MEMBERSHIP LOGIN
JOIN PRI
Stiltner Family To Acquire Kingsport Speedway
Image
Kingsport Speedway officials announced this weekend at their season-ending awards banquet that Ervin and Keith Stiltner plan to purchase the .375-mile concrete oval in Kingsport, Tennessee, from current owner Joe Loven.
The father-son businessmen have a deep connection to short track racing and have leased Kingsport Speedway since 2014. The two also leased Lonesome Pine Raceway from 2007 through 2017 and Ervin Stiltner was part owner in the United Auto Racing Ass’n (USAC).
Kingsport Speedway opened in 1965 as a high-banked dirt track. The track was converted to asphalt in 1969, and then in 1984 converted back to asphalt.
Joe Loven purchased Kingsport Speedway in the early 1990s. Loven, who owns Loven Ready Mix Concrete, had a part in putting down the first concrete surface at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also transformed Kingsport to its current concrete surface.
Kingsport’s resurgence came in 2009, when the track hosted a Late Model stock car touring series event that was sanctioned by the USAC. The track had been dormant since 2002 up to that point.
In 2011, former NASCAR driver Robert Pressley reopened the track and brought the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series banner to the track. After Pressley went on to pursue other business ventures at the end of 2013, Ervin Stiltner stepped in.
Karen Tunnell, the track’s current general manager and promoter, has been at Kingsport since it reopened in 2011. Tunnell will continue to lead the track.
“We couldn’t be happier to take the reins at Kingsport,” Ervin Stiltner said. “We’ve seen great support from the competitors, fans, sponsors and local community since we started leasing the track in 2014. We appreciate everyone’s support and look forward to waving the green flag on 2019 and beyond.”
The father-son businessmen have a deep connection to short track racing and have leased Kingsport Speedway since 2014. The two also leased Lonesome Pine Raceway from 2007 through 2017 and Ervin Stiltner was part owner in the United Auto Racing Ass’n (USAC).
Kingsport Speedway opened in 1965 as a high-banked dirt track. The track was converted to asphalt in 1969, and then in 1984 converted back to asphalt.
Joe Loven purchased Kingsport Speedway in the early 1990s. Loven, who owns Loven Ready Mix Concrete, had a part in putting down the first concrete surface at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also transformed Kingsport to its current concrete surface.
Kingsport’s resurgence came in 2009, when the track hosted a Late Model stock car touring series event that was sanctioned by the USAC. The track had been dormant since 2002 up to that point.
In 2011, former NASCAR driver Robert Pressley reopened the track and brought the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series banner to the track. After Pressley went on to pursue other business ventures at the end of 2013, Ervin Stiltner stepped in.
Karen Tunnell, the track’s current general manager and promoter, has been at Kingsport since it reopened in 2011. Tunnell will continue to lead the track.
“We couldn’t be happier to take the reins at Kingsport,” Ervin Stiltner said. “We’ve seen great support from the competitors, fans, sponsors and local community since we started leasing the track in 2014. We appreciate everyone’s support and look forward to waving the green flag on 2019 and beyond.”
