Marty Gordon
Officials from the Rusty Wallace Racing experience are in the final year of a contract at Motor Mile Speedway near Radford, and now its future and extension are up in the air.
Track General Manager Mark Ebert posted the following statement on social media:
“I rarely address the rumor mill or Facebook posts, but there are some crazy posts and even crazier rumors that need to be corrected. I thought it was best to put some things to rest for the good of our racers and the racing community.”
Ebert said the group ownership has not renewed the lease at the track and that it appears that 2023 will be their last season running at the southwest Virginia track.
He thanked the track ownership, David Hagan and the Shelor Group, for their support and incredible opportunity to operate this track.
There had been some confusion earlier this summer when Ebert and Pulaski County leaders announced a name change to the facility. In May, Motor Mile Speedway announced plans to change its name. During a press conference, local officials gathered to hear the new name “The Pulaski County Motorsports Park.”
In 2020, the Rusty Wallace Racing Group took over the speedway, which is celebrating its 34th year anniversary this year. The track has been known over the years as the New River Valley Speedway and has changed its name four times since its opening over 20 years ago.
The multi-year lease agreement allowed RWRE to take over venue operations, with the speedway becoming the home track for the RWRE and its companion companies.
At the time, former NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace called Motor Mile Speedway and Dragway one of the finest grassroots motorsports facilities in the nation.
“We worked tirelessly to rebuild the fan base at the racetrack, and it is tremendously disappointing to me that we could not bring back the fans in the numbers that would allow us the revenue to pay a reasonable lease or purchase the racetrack,” Ebert said.
The general manager also pointed to the criticism the operating group had received through social media, pointing to the fact none of it is fair to the current situation.
“Maybe one of my mistakes was not addressing rumors earlier, I have to say that I really don’t think that perception is reality. The negativity of social media is sometimes overwhelming and creates its own false reality, and some truly crazy rumors. We don’t have the car count of the glory years, but we do have an awful lot of great racing. We run a good crisp Saturday night show, fans here will stop me and comment on the racing nightly. Most of the negativity online is from people who have not been here in years or aren’t involved,” Ebert said.
Ebert has not released any additional information, and it is not known if an operating extension could still be in the track’s future. But for now, 2023 looks to be another shutdown for the track with more questions than answers.