Dale Earnhardt Jr. speaks to future of closed Greenville racetrack. Here’s what he said

Throughout the multi-year effort to save the Greenville Pickens Speedway, one question has been uttered repeatedly.

What about Dale?

The Dale in question is, of course, racing royalty Dale Earnhardt Jr., son of famed driver Dale Sr., who died of a skull fracture when his car hit the wall on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. As a young driver Earnhardt raced at the Pickens speedway.

Dale Junior or Junior as he is called, retired in 2018 after suffering from longterm concussion-related health issues. He owns a racing company and is a racing broadcaster.

Earnhardt weighed in on the speedway’s future, posting on X “If @GPSspeedway1 can survive, the @CARSTour will be first in line to return and I’ll be the first entry.”

The post sent joy through the legions of people fighting with a developer to keep the speedway from being torn down to build a warehouse.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made a statement that if Greenville Pickens Speedway is saved the Cars tour will be the first in line and he himself will be the first ENTRY!!!!!!!!! LETS GOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!” The Real Historic Greenville Pickens Speedway posted on Facebook.

Tasha Porter Kummer, who manages that account, made a video this week about state law regulating historic properties. She said the owner of the property does not have to agree to make an application. It can be made by a governmental entity like Pickens County Council.

The Pickens County Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday to deny the application to build on three tracts around the speedway, including the speedway itself, saying traffic studies submitted by the developer were inadequate.

The developer now has to wait two months if he wants to reapply.

Greenville Pickens Speedway opened in 1940 as a half-mile-long dirt track. It went dark during World War II and when racing resumed on Independence Day 1946, fans saw two horse races and a car race promoted by Bill France, who two years later founded NASCAR.

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

Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, David Pearson and both Earnhardts raced there. Many of the legendary racers’ names remain painted on the walls surrounding the track.