DIALED IN
CROSSVILLE DRAGWAY
“Fortunately, I was able to move forward by myself,
so 2020 marks my first year as owner/manager
while doing it alone,” says Newcome.
Right about the time he usually opens up for
Test and Tune in March, COVID-19 hit and disrupted
life as we knew it, including motorsports
activities. While the track is bustling with activity
currently, that wasn’t the case just a few months
ago. “It was a rough couple months to get through,
but amazingly, I did not lose a single sponsor, and
that’s how we got through it,” Newcome insists.
People such as East Tennessee Dodge and Ford,
Best One Tire, Selk Sanitation, Terry Bowman,
Mayberry’s Furniture, Roger’s Race Fuels, VP
Race Fuels and Mitchell Dyer are the ones Newcome
credits with stepping up when he needed
them most. The local Kubota dealer of Crossville
even supplied the dragstrip with a new tractor
and skid steer.
With the pandemic causing such a late start to
the season, though, Newcome was forced to reevaluate
some plans for 2020, namely his bracket
racing schedule. “I have a history in radial racing,
but I’ve come to enjoy bracket racing and was
planning to launch a nice points program this
year, but I felt the best thing to do was hold off
until next season,” he says.
Crossville will host multiple big-money dial-in
races this year through a collaboration with Chad
Axford from Flat Bill Promotions. “We had a very
successful weekend back in May, featuring three
10-granders,” Newcome says, “and we’re doing another
event with Chad coming up in September.”
Newcome would also like to explore the possibility
of bringing Pro Modified cars to Crossville.
“I think it would be good for the fans to see some
loud, fast cars!” he smiles. Crossville’s radial races
have also generated plenty of excitement this
year, especially the season opener when three
275 radial cars clocked elapsed times in the 4.0s.
Managing the track has been an exciting learning
curve for Newcome and he places high praise
on the Howe family for always being available to
offer their input. “Jim Sr. has climbed in his truck
at midnight and drove out here to help me sort
some stuff out, and Jim Jr. and I have talked on
the phone plenty,” Newcome says. “The Howe
family is always available to help me and I appreciate
them so much.”
Newcome has also capitalized on something
brand-new this season, oddly enough, beginning
this past winter, when he began providing a safe
environment for individuals to match-race their
street cars, but with a slightly different approach.
Newcome explains how he grew up in this area
and is aware of illegal and dangerous street racing
that still goes on in virtually every part of
the country including his own hometown, but
there’s also a surprising amount of people who
are willing to meet at the dragstrip and race their
street cars...just not on the actual racing surface!
“There’s a growing number of people who
enjoy coming out here and racing their cars on
the asphalt...past the finish line on a completely
unprepped surface that simulates a street race,
but in a much safer environment.”
What Newcome has also noticed is that many
of these participants and spectators alike are high
school-aged youngsters. Sometimes Crossville is
brimming with 2,000 people, all gathered past
the finish line to enjoy the competition of headsup
street races, with all their favorite brands
represented. What started as a novelty during
the doldrums of winter is now being branded as
“Asphalt Wars” and is a regular attraction through
the summer months as well.
Crossville Dragway is IHRA-sanctioned and
generally operates from March through November,
but with the addition of Asphalt Wars, the
track now has the potential to operate virtually
yearround. DI
56 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 159