This was the race track where I caught the racing bug as a kiddo. There used to be a link from the now defunct Louisville Motor Speedway (thanks Jerry Carroll), to some old pictures from the old Fairgrounds Track. Does anybody know of another link to those old photos?
ThingsThat Explode....didn't you used to work at LMS?
I know it's not what you're after but were you there for the 1966 WAKY Promotional Figure 8 Race in 1966?
Tommy Downs, country singing star and WTMT morning jock is seated on the far right with a trophy in his hand. He won the race
Yep. From the second day (they discovered to their horror they didn't have enough scorersOriginally Posted by indyguy
This was the race track where I caught the racing bug as a kiddo. There used to be a link from the now defunct Louisville Motor Speedway (thanks Jerry Carroll
ThingsThat Explode....didn't you used to work at LMS?) till I moved to Tennessee in 92. Even then I'd come up every weekend. It was a heckuva commute, but they took pretty good care of me. Besides, that was my only source of income at the time. 94 was my last regular season, then I would come up for the big shows (Bluegrass 300, F8 special events) till the track finally shut down.
I will not set foot at Kentucky Super Speedway because of Jerry Carroll and what he allowed to happen to what was America's finest short track. True, Andy Vertrees' ill-advised revamping of the layout didn't help a whole lot ("Two turns and a 'whoops!'" Mel Kenyon once described it to me) but it was still unique and super fan-friendly.
I promise, I will post links to my LMS pix on the short track board soon. I have a bunch I need to scan yet. It's very bittersweet, putting that together, believe me. So much of my real formative years went into that place--I could go on and on, but that's best left for the tribute page I'm working on. For now, come and see us at the 'Plex--we open with an amazing triple header the last weekend in March: the ultra competitive ASA Late Model Series on the 31st, and the very next day, the CRA Super Series and the NASCAR Whelen Modifieds. Yow!
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I'm not sure if I was there or not, because I was only one year old in '66, but it is quite possible. My mother told me that she went to the races there when she was pregnant with me.I know it's not what you're after but were you there for the 1966 WAKY Promotional Figure 8 Race in 1966?
Tommy Downs, country singing star and WTMT morning jock is seated on the far right with a trophy in his hand. He won the race
1st was the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, near the football stadium. Then, south of town, was the track that Jerry Carroll let go away, still to this day not replaced.
Who was the black guy who used to announce at the old Fairgrounds? Chuck somebody?
http://www.hoseheads.com/dannyb.html
Wanna know what's wrong with NASCAR? They've gone from Junior Johnson to Jimmie Johnson.
Wanna know what's wrong with IndyCar? It's gone from dirt ovals to street races.
That sounds like a heck of a show. There's only one problem with Nashville. My brother in law lives there...
"It was actually fun, because you're back fully driving again in these trucks. Ninety percent of the tracks we go to in the IRL, you're flat-out. I was having to lift off the corners some here." - Buddy Rice
Yes Danny B. Fairgrounds Motor Speedway was right next to Fredom Hall and the old Cardinal Staduim that you see driving southbound on I-65. The State Fair Board decided to take the track property for "other " opportunities. the last season was in 1981, I believe. Louisville Motor Speedway was a few miles south of the airport. It opened in 1987. Jerry Carroll, the developer of KY Speedway bought it becuase they had a Truck Series date, which he then moved to the new KY Speedway when it was finished (2000 ?). He told all of the competitors that the next season was a go, and many local racers had already built their cars for the upcoming season. Then, he sold the property and now there is a huge distribution warehouse on the site.
On the Louisville Speedway website, there was a link to a site that had a bunch of old photos from the original Fairgrounds track. I can't seem to find that site anywhere.
I don't remember the announcers name. The flagman at the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway when I was a kid was Johnny Potts.
TTE, do you know Robert Watkins?Yep. From the second day (they discovered to their horror they didn't have enough scorers
I will not set foot at Kentucky Super Speedway because of Jerry Carroll and what he allowed to happen to what was America's finest short track. True, Andy Vertrees' ill-advised revamping of the layout didn't help a whole lot ("Two turns and a 'whoops!'" Mel Kenyon once described it to me) but it was still unique and super fan-friendly.
I promise, I will post links to my LMS pix on the short track board soon. I have a bunch I need to scan yet. It's very bittersweet, putting that together, believe me. So much of my real formative years went into that place--I could go on and on, but that's best left for the tribute page I'm working on. For now, come and see us at the 'Plex--we open with an amazing triple header the last weekend in March: the ultra competitive ASA Late Model Series on the 31st, and the very next day, the CRA Super Series and the NASCAR Whelen Modifieds. Yow!
