Cameron Bebeau

For nearly six decades, Saturday nights at Fayetteville Motor Speedway (FMS) echoed with roaring engines and the voices of friends catching up. When the 2025 season concludes, that sound will be gone forever.

Racetrack officials confirmed in late-September that the land the facility sits on has been sold, part of a 500 acres of land deal that includes the dragstrip next door.

“It digs deep, it hurts a lot of people, knowing that the gates could close and never open again,” said Felicia Swann, president of the Fayetteville Cumberland Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame.

Swann isn’t a stranger to racing. Her father, Ronald Collins, was a car owner and builder for some of the Carolina’s greats – racing royalty, such as Chubby Thompkins, Milton Holland and many more. Her son, Joseph Swann, is the track photographer and co-owner of Gen3 Performance Imaging.

For many families such as hers in Cumberland County, the track has been more than a racetrack – it’s been a home.

FMS is part of a longer racing tradition. The “Old” Fayetteville Speedway opened in 1962 near Highway 301, hosting asphalt races and even a NASCAR Grand National East Series in 1973. Another track, Champion Speedway, a 0.333-mile oval, hosted the 1958 Grand National Series opener. Upon opening in 1968, the “New” Fayetteville Motor Speedway – then Cumberland International Raceway – welcomed big names such as Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker.

The closure of FMS mirrors a nationwide trend. Tracks built on rural outskirts have become victims of suburban sprawl, leading to noise complaints and rising land costs. In Fayetteville, the financial reality of racing combined with an offer the owner couldn’t turn down was ultimately the final nail in the coffin.

Keith Smith, dubbed the historian by the Hall of Fame, recalled the loyal fans and the track’s uniqueness: “The size [of the track] and banking made Fayetteville different,” he said. “You had very loyal clientele – people who grew up coming to the track who are now bringing their children.”

Smith has spent decades documenting racing, amassing over a million photographs of everything from local battles to candid photos of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and many others. In fact, a photo used in the Fayetteville Observer of Earnhardt’s victory is rumored to be the first picture of him and Teresa Houston, his future wife, together.

Smith emphasized that Fayetteville’s reputation was built on local talent. Drivers such as

Jimmy “Porky” Edwards Jr., Hank Edwards, Jack Pennington weren’t ones to fall to the wayside when the bigger guys came to play; they made sure the out-of-town guys had to fight for every position on the track. “You could always count on the local boys to give the visitors a run for their money,” Smith said.

It wasn’t just Smith who agreed with this sentiment, either. FMS’s influence on the sport extended beyond just the drivers. Veteran PA announcer Marty Webb spent over 40 years calling races from the booth. Webb, FMS’s first announcer upon its opening in 1968, got the role by chance while working as an AM radio DJ. That role marked the start of a 48-year career calling races at nearly every track within 200 miles, including County Line, Lake View, and Dublin. He also managed FMS in 2001.

Webb’s career extended beyond the local scene. He’d also serve as PA announcer at Rockingham Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, and four NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Series races for MRN in 1989. Yet, some of his most surreal memories come from local racing. Webb recalled having to tell people over the PA to squeeze in closer together so more folks could fit inside the venue.

Despite the closure, the impact of FMS will endure. Through photos, stories, and memories, the track’s spirit will live on, because the sentiment shared by these three individuals is echoed by tens of thousands across the state. When the gates close for the final time, that won’t vanish – it’ll live on in the memory of our community, as a reminder of the “good old days of dirt.”

Originally Published at: https://www.fsuthevoice.com/land-sold-fayetteville-motor-speedway-to-close-after-2025-season/