Greenville-Pickens Speedway
Greenville-Pickens Speedway is an inactive oval short track in Easley, South Carolina. The track formerly held NASCAR-sanctioned and CARS Tour races. The track is owned by Kevin Whittaker and is currently undergoing a redevelopment plan to turn the surrounding land into an industrial park, with the future of the facility itself being uncertain.
Built in 1946 by Bob Willimon, Greenville-Pickens Speedway was opened as a dual-use dirt track for horse racing and auto racing. After six years under Willimon's leadership, the track shut down for two years before reopening in 1954. The following year, brothers Pete and Tom Blackwell bought the facility, owning it until 2003. Under the duo's leadership, the track held NASCAR sanctioned events, was fully paved, and hosted the first live, flag-to-flag Cup Series event in NASCAR's history. In 2003, car dealership owner Kevin Whittaker bought out the facility and held racing events including the Cars Tour. After 2022, the facility was again put up for sale with the intent of turning the land into an industrial park. As of 2025, the track remains but is in a dilapidated state, with the surrounding land having been converted into an industrial park complex.
Description
Configuration
The track in its current form is measured at, with 5 degrees of banking in the turns. Prior to 1970, the track had a dirt surface.Amenities
Greenville-Pickens Speedway is served by U.S. Route 123 and South Carolina Highway 124. As of 1996, the track had a capacity of "between 9,000 and 10,000" according to The Greenville News. The track's retaining walls feature the names of previous track champions at the track as decoration.Track history
Early years
On June 4, 1946, the Associated Press reported that auto racing promoter Bill France Sr. announced plans to host an auto racing and horse racing program in Greenville, South Carolina, on a dirt track built and financed by Bob Willimon. By the time of the announcement, the track was "near completion", with the banking of the track having been completed. According to The Greenville News, Willimon bought the land from a mail carrier and initially wanted to make the facility a horse racing-exclusive track; however, he was convinced otherwise by France Sr. Approximately three weeks after the announcement, an opening date for the now-named Greenville-Pickens Speedway was announced for July 4, with the program hosting both automobile and horse racing. The speedway opened as scheduled, with driver Ed Samples and horse Judge Patcher winning the first auto and horse races, respectively. The program was considered to be successful by local Greensville media; however, the race was marred by heavy dust. Future events that year saw sustained success, breaking the attendance record for a sporting event in South Carolina. In October, racing events on Sundays were briefly banned at the track due to local blue laws; however, the ban was overturned in the following month.In 1947, Willimon sold controlling interest of the track to John H. Holcombe and Buddy Davenport, with each of the three owning a third of the track. Under the group's control, floodlights to host night racing were installed at the track in 1948. After five years of the group's control, the track closed for almost two years after the end of the 1952 racing season, reopening in 1954 under promoter W. A. McFalls for motorcycle racing. A year later, a new lighting system was installed under promoter Joe Bailey. On October 6, the first NASCAR Cup Series race was run at the facility, with Bob Flock winning the event after initial winner Jim Reed was disqualified for an illegal engine.
Blackwell brothers era
In December 1955, the speedway was bought by eventual long-time owners Pete Blackwell and Tom Blackwell, who demolished the existing horse stables upon purchase. In 1959, a concrete grandstand was built to replace the old existing grandstand. Four years later, seating capacity was expanded to "in an excess of 3,000". The following year, a new concrete outside retaining wall was erected on the track's backstretch; the wall was later extended to the last two turns and a part of the first two turns a year later. In 1970, Greenville-Pickens Speedway was paved after 25 racing seasons on a dirt surface; the paving was completed in two weeks in the month of April, with the new track surface hosting its first races on April 18. A year later, the track hosted the first flag-to-flag NASCAR Cup Series race broadcast on national television, broadcasting the 1971 Greenville 200 on the American Broadcasting Company's Wide [World of Sports |Wide World of Sports] program.After the 1982 racing season, the Blackwells sold off the facility to firm Jarvis–Landry Associates for $1,000,000. However, two years later, the Blackwells repurchased the facility from Jarvis–Landry after the firm experienced financial issues. In 1987, the track's pit road entrance was moved to the fourth turn and the pit area was expanded. A year later, the track surface was repaved for the first time since the track's initial paving in 1970. Starting in the mid-1990s, a period of major renovations began. In 1995, the track surfaced was repaved for the second time in the track's history. Within the year, Pete Blackwell announced the construction of new concrete grandstand to replace the old frontstretch grandstand, in the process increasing seating capacity to "between 9,000 and 10,000". The expansion was completed in 1996, with Pete announced further proposed plans for seating expansion and the construction of corporate suites being announced by Pete. The upgrades led to the track being used as a testing facility for the NASCAR Cup Series, with teams often testing at the track until 2015 when a ban on testing on non-Cup Series tracks was imposed. On May 11, 2000, co-owner Pete Blackwell died, leaving Tom as the sole owner of the track.