As the track surface at Motor Mile Speedway ages, the racing is only getting better.  A top groove has formed, promoting side-by-side races which led to three epic photofinishes in 2014.  This season, Motor Mile Speedway expects the same.

For years, Motor Mile Speedway has been the mecca for Late Model Stock Car racing.  The track’s worst car counts often eclipse the best car counts at other racetracks and all of Late Model Stock Car racing’s heavyweights congregate to Motor Mile each race.  Even the track’s second-tier Limited Sportsman division sports some of the highest car counts anywhere.

Last season, it was not just the car counts but the racing action and the considerable increase in fan attendance that electrified Motor Mile Speedway.  Three consecutive Late Model Stock Car features were decided by photofinishes with one of those races, reminiscent of the 1959 Daytona 500, taking days to determine before Tommy Lemons, Jr. was officially declared the race winner.

“We had three consecutive Late Model races decided by three-hundredths of a second or less,” JW Martin, Motor Mile Speedway’s director of media relations, told RACE22.com.  “That was incredible which was highlighted by a tie that took five days to finalize.  It doesn’t get better than that.  It was unprecedented for us.  I think Motor Mile Speedway has the best Late Model racing in the region.  The top groove is coming in and the guys like Deac McCaskill, Peyton Sellers and Tommy Lemons, Jr. are working it.  There are two distinct grooves of racing.  I hope we can continue that momentum into 2015.”

The race that commanded the spotlight last season was the June 27th race which Lemons won.  That race came down to a literal statistical tie with Lemons edging Sellers for the victory.  The race had been run on Friday night but it took track officials until Wednesday to review photos and videos to determine that Lemons had scored the victory.  That finish helped to display the parity in the competition at Motor Mile.

“It was incredible,” Martin stated.  “When you look at it, we had five different winners last year so we’re pleased with the parity and we averaged 24 Late Models a race and topped out with 32.  The car counts are still there and we expect them to increase if not stabilize.”

Motor Mile’s schedule stands to only bolster the car counts in 2015.  Their schedule does not conflict with the all new Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Late Model Stock Tour nor does it conflict with nearby South Boston Speedway.

“We’ve worked to improve our schedule for the benefit of our fans.  We expect high car counts again this year like we saw last year due to our schedule.  I think it’s proven to be successful.  Car counts up, attendance up, track is better than ever.  We’re not conflicting with anyone else in the region this year so I think it’s a really strong schedule.”

Another area Motor Mile Speedway saw improvement last season was in fan attendance.  The track, through its parent company Shelor Motor Mile, gave out nearly 90,000 tickets to area schools in hopes of attracting children and teenagers to the races.

“One of Shelor Motor Mile’s programs is called ‘Growing the Future’ and it’s a relationship we forged with area school systems to get young people involved in racing,” Martin explained.  “We gave away 90,000 tickets to region school children.  Over 90,000 tickets were given away and we saw a great return.  Our stands were packed.  Attendance was way up.  We’re continuing that this year.

“We’re increasing this program this year.  We’ve expanded it to involve youth sports teams.  If they contact the racetrack and tell us about their youth league, they get free tickets if they wear their gear.  The demographic that needs to be bolstered is youth involvement and growing the next generation of NASAR fans. We knocked it out of the park last year.”

Motor Mile Speedway has also worked with the regional media to improve communications and get more exposure for the racetrack in local newspapers and television stations.

“Last year, we structured the credentialing process.  We’ve given media members incentives such as food vouchers and wireless internet.  We’re expanding that this year.  We’re really trying to welcome the media back.  This was an effort that began last year.  It’s much more respectable and we hope a lot more members of the media will take interest in the incentives and the process and see more people covering our races this year.”

The 2015 season at Motor Mile Speedway goes green on Saturday, May 2nd with the track’s Late Model Stock Car and Limited Sportsman divisions both in action.  The seven event calendar will feature twin Late Model Stock Car feature races every night and twin Limited Sportsman features on June 27th.

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2015 Motor Mile Speedway season schedule

May 2nd: Late Model Stock Car (Twin Races)/Limited Sportsman
June 13th: Late Model Stock Car (Twin Races)/Limited Sportsman
June 27th: Late Model Stock Car (Twin Races)/Limited Sportsman (Twin Races)
July 11th: CARS Tour (Late Model Stock Car/Super Late Model)
July 24th: Late Model Stock Car (Twin Races)/Limited Sportsman
August 8th: Late Model Stock Car (Twin Races)/Limited Sportsman
August 22nd: Late Model Stock Car (Twin Races)/Limited Sportsman
September 12th: Late Model Stock Car (Twin Races)/Limited Sportsman