Gresham Motorsports Park Sold, Will No Longer Be Racing Facility

As first reported by Brandon Reed for AccessWDUN, Gresham Motorsports Park and its property has been sold and will no longer be used as a racing facility.

Jim Gresham, owner of the facility since 2009, made the announcement on his Facebook page, stating the sale of the property would close during the month at March.

“I’m not at liberty to say who the buyer is or what they’re going to do with the track but I’m sad to advise the facility will not be used in the future for the purpose it was designed for,” Gresham posted.

The half-mile oval opened in 1967, then known as Jefco Speedway. In 1968 and 1969, the facility hosted a pair of races for the NASCAR Grand National Series (now known as the NASCAR Cup Series), won by Cale Yarborough and Bobby Isaac.

The track was dormant for most of the 1970s, but returned to the forefront of the southeastern short track racing scene in the 80s, then named Georgia International Speedway under new ownership.

1983 also saw the birth of the track’s signature event, the World Crown 300. Dick Trickle won the inaugural World Crown, pocketing $50,000 after finishing ahead of Mike Eddy and Bob Senneker.

THE THIRD TURN: 1983 World Crown 300

Many of the all-time greats are former World Crown winners. Joining Trickle on the list of former race winners are Darrell Waltrip, Gary Balough, Rich Bickle, Bobby Gill, Freddie Query, Ronnie Sanders, Chase Elliott, Preston Peltier and Casey Roderick among others.

THE THIRD TURN: World Crown Central

The facility changed hands (and names) several times over the years before Gresham purchased the venue in 2008, giving it the name Gresham Motorsports Park. Under Gresham, the track enjoyed a revitalizing facelift, with new grandstands and infrastructure.

Gresham Motorsports Park hosted three NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) events during this timespan, with Ty Dillon, Max Gresham and Kyle Larson winning those races.

Roderick won the final World Crown in 2014, passing Kyle Grissom on the final lap for the victory. The track would then announce it would not be hosting a season in 2015.

The venue hoped to return to action in May 2020 with the Peach State Classic. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the event until October before it was ultimately canceled.