King of
the Mountain Fall Classic Next at Smoky Mountain!
(September
14, 2021) Smoky Mountain Speedway returns to racing action
on Saturday, September 25 for the King of the Mountain Fall Classic
and Hall of Fame Night. Big money will be on the line for three
divisions of racing.
The King of the Mountain Fall Classic is headlined by the Southern
All-Stars for a $7,500 to win race. The program will have qualifying,
heat races, last chance races and the main event. Payton Freeman
is the current Southern All-Stars points leader.
The Vision Wheel Topless Outlaw Dirt Race Series presented by
Discount Tire will also be a part of the King of the Mountain
Fall Classic for a $3,000 to win race. Hall of Famer Ronnie Johnson
has a commanding lead in the series point standings.
The front wheel drive cars will also be in action for $500 to
win.
September 25 is also Hall of Fame Night as five people will be
inducted into the Smoky Mountain Speedway Hall of Fame. Jay Clark,
Roger Flenniken, Steve Ritchey, Jeff Treece, and Darrell Watson
will be inducted during the intermission of the race program.
A number of current Hall of Fame drivers will be signing autographs
from 4:30-5:15 at the pavilion behind the grandstands.
Pit gates will open at 2:00. Grandstand and tier parking gates
open at 3:00 The drivers meeting is set for 5:45. Hot laps, time
trials, and racing action will begin at 6:15. Grandstand ticket
prices are $25 for adults, kids 11 and under are free. Tier parking
tickets are $40 for adults, kids 11 and under are free. Pit passes
are $40 for adults, kids 11 and under are $20.
| full story
Cory Hedgecock
Holds On for Summer Showdown Win
(August
7, 2021) Smoky Mountain Speedway roared back into action
by welcoming the American Pro Late Model All-Stars for a $10,000
to win event. Thirty-three drivers from across the region signed
in. Following a wild fast car dash, Cory Hedgecock earned the
pole position for the 60-lap race. Hedgecock would lead the field
to the green flag and quickly jumped to the lead over Matt Henderson.
Mack McCarter and Zach Sise would battle for third behind the
front duo. (MRM
Racing Photos)
Henderson stayed locked onto the rear of Hedgecock's machine.
Henderson eventually challenged Hedgecock for the lead. Hedgecock
used the momentum of the outside line to hold off Henderson until
a caution on lap 18. On the restart, Henderson had to fight off
McCarter to maintain second. Hedgecock put some distance between
himself and Henderson until the pair caught heavy, slower traffic.
Following a caution on lap 40, Henderson again had to fight off
McCarter for second. McCarter made contact with the backstretch
wall that ended his night. This moved Eli Beets up to third. Beets
battled Henderson for second on the next restart, but Henderson
quickly maintained the spot and set his sights on Henderson. In
the closing laps, Henderson made several challenges for the lead.
Henderson could not get far enough even with Hedgecock to wrestle
away the lead. Hedgecock held on to win the Summer Showdown.
| full story
Smoky Mountain
Postponement Date Announced - October 8
(July
12, 2021) The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and Smoky
Mountain Speedway officials have found a suitable makeup date
for the $20,000-to-win Mountain Moonshine Classic that was postponed
after heavy rains continued throughout the evening on Saturday,
July 10th. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will make a return
visit to Smoky Mountain Speedway on Friday, October 8th, before
visits to The Red Clay at Woodstock – Historic Dixie Speedway
and Rome Speedway. A complete show of hot laps, qualifying, heats,
and B-Mains will be topped off by a 60 lap A-Main paying $20,000
to win.
General admission tickets and pit passes purchased for the July
10th event will be honored on the make-up date or at any other
event remaining on the 2021 schedule at Smoky Mountain Speedway.
New racing entries will be accepted on the day of the event. General
admission, pit admission, and tier parking ticket sales will be
available online for advance purchase or on-site the day of the
event. For more information please visit www.smokymountainspeedway.com.
