Flatrock Seeing Success With First Major Track

Flatrock Motorclub celebrating the opening of its first official track at the Cumberland County facility.

Flatrock Head Pro and Daytona 500 Champion Trevor Bayne said the Club circuit is a three-and-a-half mile road course with twenty-three turns. Bayne said this course is the cornerstone of the club.

“From a driver perspective, I grew up in East Tennessee and the only thing I had available for me to race on were dirt ovals,” Bayne said. “And that kind of dictated the path that I took in my racing career and I think to have road courses available here in our community is going to be great for anybody who is interested in motorsports.”

Bayne said the club members continue to use the course even as winter sets in and rain gets more frequent. Bayne said progress is underway to create more tracks in the future.

Bayne said there are various amenities available at the facility but the course is the main attraction for most members.

“It does not look like a racetrack that I’ve ever been to, that’s for sure,” Bayne said. “From the curving to the buildings and real estate that are kind of coming out of the ground now to the clubhouse that’s being constructed. And then down to the curbing and the actual paving on the racetrack was overseen by some F1 pavers that have experience across the world.”

Bayne said being able to drive on a proper racetrack is an all-new experience for many club members. Bayne said it is a challenging course and drivers often have questions about how to handle certain corners and maintain speed while staying safe.

“We have a lot of terrain, a lot of ups and downs,” Bayne said. “And so you got to account for some of that, too. It’s a really complex track. My background is mostly on ovals, obviously, coming from NASCAR, but I’ve had some experience on road courses throughout my career and this honestly is one of the coolest road courses I’ve ever had the opportunity to drive due to the elevation here.”

Bayne said the opening is also the start of the large economic impact that Flatrock will bring into Cumberland County. Bayne said the motorclub is focused on its member track for now but it plans to expand and attract national and worldwide events to the facility in the next three to five years.

“We’re going to have tons of people coming in for events and coming in to drive,” Bayne said. “And staying locally, eating locally, buying fuel locally, doing all of those things.”