Marlin welcomes new fairgrounds era

For 50 years the Marlin name has been synonymous with racing at Fairgrounds Speedway, and with new life breathed into the old track, the tradition will continue.

“I’m glad they were able to keep it going,” Sterling Marlin said Thursday during a news conference to introduce the new track management.

Marlin, 50, said he was “about two months old” when his parents first brought him to the track where his late father Coo Coo won a record four championships. Sterling, a two-time Daytona 500 champion, won three Fairgrounds titles.

This season Sterling plans to enter a half-dozen races while his son Steadman runs the full Late Model schedule and daughter Sutherlin competes as rookie on the quarter-mile track.

“We’ve got her an ’86 Oldsmobile all fixed up,” Sterling said. “She’s going to put on a show. Buy a ticket.”

“Drivers like Sterling and Darrell Waltrip came through here on their way to becoming some of the greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR,” said Danny Denson, a Nashville businessman who signed a one-year contact to operate the track. “No city, including Indianapolis and Daytona, has a longer racing history than Nashville, and we’re going to fight to preserve it.”

Some major changes are in store when the track opens its 51st season on April 18. Denson has changed the name from Music City Motorplex to Fairgrounds Speedway, and will discontinue the NASCAR sanction of the weekly racing program to save money.

Under the terms of the lease, all cars will be equipped with mufflers to hold down the noise, and all engines must be silent by 11 p.m., with a few special-event exceptions.

“We’re going to work closely with the neighborhood,” Denson said. “If there are concerns, we’ll address them.”

Larry Weakley, whose late father was a famous Grand Ole Opry announcer, will serve as the track’s general manager. Joe Williams, a popular former track announcer, will return to call the races after a three-year absence.

“Like so many area race fans I practically grew up at this place,” Williams said. “There’s always been something special about it.”