Hudson
O'Neal Powers his Way to Iron-Man Classic Victory
(June
19, 2021) Hudson O’Neal used a slide job on a restart
to win Saturday’s Iron Man Classic for the Valvoline Iron
Man Late Models. O’Neal joins his father, Don, as an Iron
Man Classic winner. (MRM
Racing Photos)
Ross Bailes set fast time in group A qualifying to win the pole
position for the 40-lap race. He was joined on the front how by
Spencer Hughes who was the fastest qualifier in group B. As the
green flag waved, Hughes used the outside line to quickly grab
the lead. Bailes was immediately under fire from Mike Marlar in
a battle for second. A series of quick cautions in the first 7
laps slowed the pace of the field. After each restart, Hughes
would maintain his lead as a battle for second took place between
Marlar, Bailes, and O’Neal. Bailes eventually fell out of
the race and left the battle for second to be fought between Marlar
and O’Neal.
Following a caution on lap 12, Marlar chose the outside line
which put O’Neal on the inside line for the restart. When
the green waved, O’Neal dove to the bottom of the track
and pulled his huge slide job in front of Hughes and Marlar. Hughes
tried to power back up to retake the lead, but O’Neal was
already on the gas and maintained the lead.
| full story
King and
Henderson Win on a Night of Mayhem
(May
29, 2021) The 3rd annual Memorial Day Mayhem in the Mountains
lived up to the billing on another night of racing at Smoky Mountain
Speedway. The first feature of the night was the Topless Outlaw
series where 25 drivers were signed in for the $3,000 to win race.
Skip Arp and Matt Henderson were fast time qualifiers in their
respective groups. (MRM
Racing Photos)
Henderson took the lead over Arp as the field came out of turn
2. Cory Hedgecock settled into third as Chase King and Ronnie
Johnson battle for fourth. Hedgecock passed Arp for second a few
laps later and pressured Henderson for the lead. As the field
caught slower traffic, Arp reeled in the top 2. Hedgecock dove
under Henderson on lap 10 coming out of turn 4. Hedgecock tried
to maneuver around a slower car, then was collected by Henderson
that sent all three cars spinning going into turn 1. Hedgecock
rolled up to Henderson’s car and began a yelling match.
Hedgecock would be disqualified from the race due to verbal threats
to Henderson and track officials.
Arp inherited the lead and looked to be on cruise control as
King and Johnson battled for second. Johnson briefly gained second
and tried to dive under Arp for the lead. King would move past
Johnson only to see the hall of famer retake the position before
a lap 32 caution. King got a tremendous jump on the restart to
take second behind Arp. As the checkered flag waved, Arp would
cross the line in first. But Arp was light at the scales and King
collected the win. | full
story
Jimmy Owens
Dominates Smoky Mountain Spring Shootout
(May
8, 2021) Jimmy Owens won the Spring Shootout Spring Nationals
race in dominating fashion on Saturday night. Owens led flag-to-flag
and lapped up to 7th place in securing the win. (MRM
Racing Photos)
Owens led the field to green over Dale McDowell. Owens quickly
sprinted to the lead with McDowell and Brandon Overton to battle
for second. After a pair of early cautions, Owens remained in
control with Overton remaining in his tracks by a few car lengths.
The pair left the rest of the field behind as they maneuvered
through slower traffic. Meanwhile, McDowell, Donald McIntosh,
and Mike Marlar battled for third.
As the lead duo was sorting through lapped traffic, Overton would
close up to a couple of car lengths behind Owens. But Owens was
untouchable in scoring the win worth $10,053.
| full story
Jensen
Ford Powers to Southern All-Stars Victory!
(April
17, 2021) Jensen Ford picked up his first Southern All-Stars
victory by fending off some of the best dirt late model drivers
in the sport. Ford began the night by capturing the pole position
for the 40-lap race by setting fast time in group A qualifying.
He was joined on the front row by Dale McDowell who lead group
B qualifying. (MRM
Racing Photos)
Ford and McDowell battled for the lead on the opening lap. Ford
was able to wrestle away the lead and the field went into turn
3. Ricky Weiss grabbed the third spot over Sam Seawright. As the
leaders caught slower traffic, Ford stretched out his lead over
McDowell. Cory Hedgecock took fourth from Seawright.
