An historical look at Volunteer Speedway

By Robert Walden Welcome to Volunteer Speedway, the "World’s Fastest Dirt Track," located just off Exit 23 on Interstate 81 in Bulls Gap, Tenn. SIT DOWN … STRAP IN … and HANG ON!!! You’re in store for the ride of your life as you blaze around the high-banked (32 degrees), 4/10-mile speedplant on a 12-second …120 mph average speed lap. Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., is the current Super Late Model track record holder, having toured the track at 12.001-seconds on March 6, 1998. Gusty Christenberry of Seymour, Tenn., put a buzz in the crowd June 10, 2003, on "Run What Ya Brung" Tuesday by establishing a new overall track record in qualifying at 11.743-seconds … 122.630 mph. Christenberry’s blistering lap in his "outlaw" Late Model with sideboards lowered the previous overall track record, which had been set on Aug. 18, 2000 in time trials for the United Sprint Car Series’ "North-South Shootout" by Malabar, Florida’s Kenny Adams at 11:805-seconds … 121.982 mph. But on an historic Saturday night, before the track's biggest crowd ever on March 24, 2007, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series made its first-ever appearance at the track, and Brownsburg, Indiana's Joey Saldana toured "The Gap" at an eye-opening 11.696 seconds ... 123.119 mph to set a new track record. Volunteer Speedway was built by Hugh and Louise Goan. Construction work began in 1973 and the track opened for half a season in mid-1974. Danny Burks of Richlands, Va., was the winner of the first-ever Late Model race, driving a ’73 Chevy Laguna to the checkered flag. When you look at the different drivers who have won track titles over the years, you’re looking at a “Who’s Who” list of legendary East Tennessee racing names. Here’s a list of the various Late Model track champions over the years: Herman Collins of Knoxville, in 1975, the first full-season of racing at the track; Red Ledford of Morristown, in 1976; Walter Ball of Johnson City, in 1977; H.E. Vineyard of Powell in 1978, ’79, ’81, and ’84 captured four track championships; Tootle Estes of Knoxville, in 1980; “Little” Bill Corum of Maynardville, in 1982; Bill Morton of Church Hill, in 1983; Howard “Buzz” Collins of Greeneville, in 1985; J.T. Kerr of Rockford, in 1989. Here’s a look at the Late Model track champions during the 1990s: Herman Goddard of Knoxville, in 1990; Scott Sexton of Pigeon Forge, in 1991 and ’95; Gary Myers of Greeneville, in 1992; John A. Utsman of Bluff City, in 1993; Dave Burks of Abingdon, Va., in 1994; Randy Ford of Johnson City, in 1996; Vic “The Thrill” Hill of Morristown, in 1997 and ’98; and Dale Ball of Johnson City, in 1999. Beginning a “new millenium” of racing at Volunteer Speedway, Morristown's Vic “The Thrill” Hill captured the 2000 Late Model track championship, his third overall title. The 2001 championship was captured by Kerry Jones of Bristol, with the 2002 title going to Mark Douglas of Knoxville, who had a very impressive season by winning 10 feature races. Mark Douglas captured the 2003 championship, making it back-to-back titles. Rick Norris of Kingsport, a longtime competitor at Volunteer Speedway, captured his first-ever Super Late Model championship in 2004. Vic “The Thrill” Hill was crowned the 2005 Super Late Model champion, his fourth track title (Hill and H.E. Vineyard each have won four track championships). Mike Smith of Rogersville captured his first-ever Super Late Model track championship in 2006, while Bristol's Kerry Jones recorded his second track title in 2007. Besides the track champions above, here’s a partial listing of other Late Model drivers who have won feature races at “The Gap” over the years: Scott Bloomquist, Steve Smith, Billy Ogle Jr., Duayne Hommel, Tim Frye, Louis Hickey, Bobby Edens, Mike Clonce, Rusty Goddard, Brett Miller, Buddy Rogers, Frankie Barnes, Roger Best, David Bundren, Brian Ball, Joey McGaha, Rick Norris, Charles Byrd, Gusty Christenberry, Bryan Hendrix, Tommy Kerr, Rusty Goddard, David Crabtree, Clay Kelley, Jack Trammell, John Llewellyn, Doug Carpenter, L.D. Ottinger, Johnny Carr, Steve Best, Bob Street, Arnold Cinnamon, Jeff Maupin, Corey Norman, Clint Solomon, Shane Roberts, Jason Welshan, plus others. Volunteer Speedway is proud of its position in the world of dirt racing, recognized by the fans and drivers as one of the country's top racing venues. Through the years, all the top motorsports sanctioning bodies have visited “The Gap.” The track hosted several events during the heyday of what was then the nation’s top dirt Late Model sanctioning organization, the National Dirt Racing Association (NDRA), during the late ‘70s and ‘80s. The Stacker2 Xtreme DirtCar Series (formerly known as both the Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Racing Series and United Dirt Track Racing Association Pro DirtCar Series), Renegade DirtCar Racing Series (formerly known as STARS), O'Reilly Southern All Star Racing Series, and the All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars have thrilled the race fans at “The Gap” on many occasions. In 2000, the Pennzoil World of Outlaws (Gumout) Sprint Cars, and the United Sprint Car Series made their first-ever appearances at Volunteer Speedway. The World of Outlaws Late Model Series made its first-ever appearance at Volunteer Speedway in March of 2004, and in March of 2007 the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series visited "The Gap" for the first time, with the largest crowd ever assembled at the track watching the racing action as Joey Saldana won the A-main. In 2007 the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series also made its inaugural visit to Volunteer Speedway, while "The Gap" hosted the finale event of the Fastrak Racing Series $50,000-to-win Grand Nationals for Crate Late Models. In 2008, Volunteer Speedway will feature a five-division, action-packed weekly racing program. The classes are Super Late Model, Crate Late Model, IMCA Open Wheel Modified, Mini Stock and Hobby Stock. We hope you enjoyed your ride around the World’s Fastest Dirt Track, and we look forward to seeing you every Saturday night at Volunteer Speedway from the middle of March through mid-October.