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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 7, 2000) - Atomic Speedway in Kingston, Tenn., and Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tenn., have joined the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series for 2000, the nation's premier short track racing series. The announcement was made at the Atomic Speedway championship banquet this past Sunday night in Knoxville, Tenn. Both facilities will feature the same divisions competing for the lucrative NASCAR Weekly Racing Series point fund. The Late Models will compete as their NASCAR Weekly Racing Series feature division, with Open Wheel Modifieds as the Exide ShorTrack Series by NASCAR division and the Modified Streets racing in the ACCEL Series. Smoky Mountain will run their race program on Friday night, while Atomic will race each Saturday night. "We are thrilled to add two great facilities like Atomic and Smoky Mountain to the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series family," stated Tom Deery, NASCAR vice president Weekly Racing Series. "If you look at the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series, we have a wide variety of facilities in our program. Certain areas of the country thrive on asphalt tracks and others are more prevalent to dirt. We are proud to welcome these two excellent dirt racing facilities to NASCAR's grass-roots program."Atomic Speedway is a .333-mile clay oval that Carson Branum purchased more than five years ago, while Smoky Mountain Speedway, a .400-mile clay oval, was purchased by Branum at the end of last season. Terry Gouge is the General Manager for both facilities. He has prior experience working with the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series while working at Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway USA, while Chris Boals, the race director at both tracks, previously served as NASCAR's national tour director. "It has been one of our goals to become a NASCAR-sanctioned facility and introduce new fans and competitors to a fantastic program for weekly short track racers," stated Gouge. "We feel that this is a great time for this transition. We have a great team in place to handle all aspects of our business and everyone is excited to be associated with NASCAR. We are looking ahead at establishing a great relationship that lasts for many years."The NASCAR Weekly Racing Series is the premier short track racing series in the nation. Thousands of short track racers compete every weekend from May to September, at nearly 100 selected short tracks, both dirt and asphalt, throughout the country. Those short tracks are divided into 10 geographic regions, with the Series providing competitors with local, regional, and national recognition and a $1.423 million point fund. Guest Book - E-Mail ® AMA Pro Racing NASCAR Winston Cup Series NASCAR 2000 NASCAR Busch Series NASCAR Goody's Dash Series NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Weekly Racing Series ASA-ACDELCO Racin' Florida Style |