When Chuck Ward claimed ownership of Newport Speedway in April 2024, he had a clear mission in mind: Breathing new life into a racing facility that was left to rot.
One year later, it’s safe to say that Ward has done just that.
The Eastern Tennessee real estate investor and business mogul has quickly revamped Newport Speedway into a pristine short track facility. It has already completed significant renovations and hosted a few major events to this point in 2025, with work unlikely to stop anytime soon.
Frontstretch had the opportunity to speak with Ward about the state of the speedway during the recent ASA STARS National Tour race weekend, where he described the process his facility has undergone to rebuild over the past 12 months.
“The track had been closed for seven years, but overall, the surface of the track was in great shape,” Ward said of the Tennessee facility. “[The main issue] was the surroundings. I can’t tell you how many gallons of paint we’ve painted with. [We’ve] put some new asphalt down, built a new tech building with restrooms down in the infield. We’ve spent over a million dollars bringing this thing back to life.”
One unexpected hurdle to clear was a storm that devastated much of the area: Hurricane Helene. Aided by a preceding front that hung over the region and dropped significant rain in the days beforehand, the hurricane reached far inland, causing major destruction across Appalachia and beyond.
Ward’s racetrack was undamaged, but the community surrounding it was no exception to the carnage.
“It was devastating,” Ward said. “The city of Newport was underwater for about three days. When we got out there and saw all that, it was like ‘wow.’
“It was just crazy. But the community came together, raised a lot of money, did a lot of fundraisers and rallied around these people.”
While the speedway emerged unharmed, Hurricane Helene did thwart the original plans to reopen it in October 2024. The track’s official reopening was pushed a month back to November, with a regular racing schedule planned to follow in 2025.
The 2025 season is still young, but the track has already seen major steps take place. Newport Speedway hosted a few major races spring races in the Ted Caldwell Memorial and ASA STARS’ Food Country USA 300. Both events drew spectacular crowds, showing that the region has rallied together around this place.
Major undertakings are already being set in motion for 2026 and beyond as well. As most tracks are accustomed to, a lengthy list of renovations is already being planned. But beyond that, another potential addition might be even bigger for the speedway in 2026.
The hottest ticket in short track racing: the CARS Tour.
According to Ward, individuals associated with the popular Late Model Stock tour have expressed interest in visiting the Eastern Tennessee track. Naturally, he’d be keen to welcome them if the series gets on board.
“I’d love to see those guys here,” Ward admitted. “We actually spoke to them and [Dale Earnhardt Jr.] gave us a pretty good shoutout when we first bought the track. We reached out to them and they were all aboard, but they didn’t think we’d be ready this year. We look forward to having them next year.”
While an official announcement is far from ready, Ward seemingly has clued race fans in for what they can possibly expect to see in 2026. Should it come to fruition, a visit from the CARS Tour would be massive for the track- particularly given where it was just a year ago.
In truth, every step of Newport Speedway’s young journey has been seismic and exciting to watch. It’s rare for a facility to be brought back from the dead in any state, but to do so at such an exhilarating pace is unheard of.
Amenities around the track are clean and well-prepared. Spectators have great seating with a brand new set of concrete grandstands. Buildings are either brand new or greatly refurbished. It’s obvious that Ward and his crew have put a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears into reopening this grassroots bullring.
Newport Speedway has many years of storied history under its belt, but it’s safe to say that this new era of the facility has potential to be one of its most prominent in racing lore.
But before it marches on to the future, the track and its staff deserve a moment of celebration and admiration for what they’ve already accomplished.
