Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a 1.330-mile (2.140 km) tri-oval intermediate speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The track has held a variety of racing series since its opening in 2001, including NASCAR and the IndyCar Series. It has been owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) since 2021, with Matt Greci currently serving as the track's general manager. The track is served by Interstate 840 and Tennessee State Route 452.
Not to be confused with the Fairgrounds Speedway, the other race track in Nashville.Location
4847-F McCreary Road, Lebanon, Tennessee, 37090
Speedway Motorsports (2021–present)
Dover Motorsports (2001–2021)
Speedway Motorsports (2021–present)
Dover Motorsports (2001–2021)
26 August 1999
7 April 2001
$125 million USD
Current:
NASCAR Cup Series
Ally 400 (2021–present)
IndyCar Series
Music City Grand Prix (2001–2008, 2024)
Concrete
2.140 km (1.330 miles)
4
Turns: 14°
Frontstretch: 9°
Backstretch: 6°
0:22.9685 (
Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara IR-02, 2003, IndyCar)
The track has a current permanent seating capacity of 25,000, with potential to expand to 38,000 with temporary grandstands. Along with the main track, the track complex also features a 1.8 miles (2.9 km) road course layout that uses parts of the main track along with an infield road course that is used to make a "roval". The complex initially planned to expand further to include a drag strip, short track, and a dedicated road course; however, these plans were scrapped.
Initial plans for the track were announced in 1997 by Dover Downs Entertainment (last known as Dover Motorsports) as part of a rise of popularity in stock car racing in the 1990s and with hopes to bring back the NASCAR Cup Series to the Nashville area. The track opened in 2001 to host IndyCar and the second-tier NASCAR Busch Series (now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series). However, a decade later, all major racing left the track due to poor attendance caused by the lack of a Cup Series race, and was essentially left desolate and abandoned for nearly a decade. In 2020, in a surprise move, Dover Motorsports announced the return of NASCAR racing; this time with the NASCAR Cup Series.
Description[edit]
Configuration[edit]
The track in its current form is measured at 1.33 miles (2.14 km), with 14 degrees of banking in the track's turns, nine degrees of banking in the track's frontstretch, and six degrees of banking in the track's backstretch.[1] Varying sanctioning bodies have disputed the length of the track; NASCAR's official measurement is at 1.33 mi,[2] while IndyCar measures the track at 1.333 miles (2.145 km).[3]
Along with the main track, an infield road course was built with the main track's construction. According to The Daily News Journal, the course measured 1.3 miles (2.1 km),[4] and held its first races in July 2001.[5]
Amenities[edit]
The track is served by Interstate 840 and Tennessee State Route 452. State Route 452 was built as part of a project by the Tennessee Department of Transportation in 2000 in order to accommodate traffic for the track.[6] According to The Tennessean, as of 2021, the track has a permanent seating capacity of 25,000, with potential to increase to 40,000 for NASCAR races with temporary grandstands.[7] In 2023, a capacity with the temporary grandstands was reported at 38,000.[8] At its peak, the track had a reported capacity of 50,000, with hopes of expanding to 150,000 according to a 2001 report by The Daily News Journal.[9]
Track history[edit]
Planning and construction[edit]
In the 1990s, a boom period of large-capacity and modern tracks that correlated with the rise of NASCAR occurred, with nationwide efforts being made to build tracks to lure a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race weekend. In November 1997, initial plans for a $25–30 million, 50,000-seat track to be built in the Nashville metropolitan area were made in a joint announcement between Dover Downs Entertainment (last known as Dover Motorsports) and Gaylord Entertainment (now known as Ryman Hospitality Properties), with hopes of the track hosting Winston Cup races. If successful, the track would be the first track to host Winston Cup races in Middle Tennessee since 1984,[10] though the chance of success was met with heavy skepticism due to the track's small capacity.[11] In the early planning stages, although track developers expressed desires to build the track and prioritize finding a location within Davidson County, they couldn't find a suitable 1,200-acre site, with developers getting suggestions to look outside Davidson County.[12] Developers later stated that they planned to build an initial track that could hold 50,000, with potential to expand to 150,000 to 200,000 if needed.[13][14]