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Former Duck River Racer Competes at Fairgrounds Speedway

Tuesday June 23, 2009

 

By Kay Chambers & Fairgrounds Speedway PR

Mark Steagall, a 50-year-old Open Wheel driver at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, once competed at Duck River Speedway.

While most of the Rockvale, TN. driver’s racing experience has been at the Fairgrounds, he also has roots at Duck River, where he’s been a regular spectator.

He and his father, Dick Steagall, are both well known and respected at the Fairgrounds. Both are known as fierce competitors, but are also known for their clean racing and willingness to help others.

Steagall began racing at the Fairgrounds in 1990, in the Fender Bender division on the quarter mile track. The division’s name has changed over the years to, for example, the Street Modified division and now is known as the Sportsman division. In many of those races he raced against his father.

Most of his wins were during the Fender Bender races, which were run on the small track.

He also accumulated wins on the big track, as well. In 2006 Steagall took home the Sportsman Division Championship, receiving a guitar similar to those awarded to winners at Nashville Superspeedway, a tradition born at the Fairgrounds Speedway. The guitar can be traced back to the early 1970’s when Grammer Guitars awarded it as a trophy to the winner of a few major events at the historical Fairgrounds Speedway.

Steagall was one of the innovators in the sport in two ways. He began running a crate motor in 2005, and began calling the track for rules clarifications. He bought his dad’s race car during his 2006 title run.

In his last race of 2006, Steagall wrecked in the heat race, borrowed his dad’s backup car and finished 13th, high enough for the championship. Also that season, Steagall and his dad finished second and first, respectively, on Father’s Day weekend. After his father was disqualified on a small rules infraction, Mark took home the win and the trophy. Mark decided his father was deserving of the trophy and awarded it for Father’s Day.

Steagall races out-of-pocket, so when the Open Wheel Division became an option at the Fairgrounds Speedway, he decided that this division was the most cost-effective. One reason is he gets to race on old tires given to him by Terry Hayes, who races in a different division.

Steagall says he likes to have all the work done to his car complete on Thursday night and relax on Friday night.

The Open Wheel Division has been an adjustment for Steagall because the setup is basically opposite from Sportsman Division. He is struggling now to get his car to handle correctly, but looks forward to becoming competitive. Steagall finished fourth this past weekend in the Father’s Day event.

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This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.

 

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