Retired NASCAR driver Sterling Marlin is interested in acquiring the lease to Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway, after fellow driver Bobby Hamilton Jr. gave up after one frustrating season. Hamilton will not continue to operate the track next season, according to Buck Dozier, head of the Metro Fair Board that oversees the city-owned facility. Hamilton encountered numerous problems during the season and cancelled the scheduled season-finale All-American 400 â a fixture for over two decades and the track’s premier event. Hamilton will continue to own and operate Highland Rim Speedway, a quarter-mile track located 20 miles north of Nashville. One year remains on the two-year Fairgrounds Speedway lease granted by the city and Marlin heads a group of investors that is interested in acquiring it. Marlin told local radio show host Terrell Davis that he would like to take over the track “if everything can be worked out.” Marlin has assisted previous efforts to keep the track afloat, working with last year’s operator, Tony Formosa Jr., to promote the track. Marlin won three championships at the track in the 1980’s, following in the footsteps of his famous father, Coo Coo, a four-time champion in the 1960’s. The Fair Board expects to make a decision about the track’s new operator by the end of the year.(RacinToday)(11-15-2011)
