily despite McGlynn stating otherwise. In June, multiple developments were announced; construction of the road course began, the addition of an Indy Racing League (IRL) race, and the release of a new logo. The next month, although NASCAR stated they had no plans to hold a Cup Series race at the track, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) announced hopes to host events at the complex in 2002. Track paving was completed in early November, with tickets going on sale within the same month. By January 2001, the track announced additional suites from its initial 24 to accommodate higher demand. The track itself was completed the next month. The first test runs took place in early March, drawing positive reviews from testers Tim Steele and Shawna Robinson. Final approvals of zoning changes for the project were approved in the same month, essentially killing appeals made by CRASH. However, by this point, most development planned for the project hadn't started, putting the hopes of the track holding major events and economic growth for Wilson County businesses under doubt. At the end of its construction, Dover Downs was recorded to have spent $125 million on the initial phase of the project.
Early years The track officially opened to the public on April 7, 2001, for an open house event. Five days later, after a short electrical worker pay dispute that lasted for three days, the track opened to drivers and teams for practice and qualifying sessions. It drew mixed reception from drivers of the NASCAR Busch Series; drivers such as Todd Bodine and Bobby Hamilton expressed concerns about a lack of grip, while others such as Kevin Harvick hoped that the track would gain grip as time progressed. The track held its first races on April 13 and 14, with Ken Schrader and Greg Biffle winning ARCA Re/Max Series and Busch Series events, respectively. As a result of the complaints of slickness, McGlynn opted to resurface a part of the track between the first and second turns. The facility held its first IRL race on July 21, with Buddy Lazier winning the event. Both weekends both did not see sellout crowds. Six days after the IRL event, NASCAR announced that the track was awarded a second Busch Series weekend starting in 2002. The next month, the track held its first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event.