Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina has become the center of a growing debate about its future, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has now stepped into the conversation. After helping bring North Wilkesboro Speedway back onto the NASCAR Cup Series calendar, Earnhardt Jr. appears ready to get involved in another track fight.
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Through his work with the CARS Tour and late model racing, the NASCAR icon has spent recent years showing up at short tracks across the map, lending his name and drawing crowds wherever he goes.
Greenville-Pickens, a half-mile oval, sits along a highway linking the cities of Greenville and Easley in South Carolina. The track has sat idle while plans surfaced to tear down the property and replace it with industrial buildings. Recently, when word came out that the track might still have a fighting chance to become a fixture, Junior took to social media to pledge support.
“If @GPSpeedway1 (Greenville-Pickens Speedway’s X handle), the @CARSTour (late model stock and pro late model racing series) will be the first in line to return and I’ll be the first entry,” Earnhardt wrote on X.
If @GPSspeedway1 can survive, the @CARSTour will be first in line to return and I’ll be the first entry. https://t.co/g1Gl7jj1PC
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 13, 2026
The call to keep the track standing also drew backing from Alan Wilson, the Attorney General of South Carolina. Responding to Dale Jr. on social media, Wilson said the state should do everything possible to preserve the site, calling the track part of the heritage of American motorsports.
Greenville-Pickens Speedway is part of South Carolina history.
When @DaleJr says he would be first in line to return, it shows just how important this track is to the heritage of American motorsports.
We should do everything we can to preserve this historic landmark. https://t.co/jeq1lwGkwU
— Alan Wilson (@AGAlanWilson) March 13, 2026
The property has been caught in a tug of war between development plans and efforts to preserve the racing surface. By March 2023, the land had been placed under contract with RealtyLink LLC. A proposal tied to the project received approval in 2024, leading to work on a truck access area and several buildings near the former fairgrounds site.
On January 13, 2025, the Pickens County planning commission approved another phase calling for four buildings covering about 2.9 million square feet across 153 acres. However, plans hit a roadblock on March 9, 2026, when the commission rejected later phases that would have cleared the way for demolition of the speedway.
During the meeting, developers said a deal could still emerge with resident Jackie Manley to preserve the racing surface. Officials cited issues tied to the county’s long term development plan, a pending contract, and traffic studies stretching two miles around the site.
The track itself dates back to the 1940s and once hosted NASCAR sanctioned races, along with events from the CARS Tour and the Upper South Carolina State Fair beginning in 1964. It also holds a special place in broadcast history, as it was the site of NASCAR’s first start to finish race shown on national television on April 10, 1971.
Across the decades, drivers such as David Pearson, Richard Petty, and Junior Johnson took laps around the oval, leaving behind a legacy many fans now hope will not fade into the past.
