#2 - Golden Mountain (TN) Raceway Park 3/6/04
What Happened: Undoubtedly,
the biggest fiasco of all-time was this $7500 to win early-season
special at the new Golden Mountain Raceway Park in Sparta, TN. Itching to see a race, and having a weekend totally free of any prior commitments, I opted to head south for this show. Two words: big mistake. Read on…
Built
a year earlier, Golden Mountain Raceway Park in Sparta, TN only had a few races under its belt, as they only raced the second half of 2003. The facility
itself was nice and plans were in the works to make the establishment event
better. On the grounds was a family area
with arcade games, pool tables, and air hockey as well as a pond with bumper
boats. In addition, several picnic shelter
gave the facility a true “park” feeling to it.
The
race track was a 3/8-mile with a concrete wall all the way around it. The pits were located off turns three and
four as cars exited the track at the end of the backstretch and entered the
track at the beginning of the frontstretch.
The grandstands were all concrete, terraced into the small hillside
along the frontchute. Along the
backstretch were three rows of terraced vehicle parking, where fans could enjoy
the action from the comfort of their cars and trucks.
The
following is the press release leading up to the event:
Seven divisions will be racing on this weekend: Super Late Models, Limited Late Models, Open Wheels, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Chevettes and Two-Man Cruisers.
Super Late Models will highlight the program with a $7,500-to-win, $300-to-start feature. An additional $100 will go to the fast qualifier, courtesy of K & J Engine Solutions. The entry fee is $75. Any brand tire is allowed, as long as the tire punches 60.
Super Late Model drivers from Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin are expected to be on hand.
Additionally, the Chevette main event winner will pocket $300 from K & J Engine Solutions, while the Limited Late Model fast qualifier will receive $100 from Auto Zone of
Practice dates are set for Feb. 21 and 28, from noon to dusk. Open practice for any competitor and any class of car is $10. Back-up date for this event is March 19-20. If the weather is cool on these dates, we will have heated areas so our fans can warm up during the event.
What
was originally scheduled to be a two-day Friday/Saturday show turned into a
one-day Saturday gig after Mother Nature rained out the Friday night
action. Even with a decent field of
39 Late Models in the pits (only one race in the country paid more than
that to win on this particular weekend) – and no more than a handful of cars in
the six support classes – it should have been just like running a regular
Saturday night show.
Problems
started, however, when the GMRP crew could not the track run in. With an early-afternoon starting time, the
moisture from the wet winter and previous day’s rain took seemingly forever to
run in no matter how many laps the packer cars, wreckers, and safety vehicles
made. The staff was so desperate to get the track dry, they brought in a small jet dryer (pulled around the track by a an ATV...no lie). As you can imagine, the tiny jet dryer practically "fell upon deaf ears" as the wide clay surface proved to be too much, but it WAS quite comical to see to say the
least. Attempts to run the track in by the drivers were semi successful as we neared the 7 o’clock hour, almost 2
full hours after the advertised Hot Lapping time of 5pm.
What
time Hot Laps actually started, I really have no idea. For some reason, the time “9pm” stands out in
my mind, but I do not have any mention of it in my notes. At any rate, once Hot Laps did start it was
much to the approval of the few devoted race fans and the 34 Late Models who
stuck this one out. The applause soon
turned to an uproar, however, when it was announced that GMRP would be
qualifying all six classes, despite four of the five support classes having
less than 12 cars. Even the Street
Stocks, which only had 3 cars (and one of them broke during Hot Laps) qualified
and ran a heat race. Yes, qualifying and a Heat for two cars. Unbelievable.
Despite
all the problems leading up to this point, no one could be prepared for what
happened next. In what some have called the “The Debacle of the Century”, track
officials spent nearly an hour trying to line up the remaining 34 Late Models for their
heat races. As a matter of fact, one
heat race was actually on the track when officials stopped the event (before it
started), sent everyone back to the pits, and tried to somehow sort out the
mess they inexplicably created. A break
– more like an extended “intermission” of sorts – was taken and a driver’s
meeting was held. Finally, after a break
of well over an hour, the Late Models heats, still not in the correct order,
made their way onto the race track.
In
an already full-moon type of night, yet another bizarre turn of events took
place when water started seeping across the race track in turns one and
two. With the late hour already a major
concern, track officials made the unfavorable decision to halt postpone the rest
of the action until Sunday.
On
Sunday, even with the earlier starting time of 1pm scheduled, track
preparations were once again lagging to say the least. After digging trenches overnight to help the turns one and two seepage, things were going as well as could be expected until
the blockhead track officials inundated the surface with the water truck
resulting in another delay of an hour.
Finally after 2pm, Hot Laps began…
for all six classes.
If
things weren’t bad enough, the Late Models were the last program on the
card… an effort to sell more hot dogs,
no doubt. After countless Sunday hours
wasted away in watching Pure Stocks and 4-Cylinders parade around the GMRP
highbanks, fans in the tier parking along the backstretch got in their vehicles
and started honking their horns and flashing their headlights in protest of
everything that had happened… cautions
lasting 15+ minutes, wasted time between preliminary races... an extended
intermission... and the Late Models running last.
Finally,
sometime after 8pm, the Late Model feature hit the track and, despite pleas
from both fans and drivers, the 75-lap A-Main was not cut to 50 laps. Ray Cook won the one-lane parade which was
the nail in the coffin for this forgettable weekend and, ultimately, for the
track. The facility would close the
following year and remains dormant to this day.
Rumors of a housing development going on the grounds have turned out to
be nothing more than just that, and talks of reopening the place have gone no
where, mostly because “The Greatest Fiasco of All Time” is brought up even with
the slightest mention of Golden
Mountain Raceway
Park
If
it’s any consolation, an apology (with the word “apologize” even spelled wrong at the end of their statement)
was sent from the GMRP Management was sent out a few days after this
disaster. The statement, which can still
be found at www.whowon.com, among other
places, read as follows:
“We would like to apologize to the race
teams, fans and others for the problems we had at the qualifying on Saturday,
March 6th.
We had over 2.5 inches of rain on Friday night which soaked the ground, which was already full of water.
We had water seeping from under the wall at turn one, making it a safety issue for the drivers.
We did not feel it was safe to start the racing action until that area was packed in as tight as possible to keep the cars from digging into a soft section of the track and causing an accident. The water seeping could not be controlled but the surface could be set down tight. This was the reason for the two hour delay.
The next problem was a mix up in the lineup for the heat races. We totally dropped the ball on this issue. There was no excuse for what we did, just a total lack of communication on our part. For that we sincerely apologize. Everyone makes mistakes and we must have tried to be at the top of the heap.
Again, we apolize and ask for your understanding.”
GMRP
We had over 2.5 inches of rain on Friday night which soaked the ground, which was already full of water.
We had water seeping from under the wall at turn one, making it a safety issue for the drivers.
We did not feel it was safe to start the racing action until that area was packed in as tight as possible to keep the cars from digging into a soft section of the track and causing an accident. The water seeping could not be controlled but the surface could be set down tight. This was the reason for the two hour delay.
The next problem was a mix up in the lineup for the heat races. We totally dropped the ball on this issue. There was no excuse for what we did, just a total lack of communication on our part. For that we sincerely apologize. Everyone makes mistakes and we must have tried to be at the top of the heap.
Again, we apolize and ask for your understanding.”
GMRP
www.goldenmountainracewaypark.com,
931-510-4807
It
comes as no surprise that the track would permanently close the gates just a
few years later. And that is how the
story of Golden Mountain Raceway Park ends.
Such a nice facility. Such
potential. Yet, the biggest cluster---- I have ever seen in my life happened here.