A caution on lap 14 slowed the field for a restart. Ford maintained
his lead when the race went back to green. Weiss would use the
outside line to take second away from McDowell. Weiss would close
in on Ford in the closing laps. Ford had no problem in negotiating
lapped traffic to take the win over Weiss. Hedgecock finished
third. McDowell edged Seawright for fourth.
| full story
Chris Madden
Earns Redeeming Tennessee Tipoff Win!
(March
6, 2021) Everything in racing can be going right until
the unexpected creates heartbreak. Flashback to one year ago,
when Chris “Smokey” Madden was leading at Smoky Mountain
Speedway. That’s when power steering issues sidelined him
for the night on Lap 25. One year later, he got his redemption,
leading every lap of Saturday night’s Tennessee Tipoff en
route to his 29th World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Feature win,
and second at Smoky Mountain. (MRM
Racing Photos)
The win makes Madden only the second driver in World of Outlaws
history to win multiple Feature events at the track. While leading
all 50 laps seemed like a dominant performance, Madden held off
challenges from last year’s winner Mike Marlar, and Jonathan
Davenport in heavy lap traffic, to take home the $12,000 prize.
Madden got the jump at the initial green flag, powering to the
number one spot outside of Davenport in Turn 2. He would hold
that position easily through the only two cautions of the race,
the first for debris on Lap 5, the other for a collision between
Cade Dillard and Sam Seawright on Lap 7.
After the final re-start, Madden had to fight through a long
green flag run and heavy lap traffic. The driver of the Drydene
#44 machine caught the tail end of the field on Lap 16, and five
laps later, he’d face his first challenge from Marlar. The
2018 Series champion consistently got a run on Madden into the
corner and poked his nose under him each corner. That’s
when Madden made a switch to the bottom of the racetrack, blocking
Marlar’s runs low line runs. |
full story
SMS Announces
Additional Details Regarding 2021 Schedule!
(January
26, 2021) As January 2021 comes to a close, the staff
at Smoky Mountain Speedway begins to prepare for an action packed
2021 racing season filled with major events for both national
touring series (World of Outlaws in March & Lucas Oil in July)
- as well as - annual events that have become tradition at SMS
with our Rockin' with the Stars event in April & the King
of the Mountain event in September. We have also added a variety
of new adventures planned with first time visits for the Cash
Money Limited Late Models ($5,000 to win in April) and the Red
Clay 602 Late Model Series in July. (Heath
Lawson Photo)
Exciting return visits from the American All Star Series ($10,000
to win in August) and Brucebilt Iron-Man Modified Series on multiple
occasions. Support classes that will be featured in 2021 include
Limited Late Models, 604 Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, 602
Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, & Front Wheel Drives. Details
and rules are outlined below. Thanks so much for your past support
and we look forward to kicking off 2021 in a few short weeks!
RULES for 2021 will be posted to the track website very soon!
* Limited Late Models will use the same rules as the Topless Outlaws.
* 604 Late Models will use the same rules as the American All
Stars.
* Sportsman Late Models rules will be the same as 2020.
* 602 Late Models, Open Wheel Modifeds, & Front Wheel Drives
will be the same rules that are used at 411 Motor Speedway.
| full schedule
Smoky Mountain
Speedway Releases Schedule for 2021 Season!
(December
28, 2020) Plans are coming together for the 2021 racing
season at Smoky Mountain Speedway! Lots of exciting things are
planned including a massive amount of money on the line for our
national and regional racing stars with the biggest weekend in
the history of Smoky Mountain in July 2021 when the Lucas Oil
Late Model Dirt Series comes to town competing for over $125,000
in two nights, plus a $10,000 to win event in August for the American
Crate All Stars Series, also the largest purse offered for 604
crate late models in the history of the speedway. (Heath
Lawson Photo)
The 2021 schedule features 10 scheduled events with visits by
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, World of Outlaws Late Model
Series, Southern All Stars, Schaeffer Oil Spring Nationals, Iron-Man
Championship Late Models and Open Wheel Modifieds, American Crate
All Stars, Topless Outlaws, Kajun Mini Stocks, and more!! Complete
details regarding support divisions and rules for 2021 will be
posted soon! Thanks for your past support of Smoky Mountain Speedway
and we look forward to seeing everyone in a few months.
| full story
