On Tuesday night, the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway hosted an rally at the race track prior to a community meeting discussing the race track. Many big names in motorsports were there including Marcus Smith and Kurt Busch, and fans turned out to support the Fairgrounds.
What exactly was said and was there any real progress made as a result of this meeting? We at the Daily Downforce have everything to discuss surrounding this gathering at the Fairgrounds.
Multiple people were there at the Nashville Fairgrounds, but the two biggest names are very familiar to NASCAR fans. 2004 Cup Series Champion, Kurt Busch, was there along with 23XI Racing spotter Freddie Kraft, and the CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., Marcus Smith.
Kurt Busch talked some about the historic value of the race track. He compared it to places like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field in baseball, and he came out in full support of the race track.
I think now, what is old is new, and that’s what I hope that we can do with the Nashville Fairgrounds.
Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch did race at the Fairgrounds once in 2000 in the Truck Series. He drove to a 12th place finish in the 99 truck for Jack Roush. He called the race track “tough”.
Marcus Smith continued to reiterate his support for the Fairgrounds, and he expressed his love for the city of Nashville. Not only Nashville, but the race track, which is something Smith has had his eye on for years.
15 years ago, I came over to the Fairgrounds, and i thought, why aren’t we here? Why isn’t NASCAR here?
Marcus Smith
This would not be the first race track revival that Smith has been a part of. He was one of the important figures in bringing back the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway, and he saw the fruits of that in May with the All-Star Race moved to North Wilkesboro.
He also owns Bristol Motor Speedway, which is one of the entities behind the restoration of the Fairgrounds. With the dignitaries already giving their thoughts, the Fairgrounds did have some interesting highlights in their proposal for the restoration of the venue.
Jerry Caldwell laid out how he envisioned the events being laid out for the Nashville Fairgrounds racing schedule after the new renovations. Matt Weaver documented what Caldwell said.
The highlight amongst this for NASCAR fans is the one NASCAR weekend every other year. With this proposal, NASCAR would not be at the Fairgrounds every year, but every other year. The question becomes, what would the Fairgrounds swap with?
Does it swap every other year with Nashville Superspeedway, which is an SMI-owned venue? Could it swap with Bristol, since Bristol is one of the biggest proponents of this renovation? North Wilkesboro is also an option if NASCAR wants to have a rotating “legacy venue” on the schedule every single year.
Another thing that the Fairgrounds has marketed heavily is the usage of sound walls to reduce the noise at the track. The potential impacts of the loud noises of the track have been a point of contention at the track and at almost every other race track built in existence.
Now, the opposition was out at this event as well, and they were not particularly kind to the Fairgrounds.
Jason Bergeron, who was formerly the Nashville Fair Board Commissioner, spoke out against the renovations of the race track at the meeting. In his statement he attacked Bristol Motor Speedway, their tactics, and he even talked about a conversation he had with Mayor John Cooper.
Bergeron went so far as to call the proposal “morally bankrupt.” Quite the intense accusation, and members of NASCAR Twitter were quick to try to refute these comments. Two of the most outspoken opponents of this message were “The Iceberg”, Jaret Lundberg, and DannyBTalks.
Even late model driver Landon Huffman joined in to respond to this comment. Huffman has earned some fame on YouTube for his views behind the scenes of racing in late models.
At the end of the day, no vote was had, and no final decision has been made on the Fairgrounds. Nothing can definitively be said about the impact of this event, but it does continue to showcase how strong opinions are on both sides. We will have to wait and see what happens from here on out.
NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell claims that he feels NASCAR “got a little lazy” in its attempts to keep growing the sport during a recent interview.
NASCAR’s Steve O’Donnell is entering his first full season as NASCAR President, after taking over the post from former President Steve Phelps in March 2025.
O’Donnell took over his post during a turbulent time in sports history, as schedule changes and car generations compounded fans’ growing issues with things such as the 2014 playoff system.
To add to his troubles, NASCAR was in the midst of a heated antitrust lawsuit with two of its teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, that was bound for court in late 2025.
Ultimately, NASCAR would manage to put a bow on most of its troubles before the start of the 2026 season, settling the lawsuit with the two teams, changing its points format, and expressing an openness to explore changes to its NASCAR Next Gen car, such as increased horsepower on short tracks and road courses.
This whirlwind of change is turning gears in the NASCAR fanbase, with many fans saying a lot of the reshuffling is just as good for the sport as putting things such as the lawsuit and playoffs in the rear-view mirror, a sentiment shared by O’Donnell.
During an interview with Sports Business Journal on Monday, the long-time NASCAR executive said, “This is the first year I can remember where we’re going into the season, just talking about racing and what’s great about NASCAR.”
This isn’t the only shared feeling between O’Donnell and NASCAR fans, as prior to that, he said he felt NASCAR had grown “a little lazy” after overtaking IndyCar as the top motorsport in America, something he has even told NASCAR employees.
“When I started at NASCAR, we were chasing IndyCar, and the goal was, if we can just kind of surpass IndyCar, and we did that, and, you know, I’ve told our employees, I think we all got a little lazy.” — Steve O’Donnell
While many fans would agree that NASCAR has turned around for the better, there is still work to be done, and in O’Donnell’s eyes, the sport is in a prime spot to grow.
“My job and all of our jobs is to bring the industry together and talk about, we got a pretty cool thing going here, and we can really grow it,” O’Donnell said.
NASCAR isn’t exactly setting lofty goals for itself in 2026, at least in public, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the attention of its fanbase.
While the revived Chase format has drawn back some eyes, things like NASCAR’s “Hell Yeah” advertising campaign were the talk of the NASCAR community entering the 2026 Daytona 500.
That race also produced a finish that saw NBA legend, team owner, and former NASCAR lawsuit plaintiff, Michael Jordan, bring home another major race win on National TV with driver Tyler Reddick.
This race also saw a slight increase in viewership from the 2025 Daytona 500, one hurt by a major rain storm that blew in early in the race’s running.
Though TV ratings may not be skyrocketing, NASCAR has early momentum to make 2026 good enough to set a firm foundation for O’Donnell’s goals of growth, but maintaining that momentum will be another challenge in and of itself.
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The NASCAR Truck Series breaks off from the main touring series schedule this weekend, but that doesn’t mean the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series aren’t racing. So, whether you are going to be at the track or home, what does the forecast look like for the race weekend in Austin, Texas?
Before the OAP Series Race (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the OAP Series Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
After the OAP Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
Before the Cup Series Race (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the Cup Series Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
After the Cup Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
When the three NASCAR National Series rolled into Austin for COTA’s first NASCAR race weekend in 2021, no one could have guessed the chaos that lay in wait. A major rain shower did not prevent the series from racing that day, as, though it was still somewhat foreign at the time, NASCAR sent the Cup Series out in the rain for a chaotic race, ultimately won by Chase Elliott.
Note: This article will be updated with a more accurate and detailed forecast as the race weekend nears.
After back-to-back drafting tracks, NASCAR’s three National Series split ways as the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series head for Circuit of the Americas, and the Truck Series makes its debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
This information will be available when NASCAR releases it on Monday afternoon.
Note: This article will be updated as more information about the weekend comes out.
