Will the Need for Speed Survive?
RINGGOLD, Ga. (WDEF) – Since 1951, those with a need for speed have flocked to Boyd’s Speedway in Catoosa County.
However, it is facing an uncertain future.
The 3/8ths of a mile dirt short track off I-75 has played host to racing royalty.
Kathie Coulter, the granddaughter of track founder E.A. Boyd, named, “Richard Petty from NASCAR, Bobby Allison, Neil Bonnett, Red Farmer, the Fryer Brothers which are historic here in Chattanooga, Jody Ridley from Chatsworth. In the more modern day, you’re going to have Dale McDowell, Ronnie Johnson, Jonathan Davenport have all raced here at Boyd’s Speedway.”
The track has played host to two NASCAR Cup Series races, in 1962 and 1964 won by Joe Weatherly and David Pearson.
It’s also hosted the World of Outlaws, Lucas Late Model Dirt Series, and countless weekly races.
However, with the track announcing yesterday that it’s been sold, and this year’s racing season canceled, many are wondering if the engines are forever silent.
He always loved racing and wanted to do something for the community.
She said, “He always loved racing and wanted to do something for the community.”
A historic aerial shot of Boyd’s Speedway near the Tennessee-Georgia state line in Catoosa County. I-75 had not yet been built in the area. (Courtesy: Kathie Coulter)
She says the business model for short tracks is getting more difficult as more entertainment options are available for potential customers.
Coulter said, “But the diehard community, they are diehard when it comes to racing, and they are all heartbroken when it comes to this situation.”
It is unclear what the Brown Brothers Construction Company, the company purchasing the track, is planning to do with the speedway.
Our request for comment from them has yet to be answered.
Coulter thinks because of the track’s proximity to the South Chickamauga Creek, it would be difficult for the land to be used in other ways.
She said, “We were always under the impression that you couldn’t fill it in. Well, I know that is definitely an option on their behalf since they are a construction company, so we’re wondering if that’s going to mess up the wetlands, where all the water that would accumulate here, where it’s going to go? Camping World maybe in danger.”
If this is it for Boyd’s Speedway, Coulter will have a lifetime of memories.
Coulter said, “So many great memories. Memories of my dad’s racecar racing down here and my fiancée racing down here and all of our friends and family. It’s definitely a blow to the community because a lot of people devote their livelihoods to racing and building cars and coming on the weekends and everything. That’s essentially been taken away in the immediate Chattanooga area with Cleveland and now Boyd’s.”
