@dave-fulton9 years ago
RR's Bobby "Bopper" Williamson posted a couple of Ghost Track aerials of the Tennessee-Carolina track, along with a brief writeup on the Local Race Chat site back in 2009:
"Tennessee-Carolina Raceway, Newport, TN, dates back to the 1950's, but a strange issue with a neighboring land owner prooved more than the track could muster. The track, a hot-bed of east Tenneesee racing, was located on the old fairgrounds site, but one small portion of the speedway was never owned by the fairgrounds authority. The land owner went along with the procedings for several years, but ultimately, a compromise could never be reached, forcing the track into ghost status. Many drivers, including NASCAR Busch seriers star, L.D. Ottinger cut their teeth at the T-C Raceway. Like most ghosts, T-C's foot print is still visible."
When I was doing PR for Detroit Gasket back in the late 80s, L.D. Ottinger's shop was in Newport as well as Detroit Gasket's largest manufacturing facility. I remember eating a hot breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Newport on a cold, snowy morning in January 1989 on my way to interview L.D. and visit his Newport shop.
RR's Bobby "Bopper" Williamson posted a couple of Ghost Track aerials of the Tennessee-Carolina track, along with a brief writeup on the Local Race Chat site back in 2009: "Tennessee-Carolina Raceway, Newport, TN, dates back to the 1950's, but a strange issue with a neighboring land owner prooved more than the track could muster. The track, a hot-bed of east Tenneesee racing, was located on the old fairgrounds site, but one small portion of the speedway was never owned by the fairgrounds authority. The land owner went along with the procedings for several years, but ultimately, a compromise could never be reached, forcing the track into ghost status. Many drivers, including NASCAR Busch seriers star, L.D. Ottinger cut their teeth at the T-C Raceway. Like most ghosts, T-C's foot print is still visible."