Marlin leads group to save Fairgrounds Speedway; GM hired:

Two-time Daytona 500 champion Sterling Marlin from Columbia, TN has joined two other former NASCAR drivers in leading an effort to save the Fairgrounds Speedway. Marlin aalong with Chad Chaffin and Mike Alexander have joined with several other racers and businessmen to form Tennessee Racing Association, LLC, with the single mission of procuring the rights to continue the history of automobile racing at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. “The history of the Nashville track is known nearly around the world,” said Marlin. “And we’re committed to seeing that continue in a positive way.”
Marlin, a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, is also a three-time track champion at Nashville and a long history of success in farming, automobile sales and real estate endeavors. Another member of the group is Johnny Turner, owner of Crown Jewelry and Gifts in Franklin, a company he founded in 1998. Turner raced at the Fairgrounds thoughout the 1980’s. “I believe that with the strength of this group we have formed (Tennessee Racing Associates, LLC), there is enough business background, passion for and dedication to racing, that we can, and will, bring racing back to the Nashville Fairgrounds as the great facility it once was,” said Turner. The group of ten individuals brings more than 250 years of racing experience and more than 50 championships from across the southeast, but more importantly more than 300 years of successful business operation in multiple fields.(Columbia Daily Herald)
AND:Tennessee Racing Associates, LLC today announced the hiring of Nashville native and Fairgrounds Speedway Hall of Fame member Joe T. Williams as general manager of the group’s efforts to secure the racing lease at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds for 2012. Williams brings an eclectic history to the task, including radio and television, race track management and public relations, writing and industrial health and safety. He has had success in both the private and governmental sectors. Williams was also one of the architects of the facility’s resurgence in the mid ’80’s when it became the top weekly track in the country, averaging over 11,000 fans per event, after losing two NASCAR Cup dates in a bankruptcy fiasco.(TRA)(12-1-2011)