The Nashville Superspeedway is lending a hand to show that Nashville Fairgrounds Speedwayis more than a racetrack.
Since 2018, executives at Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns Nashville Superspeedway, have wanted to bring NASCAR back to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. As part of that effort, SMI wants to demonstrate the 122-year-old facility is capable of hosting other types of events.
On Aug. 14, Nashville Superspeedway will host Movie Night at the Speedway presented by Bristol Motor Speedway at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The Disney animated "Cars" movie will be shown on a big screen, and the family-friendly event will also include food trucks, bounce houses, track chalk drawing, speedway photo opportunities and more.
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Gates open at 5 p.m., the movie will be shown at 8 p.m., and admission is free. Nashville Superspeedway general manager Matt Greci and Bristol Motorsports president Jerry Caldwell will be at the event.
It is an attempt to combat an effort by the anti-racing group Restore Our Fairgrounds working to remove auto racing from the Metro Nashville Charter and add affordable housing in its place. The group is collecting signatures to get the proposal on the November ballot for voters to decide on the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway's fate.
Nashville Superspeedway is used for more than serving as host to the NASCAR tripleheader weekend, which includes the Cracker Barrel 400 Cup race each year. The venue, which sits on 1,400 acres, is home to other events including the upcoming Meachum Nashville 2026 auction, Foodieland, a gathering of the nation's largest network of independent food and merchandise vendors, and B.R.A.K.E.S, a proactive teen defensive driving program. Officials aim to show Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway could be used similarly.
"The overall intent is to showcase the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway to the community and show what a vital part of the community it could be and offerings that it could provide well beyond just motorsports," Greci said. "Free movie night closing out the summer and kicking off the school year is a great way to welcome families and showcase Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway."
While Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is primarily used for local racing events today, it has been home to many other types of events in the past.
Part of the deal proposed by SMI, which would pay the city $1 million per year to rent Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, would include hosting concerts and other non-racing events.
"Our venues are all multi-use venues," Greci said. "I know (Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway) is a racetrack, but across all of our Speedway Motorsports venues − including Bristol Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway − we use them to be a benefit to the community and offer resources to the community."
Many concerts have been at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in the past, along with Fan Fair from 1982-2001. Fan Fair is the predecessor to CMA Fest, which now takes place along Lower Broadway, Riverfront and at Nissan Stadium.
"We're all for saving the racetrack and keeping it going," said Bob Sargent, president of Track Enterprises, who has operated Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway since 2020. "It's a beautiful facility for the community to be used for a lot of different things. Free Movie Night will allow people to come in and see the facility and have a good time"
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Movie Night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is linked to NASCAR controversy
