COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — A speedway in East Tennessee is making its return with a little attention from Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The Newport Speedway in Cocke County hopes to have the track up and running by the end of the year. The speedway has been around for almost 50 years but hasn't seen a single race in almost seven years. The new owner of the track, Chuck Ward, hopes to change that.
"This is a racer's race track. This is everything you want in a race track as a race car driver," Ward said. "My vision is to have a premier venue, a great racetrack, a great concert venue that people can come and enjoy a good race or a good concert."
Ward returned to the track where his team won his last race, hoping to restore it to its former glory.
"We actually won the last race that we raced here. We had a late-model team about 20 years ago," Ward said.
He also said he wants to use his experience in the industry to change the track into a racer's playground.
"We want to make it fair to every racer, and make it affordable to every racer where they can come out and feel like they can accomplish something," he said.
Ward said that with the heat, the danger and the money — racing is no easy feat.
"But man, being able to put on a show for these people, it's just gonna be next to anything you've ever experienced in your life," Ward said.
Ward said he plans for the speedway to be host to more than just races. He also wants community events and concerts to be active as early as August.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. took to social media on April 3 to express his excitement about the restoration of the Newport Speedway.
"The fact that new generations are gonna be able to experience that too and it'll be a living part of their heritage," said Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis.