The future of one of the longest continually operating race tracks in the state of Georgia came into question Monday morning.
According to a post on the track’s Facebook page, Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Georgia has suspended the 2023 season until further notice. In addition, the current owners, Russell Racing, announced that the racing operations of the track have been sold to a construction company.
“Over the course of the last two years, we have worked incredibly hard to build back Boyd’s Speedway to be one of the best racetracks in the South,” the post read. “While we may not have been perfect…. we gave every ounce of effort possible, and we invested money and resources to continuously make things better.
“However, after many long hours of debate…the Russell family has made the difficult decision to sell Russell Racing and the Racing Operations to Brown Brothers Construction Company.
“At this time the 2023 Racing Season has been suspended until further notice by the new owners.”
The 1/3-mile track, situated on the south side of the Georgia-Tennessee state line next to I-75, was built by E.A. Boyd as a clay track in 1952. Along with local events, the raceway played host to NASCAR Short Track racing, with NASCAR and Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Tim Flock winning there in June 1, 1955. The track was also frequented by the Georgia based Southern Racing Enterprises, with Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Gober Sosebee winning on August 20, 1955.
The speedway was paved in 1962, and played host to a pair of NASCAR Cup Series events. The first was on August 3, 1962, won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Weatherly, with the second on June 19, 1964, won by NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson.
Boyd’s was also a constant site for the NASCAR Modifieds and Late Model Sportsman divisions, seeing several future Georgia and NASCAR Hall of Famers visit victory lane, including Bobby Allison, Freddy Fryar, Bob Burcham, Harold Fryar, Katron Sosebee, Tootle Estes, Jody Ridley and others.
The speedway returned to dirt in 1977 and would become a favorite stop for touring series such as the Southern National Series, the Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series, the Spring National Series, the NeSmith Dirt Late Models, the USCS Sprint Car Series, the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Models, the Valvoline Iron Man Late Models, and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
The track also continued to host weekly racing in local divisions, and held several annual events including the season opening Cabin Fever 40, the St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock race, and the post-Thanksgiving Gobbler race.
The track had undergone several changes in ownership over the years, along with a few name changes, operating as Chattanooga International Raceway, Tennessee-Georgia Speedway, and Stateline Speedway, among others. But it eventually came back to its original moniker. The Russell family took over the facility in December of 2020.
“Today is filled with a lot of mixed emotions,” the post read. “It has been an incredible two years of making new friends and new memories.”
No word as to the possible future use of the facility was indicated.
“We want to thank everyone for their support the last two years,” the post concluded.
