Cherokee Speedway, Gaffney, SC, March 4, 2007 2007 April 11
Sunday, March 4, I ventured to Cherokee Speedway in South Carolina for what was supposed to be a day-time show for the Souther n All-stars DIRT Super Late Models. I say supposed to be, because the actual feature was run at night. Racing was supposed to start at 2:00 PM, but that was really hot laps. Luckily, despite what I would consider a late start, once they actually started, the races were ran off at a decent pace. The Southern All-stars attracted a few really good drivers including Tim McCreddie, Freddy Smith, Clint Smith, and the Flintstone Flyer, Jim Duvall. Apparently they ran the night before at Bulls Gap in Tennessee and Scott Bloomquist won. Too bad he wasn’t at Cherokee on Sunday because maybe he could have gave “Cat Daddy” Clint Smith a run for the $10,000 winners check. The only person who had any shot at beating him seemed to be Tim McCreedie, but he got caught up in a spin in front of him in lapped traffic and was never a factor after that. Cat Daddy won easily after starting on the pole due to his heat race victory. He also set fast time. Cherokee is a little ahead of Golden Isles in that it already cut the track down in size. This was my first race at the track, so I never seen the bigger configuration, but I must say it was pretty racy in the new configuration despite the domination of Clint Smith. Unlike South Alabama Speedway, the owners didn’t seem to care much about the amenities, as the stands where not in the greatest shape. They are made of concrete placed in a hill, which would be fine – if the concrete wasn’t falling apart. The bathrooms and other buildings were also ran-down. So, if you are going to a track to see a nice-looking facility you might want to skip Cherokee. If you are going to a track to see a good race, though, you might want to keep Cherokee in mind.
My 2007 Stats after Cherokee Speedway are:
Races: 9
Tracks: 5 (3 new) (153 lifetime)
States: 5 (2 new) (37 lifetime)
I just wanted to say “Amen!” to your notation about the condition of the money-paying spectator side of this track. It would seem that with the admission charge at Cherokee, they could return some of it to the people who “keep the lights” on each week with nicer stands and other features. I’ve not been to the South Alabama Track, but have visited their website (that’s a whole other issue with Cherokee) and noted that admission is less.
It’s really amazing at what Cherokee could become if it had someone with vision to spend a little money. I think they would be shocked at how much more money they would make in the long run…