Heading to the finish line

EASLEY — It’s the end of an era for local racing fans as the Greenville Pickens Speedway — the second oldest NASCAR-sanctioned track in the country — has been listed for sale as a build-to-suit industrial park.

The track is listed by broker Stan Tzouvelekas on Reality Link for an undisclosed amount. Requests from The Sentinel-Progress to the brokerage firm for comment and/or a listing price were not returned.

The Greenville Pickens Speedway first opened as a dirt track in 1940 but closed the following year due to WWII. It reopened on July 4, 1946 and hosted both automobile and horse racing. NASCAR began racing the track in 1955 and in 1970, asphalt replaced the dirt (and the horses.) On April 10, 1971, ABC Wide World of Sports nationally televised a race from start to finish at the Speedway. It was the first full NASCAR race broadcasted in the US.

In all, the track held 28 races on the NASCAR Grand National tour between 1955 until 1971. It also hosted two NASCAR Busch Grand National (now Xfinity Series) tour races in 1983.

The last NASCAR Grand National race was held at the track in 1971, when NASCAR began cutting small tracks from its schedule.

In addition to the speedway’s storied NASCAR history, the track has been the home of the Upper S.C. State Fair since 1964. Despite the listing of the property, the fair is scheduled to operate on the grounds for the 2023 season, according to their website.

According to records, the 305-acre property is currently owned by Kevin Whittaker, who leased the property out for the racetrack operations.

Several development plan options are listed by the brokerage firm, however none of the proposed plans include keeping the track itself operational.

Additionally, no schedule has been posted for a 2023 racing season.