‘He’s full of it.’ Greenville racetrack supporters call out owner, say closed SC site can be saved

Dozens of people who want to save Greenville Pickens Speedway turned out in force at the Pickens County Council meeting Monday night, despite the fact there was nothing on the agenda about the historic track.

They just wanted to be heard.

They talked about history. And living a simple life. They remembered the charity races in which drivers took off their helmets to raise money in the stands for Shiners’ Hospital.

Many of those who spoke raced at the track. One raced a motorcycle when the track was still dirt.

Warehouses have been built around the track site by SC Speedway Hwy 124, but the actual track has been left alone. Until now.

The developer has an application pending before the Pickens County Planning Commission to develop the 24 acre track site as a 376,380 square-foot industrial building and an undeveloped outparcel. The commission will review the application Feb. 9.

Also proposed is a 13-acre retail, gas station restaurant complex south of the speedway and 111 acres of woods north of the speedway for eight buildings covering about 918,480 square feet.

Council chairman Alex Saitta explained at the start of the County Council meeting the decision on what can be done on the site rests with the Planning Commission.

Kevin Whitaker, who bought the track from the longtime owners in the early 2000s, told the council that he had tried to find a buyer for the track, but could not make a deal. After he bought the track from the Blackwell family, he ran it for 13 years before leasing it.

“The crowds dwindled,” he said, adding, “It’s just not viable.”

His comments drew a sharp rebuke from Josh Sams, who raced and was a crew member there.

“He’s full of it,” Sams said. “I was there all my life. He didn’t care about this racetrack. He kept it long enough for Tom (Blackwell) to die.”

Another speaker said a potential buyer told him he put in an offer but didn’t hear back in a timely manner and then finally was told the property had been withdrawn from sale. He said there was another offer and the two agreed to go in together if their offers were rejected.

Another supporter implored the council to make the speedway a historic site.

“You tell us you can’t do it. Maybe someone’s not trying,” she said.

The Planning Commission meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Pickens County Administration Building Main Conference Room 222, McDaniel Avenue, Pickens

Track proponents have been trying to save the historic raceway from demolition for more than two years.

Most recently, Tasha Porter Kummer, the first woman to win a Late Model race — the prime event — at Greenville Pickens, has been trying to find a buyer, specifically within the NASCAR community.

“Don’t destroy South Carolina history,” she told the council Monday. “The track can be saved.”

She said the problem has been that the asking price has been too high. The asking price was $5.8 million when it was initially put on the market through Shaw Realty.

Kummer had hoped NASCAR would step up for the second-oldest short track just as it did for the oldest.

Whitaker said he had spoken with NASCAR founder Bill France Jr. about the speedway, but France had no interest.

Last year, NASCAR bought Winston-Salem Speedway, Inc., the lessee of Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina, and intends to manage racing operations at the track that was built in 1939.

The lease runs through December 2050.

Greenville Pickens was the site of the first race aired on national TV, start to finish, broadcast in 1971 on ABC’s Wide World of Sports with Jim McKay doing lap by lap coverage.

Greenville Pickens Speedway opened in 1940 as a half-mile-long dirt track. When racing resumed after World War II on Independence Day, fans saw two horse races and a car race promoted by France.

The track was paved in 1970 and hosted various Winston Cup races through the years.

Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt and his son Dale Jr. raced there. Many of the legendary racers’ names remain painted on the walls surrounding the track.