PULASKI COUNTY, Va. – The Motor Mile Speedway is heading in a different direction.
The speedway will not renew its sanction with NASCAR for the next racing season. That ends a weekly short track racing tradition celebrated since the 1980s.
"With the downturn in attendance and car counts as far as how many cars we have racing, we just felt like we couldn't battle it anymore," said Michelle Vaught, general manager for Motor Mile Speedway.
The drag strip will stay open. Fan-favorite events like the monster truck rally will continue. The speedway is also looking at other options from concerts to festivals to mud runs.
"We could be a hub for those kind of family-fun entertainment, special event opportunities," Vaught said.
The speedway said times have changed in the racing world and short tracks across the country are feeling the strain. But it's a hard reality to accept for some lifelong local race car drivers.
"It goes back to my dad's roots. He started racing back there when they opened up in 1988. I was around there the whole time I was little. I ran all over the place up there," said Ricky Howell Jr.
Ricky has been racing at Motor
"The family, the kids, and the fans and coming down victory lane. It's really going to be missed, especially at your home track," Howell Jr. said.
The Motor Mile Speedway is hoping a tradition ending can be a turning point for a track trying to last.