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Greenville-Pickens Speedway future in limbo. How there could be one more season of racing.

A.J. Jackson
Greenville News
  • Son of former owner of Greenville-Pickens Speedway endorses former amateur racecar driver's fundraising efforts for $103,000
  • 'Shriners Race' held annually at Greenville-Pickens Speedway responsible for over $1 million in donations to Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville
  • Greenville-Pickens Speedway property, also known as Greenville Industrial Park, is currently under contract to be purchased by Realty Link, LLC.

As a 13-year-old in 1979, Mark Blackwell can remember throwing ping pong balls filled with money out of a helicopter hovering above the infield of Greenville-Pickens Speedway.

Now 57, he remembers watering the dirt track before it was paved with asphalt in the late 1960s. He recalls thrill shows featuring motorcycle jumps and a daredevil who blew himself up with dynamite — an illusion to the 35,000 onlookers that the speedway could fit.

Blackwell watched his father, Tom, and uncle, Pete, own and manage the Greenville-Pickens Speedway at 3800 Calhoun Memorial Highway, a legendary NASCAR-sanctioned racetrack, for nearly 60 years.

Because of those fond memories, Blackwell is endorsing the $103,000 crowdsourcing and sponsorship efforts led by Jackie Manley, an amateur racecar driver who drove the raceway from 2008 to 2015. His goal is to keep the circuit open for at least one last season of races and to continue donorship to the Shriners Hospital for Children.

"It's an uphill battle and a longshot," Blackwell said. "If Jackie can get a season going, maybe they would preserve the track and keep racing going. We're hoping if enough community comes together on (a potential) opening night, it shows that there's huge community support about this track."

Former owners of Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Pete Blackwell (left) and Tom Blackwell (right), at the fairgrounds/racetrack during the mid 1990s.

If the total donation goal of $103,000 is not met by mid-April, an official NASCAR-sanctioned race season would not take place for the first time in the 65-plus year history of Greenville-Pickens' half-mile long, asphalt oval.

Over that time, the speedway has held weekly stock car racing events such as the Greenville and Pickens 200 series, which featured at least seven current members of NASCAR's Hall of Fame.

The Upper Carolina State Fair, an annual Christmas lights show and more events could also vanish at the hands of inevitable change and growth.

"It would be like losing a member of the family if they tore the racetrack down," Blackwell said. "This isn't about money. It's for passion, history and the sake of racing in Greenville and Pickens."

Greenville Pickens Speedway on March 23, 2023.

It would also potentially end The Shriners Race — a 100-lap contest at end of the season, where all proceeds from the event are donated to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville.

Since the inaugural Shriners Race in the early 1970s, the Blackwell family, alongside the Greenville-Pickens Speedway, have amassed more than $1 million in donations to the hospital, according to Sherwood Kaiser, Board of Governors member with Shriners Children's Hospital.

"Drivers come in from Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and the two Carolinas, as it draws cars because it's a fundraising event," Kaiser said, adding that many of the drivers who would win the race would give the total grand prize back to Shriners Children's Hospital.

Kaiser also knows the Blackwell family well, as he had a relationship with former owners Pete and Tom Blackwell, prior to Pete's death in 2010.

"Everyone who knows the history of the track, knows our family," said Mark Blackwell.

The late David Pearson (left), a NASCAR Hall of Famer and Spartanburg native, is shown with Tom Blackwell (middle) and short track racer and Greenville native, the late Butch Lindley, at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in 1979.
(Photo: Image provided by Mark Blackwell)

Why racing could end at Greenville-Pickens Speedway

According to a Pickens County title of real estate document, Mark's father, Tom Blackwell, sold the 102.15-acre property at 3800 Calhoun Memorial Highway in 2003 to Kevin Whitaker, a local car dealership owner, for $6 million. As of 2022, the market value for the property has fallen to $2 million, according to Pickens County accessor website.

"Kevin Whitaker is an old family friend of ours," Blackwell said. "Nothing I say or do with this campaign has anything to do with Kevin's best interest of the property. Before I committed to Jackie, I called to make sure I wasn't going against him."

As of late March 2023, the speedway property bordering Greenville and Pickens County is currently under contract to be purchased by Realty Link, LLC. — a commercial and residential real estate company headquartered in Greenville — according to Stan Tzouvelekas, a land acquisition & sales professional with the company.

Jackie Manley's number 28 race car crossing the checkered line during the Old North State National CARS Tour at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in October of 2020.

Tzouvelekas declined to comment on the future plans of the 305-acre property.

"Kevin Whitaker isn't the bad guy. He's doing what he finds best, and that's his business," Blackwell said.

The property acquisition leaves future race days and the history of screeched tire marks from storied drivers, like Richard Petty and Ralph Earnhardt, in danger.

"We're just hoping they don't demolish the track," Blackwell said. "We would hate to see it disappear."

Greenville Pickens Speedway on March 23, 2023.

Shriners Children's Hospital will benefit from fundraising whether or not there is racing at Greenville-Pickens Speedway

Manley said the $103,000 leasing agreement still stands with Whitaker. If the funding is secured, the checkered flags are likely to wave, at least for the 2023 season.

If the goal isn't reached, all money raised from Manley's campaign will be donated to Shriners Children's Greenville during a future racing event at Anderson Motor Speedway, according to Kaiser.

A cardboard poster from the 1960s promoting Saturday evening stock car races at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway fairgrounds.

"I've never done anything like this," Manley said. "When we heard (Greenville-Pickens Speedway) was in danger of not running a season, I wanted to see what I could do."

Manley hopes to have funding secured as soon as possible in order to fit a full NASCAR-sanctioned season at the raceway. Ideally, he hopes to begin the season by mid-April and conclude by mid-September, ending with the Shriners Race.

– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and more for The Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on Twitter @ajhappened.