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Success On The Mountain
Late Model Mark
July 15, 2010
Pinson, Alabama
It had been about a year since I had made a run up rural Highway 75 to the little town of Fyffe, Alabama. This tiny one stoplight town is the home of Fort Payne Motor Speedway. Near to the small town of Rainsville, and the mid-size city of Fort Payne. I had not been up there since late July last year when the track hosted one of Ray Cook's touring shows, the highly successfull Southern National Series. That race in 2009 attracted the largest Super Late Model field in track history with 42 cars and also a full house in the grandstands.
All year long I have waited for a "special" to be run up there and a hole in my busy track chasing, race chasing, schedule. On July 3rd, the track hosted the 3rd annual Firecracker 50. This race would pay a nice $2000-to-win and also have a fireworks show. So here was my chance to see how things are up on the mountain.
This track was revived years ago by veteran promoter Marvin Ford. Marvin has promoted many a track in the South, he took over this closed track that had been dormant for some time. It was a very large, sweeping, high-speed track that needed a load of work. Marvin smartly downsized this engine killing track to more of a cozy size, I would say it's a very small 3/8mi. but maybe a large 1/3mi. The track has no walls in the turns or the backstraight, you can run off the track and not kill your racecar. The track has nice fencing on the mainstraight, nice lights and a good soundsystem. The bathrooms are clean and the concessions are good with the lines moving fast and the food hot, the track has great chicken fingers.
What is interesting about this place is what I would label as quiet success. I have never seen or heard any advertising, on the website that is very simple, it just shows the winners of the last event and the day of the next race. You just don't see any press releases on any websites or any of the racing papers. So how is this track doing in 2010? Pretty dang good! Marivin told me that in 2010 his car count is up and his grandstand is up, that is bucking the trend of many tracks who have seen car counts drop and fan count drop as well. He told me that he has had a whopping 39 new drivers race at his track weekly. Now that is some improvement. Granted there is not much to do up there but there are other options for the leisure dollar. The area up there is quite rural.
I arrived a full 2 hours before showtime and the top 4 rows of the grandstands were full with fans. By the time the racing started the place was full, one good sign was the amount of kids running around the facility. This track is fan friendly, laidback, easy to get in and out. Late arriving fans parked outside the track as the parking lot was full. Even with many holiday shows nearby, the track drew a nice total car count including 20 quality Super Late Models. The fireworks show was a crowd pleaser, the location of the track up top on a mountain added to the color and sound of the fireworks. The 50 lapper was a rough one that was won by Jake Knowles. He swept the night, Jake set the track record, started on the pole, led every lap and cashed Marvin's check to the tune of $2000 dollars. The track was smooth, dust free, fast and racy. Marvin Ford and his staff treat the racers and fans right, a sure sign is a full pit area and full bleachers. All of this done quietly without major advertising, the track, and the product on the track does it all by itself. Just another cool track in the South in a nice location with a view that is awesome. Another good time at Ft. Payne, quiet success up on the mountain. Nice job Marvin and company.
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