It's a non wing thing...........................you wouldn't understand
My YouTube racing video's
www.QueenCityMotorsports.com
There's a warehouse there nowadays.
Have ya seen the NASCAR mods before?
holy schnikeys, those cats have more b***s than brains!
Faster than a bullet from a gun
He is faster than everyone
Quicker than the blinking of an eye
Like a flash you could miss him going by
No one knows quite how he does it but it's true they say
He's the master of going faster. -George Harrison
Best racing NASCAR has to offer, IMHO!Have ya seen the NASCAR mods before?
holy schnikeys, those cats have more b***s than brains!
"Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less" - R.E.Lee
Yep. It's the open wheels!!!
John is still around, I believe. He's with the Corbin Soeedway, down I-75, about 25 miles from the TN state line.
Johnny used to come out to Nashville every so often. I think he was involved with IRP back then, but his son Matt was our flagman for at least two or three years.
Matt used to do this neat little routine where all the cars would line up single file on the parade lap, then he'd kneel down on the track and point to each car as it approached him and wave them to their respective rows. He had to come off the ground a couple of times as I recall to avoid some jokers who tried to dust him, but it usually came off looking pretty cool.
WTMT...ahhh, yes. They used to broadcast our races live each night, or rather highlights of most of the show and the "featured" race was live. It was pretty neat. The voice was a fellow named "Lean" Dean Metcalf, who was quite a nice guy and a great voice. He and Frank Scott would do a weekly call in show on Thursdays, IIRC, which was well done and got a pretty wide audience. I was on the show a couple of times myself, usually when an open wheel show came to town, because I was the guy who knew who all the USAC and AAMS drivers were. I got to interview Tom Bigelow over the phone on the air once. Pretty neat for a guy who was about a year out of living from the back of a pickup...
RW: come on out and see our show. We'll put you up in The Bunker!
Indyguy: Yes, I certainly do know Robert Watkins, and I'm sure he remembers me too...he was kind of the be-all do-all at LMS, much like Jody McKenzie at MCM, the guy behind the scenes who never got a lot of credit for what he was doing but without whom the track couldn't function. If he wanted to, he could probably run any racetrack in the country. Not sure what he's doing these days, I keep hoping once I get my page up I'll hear from him and the Ford brothers and more of our fellow "red shirts".
Been there! I saw the first NASCAR Truck Race there as well as USAC Midgets. I always thought that there was something odd about the 1st turn and the last turn and the photo show it. The 1st turn appears to be slightly less than 90 degrees and the last turn is slightly more than 90 degrees. Really weird place, but it did produce some interesting racing!
Does anyone know why the layout turned out to be so strange? It seems that there is lots of land around it, so it doesn't seem that they were trying to avoid something Darlington did.
TTE, Robert and his brothers are doing site work contracting in the south Louisville area. I am in the construction business also obert and I have done some business together. My wife use to live by Robert when they were kids and she hung out with one of his sisters. Next time I see Robert, I will tell him that I caught with you. What's your name?Johnny used to come out to Nashville every so often. I think he was involved with IRP back then, but his son Matt was our flagman for at least two or three years.
Matt used to do this neat little routine where all the cars would line up single file on the parade lap, then he'd kneel down on the track and point to each car as it approached him and wave them to their respective rows. He had to come off the ground a couple of times as I recall to avoid some jokers who tried to dust him, but it usually came off looking pretty cool.
WTMT...ahhh, yes. They used to broadcast our races live each night, or rather highlights of most of the show and the "featured" race was live. It was pretty neat. The voice was a fellow named "Lean" Dean Metcalf, who was quite a nice guy and a great voice. He and Frank Scott would do a weekly call in show on Thursdays, IIRC, which was well done and got a pretty wide audience. I was on the show a couple of times myself, usually when an open wheel show came to town, because I was the guy who knew who all the USAC and AAMS drivers were. I got to interview Tom Bigelow over the phone on the air once. Pretty neat for a guy who was about a year out of living from the back of a pickup...
RW: come on out and see our show. We'll put you up in The Bunker!
Indyguy: Yes, I certainly do know Robert Watkins, and I'm sure he remembers me too...he was kind of the be-all do-all at LMS, much like Jody McKenzie at MCM, the guy behind the scenes who never got a lot of credit for what he was doing but without whom the track couldn't function. If he wanted to, he could probably run any racetrack in the country. Not sure what he's doing these days, I keep hoping once I get my page up I'll hear from him and the Ford brothers and more of our fellow "red shirts".
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