When NASCAR fans come together united, they can drive a change. This much was proved on Monday night as the fans rallied together, voiced their concerns, and raised their demands to save one of the most historic racetracks in the sport.
City Council provides ‘huge victory’ for historic NASCAR track
Greenville-Pickens Speedway had been fighting a long battle for recognition in the face of industrial development. This would’ve meant that the track would be destroyed for corporate interests. But Greenville isn’t just any track.
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The track opened in the 1940s and has hosted NASCAR-sanctioned races in the past and CARS Tour races as well. In fact, it was the venue for the first-ever televised NASCAR race in 1971.
As the situation escalated, fans rallied with their concern and demanded that the track be preserved. And on Monday night, the Pickens City Council passed a resolution that made the NASCAR track a ‘historic site.’
The whole ordeal started after local supporters peacefully rallied in August 2025 to save the historic site, which was the birthplace of the first start-to-finish televised NASCAR race.
This resolution doesn’t entirely resolve the situation of the former NASCAR track. The council claimed that despite the track being recognized as a historic site, it is still prone to being sold or developed.
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However, the supporters of the track believed it was a step in the right direction.
Tasha Kummer, a late model NASCAR stock driver who has been leading the campaign to save the NASCAR track since February this year, claimed that the council’s passing the resolution is ‘a huge victory’ for their cause.
“The developer and the owner of the track now have to reevaluate if they’re willing to continue to take a stance to tear apart our history, our culture, and our legacies,” she wrote.
Kummer claimed that the track’s supporters will continue to move forward at the local and state level to stop the historic track from being demolished.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. open to racing at Greenville-Pickens Speedway
One of the biggest supporters of grassroots racing and old historic racetracks in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr., recently shared his take on Greenville-Pickens Speedway. Earnhardt, who famously led the restoration process of the North Wilkesboro Speedway, is also a part-owner of the CARS Tour.
With the track’s future hung in the balance for many years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed he would race if the track was saved.
“If Greenville Pickens Speedway can survive, the @CARSTour will be first in line to return, and I’ll be the first entry,” he claimed.
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It’s worth mentioning that after he became part of the CARS Tour ownership back in 2023, one of the things Dale Jr. pressed on was helping the grassroots short track racing. He hoped the series would be looked at as a place where one can get recognition for future opportunities.
Earnhardt helped shine that light with the CARS Tour on North Wilkesboro Speedway, a racetrack he helped bring back from the dead. Whether he’d be able to do the same for Greenville Pickens Speedway is something only time will tell, but as of now, the iconic track has stepped in the right direction.
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