Some fights in sports are really about land, money, and who gets to shape a city. That is exactly what is happening in Nashville right now. The fight over the 122-year-old Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway has gone from a local zoning dispute to a full-blown public feud involving NASCAR, Speedway Motorsports, and Nashville SC owner John Ingram. And now the president of Speedway Motorsports has made it clear that he has been trying to talk for years, with no response.

Marcus Smith sharply outlined what happened during his appearance on the Dale Jr. Download podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I’ve reached out to [John] Ingram and his office many times, never had a call back,” he said. “I wish that he would. I don’t understand it. I’ve never had anything like it.”

That was not a one-off complaint. Smith, who has been the CEO of the company since 2015, said Speedway Motorsports has spent nearly a decade trying to make the Fairgrounds project work while staying active in the local community through Speedway Children’s Charities and other outreach efforts. The frustration is far-reaching because of what happened before GEODIS Park — home of soccer club Nashville SC — was built in 2022.

According to Smith, Ingram had previously told the community that he wanted to preserve the speedway while lobbying for public support for Nashville’s MLS stadium. Now, Smith believes the opposite is happening.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested on the podcast that the speedway may have become a competitor once renovation plans became serious.

“I wish he would come to the table to have a conversation,” Dale Jr. said. “I would love to sit down with you and him in a closed room and just have a conversation.”

Smith agreed to that. What makes the dispute so complicated is that both projects are next to each other at the Fairgrounds. Ingram argues that a renovated NASCAR facility would create traffic and infrastructure problems alongside a 30,000-seat soccer stadium. Speedway Motorsports believes the two venues can coexist and even strengthen the area as a shared entertainment district.

The back-and-forth between Smith and Ingram is only one part of the story. At the heart of the dispute lies a racetrack that has been part of Nashville’s identity for more than a century.

Why NASCAR is Fighting So Hard to Save the Nashville Fairgrounds

Few racing venues in America, and honestly the world, hold as much history as the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

It is the second-oldest continually operating racetrack in the country, having opened for motorized racing in 1904, and it hosted NASCAR Cup Series races from 1958 through 1984. In 2011, Nashville voters approved a Metro Charter amendment by a 73% margin to protect racing at the site. That is why some of NASCAR’s biggest names have become directly involved.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has traveled to Nashville, met with local officials, brought the CARS Tour to the track, and even raced there himself to show the venue’s value. He has insisted that the problems locals kept highlighting while opposing racing at this cradle of American motorsports could be fixed.

“To be able to help the local community and [reduce] the burden on the local community… The noise is a burden, but we can fix that. We can make that better and continue to race here,” Dale Jr. had said.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott has publicly backed the preservation effort. Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks has helped keep local racing events financially viable. Veteran analyst Jeff Burton has also supported plans that address neighborhood concerns about traffic and noise.

“When you look at the plans being proposed, it’s not just about putting cars on a track. It’s about professional traffic management, structured parking solutions, and scheduling that respects the local calendar. A modernized facility handles ingress and egress completely differently than an old short track,” Burton said

Smith, whose company, SMI, owns Nashville Superspeedway, which currently hosts Cup Series races, believes the Fairgrounds can become much more than a racing facility.

He described it as a community asset that could host food truck nights, family events, walking trails, and other local activities throughout the year. He also compared the Fairgrounds to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, another historic venue that was once considered for demolition.

The political fight has only intensified in recent months. A petition backed by anti-racing groups linked to Ingram seeks to remove the charter protections that currently safeguard racing at the Fairgrounds. Critics have accused paid canvassers of misleading residents by claiming the speedway was already slated for demolition and that signing the petition would guarantee affordable housing, neither of which is true.

For Smith, the issue has become bigger than NASCAR. He sees the Fairgrounds as a piece of Nashville history that has served generations of families. And after years of trying to reach the man at the center of the controversy, his message was strikingly simple. The conversation he wants has still never happened.