LEBANON, Tenn. — Exit Interstate 840 and turn east onto Bill France Boulevard. Drive a half-mile down, then turn left onto McCrary Road. Through the line of trees, you’ll spot an asymmetrical structure with a large tower at the top.
You’ve arrived at Nashville Superspeedway.
I drove through the tunnel that runs under the middle of Turns 3 and 4 and pulled into the Middle Tennessee track for the first time in my life.
Today’s my first ever trip to @NashvilleSuperS, and it’s for a Goodyear tire test.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/p04uFh6eIn
— Tucker White (@TuckerWhite94) March 23, 2021
While Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and Kurt Busch turned laps for a Goodyear tire test, I took note of Nashville Superspeedway’s condition.
Condition of Nashville Superspeedway
Opened in 2001, Nashville Superspeedway was one of many tracks built during this time period to capitalize on NASCAR’s growing popularity. While it hosted XFINITY Series, Camping World Truck Series and NTT IndyCar Series races, it never got its big goal, a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Since 2011, the track laid dormant. Only the occasional team or Goodyear tire test kept it in operation.
All this changed on June 2, 2020, however, when parent company Dover Motorsports Inc. announced that it will move one of Dover’s race weekends to Nashville Superspeedway. This included the long desired Cup Series race.
Of course, it needed major upgrades to bring it up to Cup Series standards. Ongoing renovations include the media center, luxury suites, lighting, infield roads, etc.
“If you walked away from your house for 10 years and didn’t do much in it, you’d have a couple of things that you’d want to address before inviting friends and family in and that’s exactly what we’re doing here with this entire venue,” Erik Moses, track president, said.
Condition of Nashville Superspeedway
How it looks
From what I saw on pit road, as the Goodyear tire test progressed, the track looks in decent shape. Just some chipped paint on the pit road wall and discoloration on the outside walls.
Nothing a few hundred gallons of paint won’t fix.
I witnessed crews working in the press box and luxury suites, making Nashville Superspeedway look presentable.
But how’s the track holding up?
Moses heard from his team and “others who have been here” that not much needs done to the concrete racing surface.
“One great thing about the concrete track here is that it is the longest on the circuit and is in good condition,” he said.
Condition of Nashville Superspeedway
Tire test
Furthermore, the Goodyear tire test provides Nashville a means of evaluating the track.
“We’re fortunate to have three cup drivers out here putting their cars on the track and testing various tire compounds with Goodyear,” Moses said. “So that’ll tell us a lot and give us a lot of data to help us make certain that we’re in the best position to have the most competitive and exciting race possible for Father’s Day weekend.”
Of course, Briscoe noted that the tires they tested started cording after 20-25 laps. Though he’s not sure if that’s just a case of not enough cars on track at once to lay down rubber.
“I don’t know what the racing is going to be like just because there were only three of us there,” he said. “We never really got off the bottom, but it’s cool to go to a new place.”
Luckily for Moses, Nashville Superspeedway is guaranteed a Cup Series race for the next four years. So time is on his side.
TOP IMAGE: Tucker White/LastWordonSports.com
