Richard Petty advocates for the return of Nashville Fairgrounds to the NASCAR Cup series

The track holds a really special place in the heart of Richard Petty.

Richard Petty advocates for the return of Nashville Fairgrounds to the NASCAR Cup series

NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at DAYTONA Feb 16, 2023 Daytona Beach, Florida, USA Former driver and team owner Richard Petty on pit road before the start of the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway. Daytona Beach Daytona International Speedway Florida USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJohnxDavidxMercerx 20230216_jdm_sx1_002

Seven times NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty has called for the return of Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway to the top tier yet again. The Track hasn’t hosted a Cup event since 1984. It hasn’t hosted a top-3 tier race in the 21st century as the track lost its Xfinity series spot in 200 and the Truck Series spot in the same year.

Currently, the track hosts two significant racing series events. Tony Stewarts’ Superstar Racing Experience has held races at the track since 2021, and the ARCA Menards Series has also been visiting the track since 2021. It has also hosted the Super Late Model race, All American 400, since the 2012 season.

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During his recent visit to the Nashville track, King Petty experienced his desire to see the track again hosting Cup events. He envisions a fairy tale return to the series, like what happened at North Wilkesboro. Petty pointed out that the track has played a significant role in NASCAR’s growth and Nashville Superspeedways’ growth, which currently hosts Cup races.

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I would like to see NASCAR come back here like it came back to Wilkesboro (North Carolina) to show the history to people that this is where it all started. I mean they wouldn’t have that big race track on the other side of town (Nashville Superspeedway) if it hadn’t been for this race track here. It took tracks like this to nurture NASCAR into growing into what it has become.
Petty told THE TENNESSEAN.

Richard Petty has a special relationship with the Nashville track

Petty’s appreciation and love for the track are no coincidence. After all, the 200 times Cup race winner is the winningest driver at the track. He has won nine races at the track, closely followed by Darrell Waltrip. The duo has combined to win 17 of the 42 races.

Richard Pettty and Kyle Petty (1)
Richard Pettty and Kyle Petty

But that’s not the only thing that gives the track a special place in the heart of Petty. He pointed out that it’s one of the few tracks where all racers from his family have raced. His father, Lee Petty, son, Kyle Petty, and late grandson, Adam Petty, have raced before.

This is one of the few tracks that my dad (Lee) ran, I ran, my son ran, and my grandson ran. So, four generations have Pettys have run this racetrack, and that makes it very special to me.

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