Nashville, Bristol Motor Speedway confirm discussions on operations agreement for Fairgrounds race track

Bristol Motor Speedway and parent company Speedway Motorsports confirmed Monday they are exploring plans to help the city of Nashville bring televised NASCAR racing back to the historic Fairgrounds track.

Mayor Roy Cooper said he wants to take away the burden of taxpayers’ dollars going for the upkeep of the historic speedway which lays claim to the title of the second-oldest race track in the US.

Exciting news today. Please follow @RestoreNFS and check out https://t.co/JoanUOtRvL#NASCAR #RestoreNashvilleFairgroundsSpeedway https://t.co/SbPliW2ZE4

— BristolMotorSpeedway (@BMSupdates) December 21, 2020

Momentum for the project gained speed in late 2019 when Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Jr., proposed bringing the circuit back to Music City shortly after he and the staff at iRacing digitized the 1.3-mile track for its online simulator.

Bristol staff would take over the management and maintenance of the facility which would require a major overhaul of its facilities under the new agreement.

(IMAGE: GM)