2024 Protect Your Melon – Buckle Up SpeedFest Dates Announced for Watermelon Capital Speedway

Track Enterprises has announced that it will once again promote the long-standing prestigious pre-season SpeedFest event at Crisp Motorsports Park, home of Watermelon Capital Speedway located in Cordele, Georgia. This year, the event will incorporate a new title sponsor, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and their Protect Your Melon message in collaboration with NASCAR driver Ross Chastain.

The Protect Your Melon - Buckle Up SpeedFest 2024 event weekend will take place on Friday, January 19th and Saturday, January 20th, with Sunday, January 21st as the event's rain date. This will be the third year in a row that Track Enterprises has promoted the event and it will also include most of the same format as the successful SpeedFest 2023 had in place.

The partnership with the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) comes as an extension of their existing program with Chastain’s Protect Your Melon program that encourages drivers to always buckle up on roadways. Chastain’s background as an 8th generation watermelon farmer and his family’s roots in the Georgia agricultural community make this a natural fit. In addition to sponsoring one of the largest and most prestigious grassroots racing events in the country, the GOHS relationship with Chastain includes custom stickers on watermelons sold throughout the state and appearances in local communities. Chastain will also compete in the Protect Your Melon - Buckle Up SpeedFest 2024.

The ASA/CRA Super Series powered by JEGS and the ASA Southern Super Series presented by Sunoco will headline the event with a co-sanctioned 150-lap Super Late Model event. The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance will have a 100-lap Pro Late Model event. The Legend Cars will be featured again with a 25-lap feature. The Modifieds will return to this year’s SpeedFest after a great event in 2022 and the Bandoleros will round things out in a 15-lap feature.

For the ASA Southern Super Series, this event will be the official start of their season as it will be a point paying race. The January point race for the Southern Super Series will replace the Spring Nationals event at the Cordele, GA track, however, the Georgia Summer Nationals event will still take place.

SpeedFest began in 2005 at the now defunct USA International Speedway in Lakeland, FL before moving to Georgia's Lanier National Speedway in 2009. SpeedFest then found its home at Cordele Georgia’s Watermelon Capital Speedway at Crisp Motorsports Park in 2012 and has been held there ever since. Some of the biggest names in motorsports have won SpeedFest including Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Harrison Burton, Chandler Smith and Corey Heim. Bubba Pollard has won the last two SpeedFest events at the track.

There will be an open practice on that Thursday from 1 to 5pm. Friday’s schedule will consist of practice and qualifying, with all features being run on Saturday afternoon.

Information on specific event details, sponsorship opportunities, ticket sales and competitor entry forms will be made in the coming weeks.

Additional track and event information as well as event camping opportunities can be found at www.crispmotorsportspark.com. For track rental prior to the event, interested parties can contact Ben Sumner at 229-938-8814.

Additional information on the CRA Series can be found at www.cra-racing.com. Information on the ASA Southern Super Series can be found at www.southersuperseries.com

For more information on the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety’s (GOHS) seatbelt and impaired driving awareness programs, visit https://www.gahighwaysafety.org. Follow GOHS on social media at www.facebook.com/gahighwayafety, @gohsgeorgia on Twitter and Instagram, GOHSGEORGIA on YouTube.

Protect Your Melon – Buckle Up

Ross Chastain established the Protect Your Melon and Use Your Melon highway safety campaigns as a way to connect his family's rich farming heritage with his current racing career to positively impact roadways and save lives. Born out of a highway safety incident that personally impacted Chastain, he now uses his unique platform as a NASCAR driver to be an advocate for highway safety. Although he races professionally at 200+ mph in a custom-built car with specific safety advancements, after the race he buckles up and drives home to see his loved ones just like the rest of the country. The Protect Your Melon and Use Your Melon campaigns are active in eleven states.

-ASA STARS National Tour Release
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy/Racing America