Modoc Speedway
Owner ready to unveil revamped Modoc oval
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Owner Ronnie Powell handles the Modoc surface. (facebook.com/modocspeedway)
When Ronnie Powell purchased Modoc (S.C.) Speedway in early January 2022, he figured the job, at least initially, would require only a few touchups to make the 3/8-mile oval race-ready. | RaceWire
The Athens, Ga., businessman even outlined plans to go racing by that February when announcing his purchase from Jimmy and Ann Cushman, who retired after owning and operating the racetrack from 2013-21. Powell's timeline changed quickly once the longtime construction company owner dug into the literal weeds of the 30-acre property.
“Yeah, I thought I could go in, do a few upgrades, and get going,” Powell said in a phone interview. “But once we got into it — the dirt was no good. The walls were obsolete. The fencing was terrible.”
Those early plans for the 2022 season were soon scrapped. What followed was an exhaustive — but ultimately worthwhile — $2 million overhaul that stretched nearly four years, a span dragged out by health setbacks for both Powell and his business partner, Jason LaRussa. And, as Powell admits, his perfectionistic tendencies.
“We do it right or we just don’t do it. It’s kind of a bad trait sometimes,” Powell said through a laugh while adding that “a neck injury that sidelined me for a little bit, so that prolonged things.”
“And as soon as I got better, (LaRussa) had blood clots that messed him up, so he wasn’t able to work,” he continued. “It’s like we’ve had musical chairs going on. But it’s been a work in progress — something I’ve wanted to do for a long time — to try to rejuvenate racing around here, because everything had gotten so bad.”
The journey finally leads to Friday’s grand reopening, a $10,004-to-win program co-sanctioned by Ray Cook’s Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals and the Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series. Friday’s program — the first Super Late Model event at Modoc since October 2021, a race won by Trent Ivey — is expected to draw a solid field, headlined by national touring campaigners Brandon Overton and Carson Ferguson, along with Southeastern standouts Ben Watkins, Chris Ferguson, Cody Overton and Zack Mitchell, among others.
Spectators and competitors alike will notice a dramatically transformed facility as Powell likened the project to peeling back “40 years worth of Band-Aids,” a process that required rebuilding nearly every inch of the speedway from the ground up. The track has been completely regraded and reshaped with new walls, wiring, fencing and a fresh racing surface from more than 200 loads of North Georgia’s grayish-blue gumbo clay at $1,000 — the very clay that’s a hallmark Georgia racetracks in Senoia and Swainsboro.
While Powell has delegated most day-to-day operations, he’s the sole caretaker of the racing surface. He even said that Brandon Overton, whom he’s sponsored through his R.W. Powell Construction company for many years, convinced him to get his hands on the renowned gumbo clay.
“I’m still learning the cake recipe on what it needs,” Powell said. “It’s just like baking a cake. You’ve got to get that right recipe, and then once you get it, you’re good.”
Powell’s construction background has helped him make sweeping facility upgrades. More than $200,000 has gone into the track’s fencing alone, accompanied by new LED lighting, a $70,000 state-of-the-art speaker system and televisions placed throughout the property, including one at the sign-in window.
The grounds have also been reworked extensively with roughly 240 loads of asphalt millings for dust control, creating a clean, uniform look throughout the property. The main building has been fully renovated with modern restrooms featuring heat, air conditioning and ventilation, plus granite countertops, automatic faucets and epoxy flooring. The press box has its modern renovations, too.
“It’s all brand new from the ground up,” Powell said. “Just trying to do things a little different than normal. When people come, they’ve got a nice place to be — even for DirtonDirt, scorers, everybody working. They’ve got a nice, clean, comfortable environment.”
Among Powell’s staff is longtime official and public relations specialist Kelley Carlton, who serves as the promoter and PR manager for the revived Modoc. Carlton, too, views the revamped Modoc as more than just a racetrack.
“Ronnie and I want the same things: A family-friendly place that produces good racing, treats the racers fairly and gives the fans a great experience,” Carlton said. “We want them to feel good about their track. Ronnie has made a huge investment here and he isn’t done. We are going to continue to make upgrades and improvements, and we have plans for even bigger races in the future.
“Ronnie has been awesome to work with,” Carlton added. “Anything I have asked for, he has made happen. And that just motivates me to want to do all I can to make this the place he has dreamed it could be.”
Part of Powell’s grand masterplan is spearheading an unsanctioned $50,000-to-win and $3,500-to-start Super Late Model special event as soon as next season. In fact, Powell’s investment and heart in Modoc is so deep-seated he’s even considering raising the stakes for a special event to potentially $100,000-to-win event, as long as he can boost payouts throughout the field.
First, though, Powell would like to replace all the grandstands around the track, which isn’t cheap.
“We wanted to put in brand-new bleachers, but we got a price of about $750,000,” he said. “So right now we’re getting operational, seeing how many people we can handle, and we’ll keep upgrading as we go.”
Powell purchased the entire 30-acre property for $260,000, a reasonable acquisition considering “I’ve sold property for that much an acre.” But the investment in upgrades is worth it for Powell, who’s in a good enough financial position to splurge on the what could become into one of the Southeast’s premier facilities.
Friday’s program is the first of five Super Late Model special races this year. Next is July 16’s Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals event followed by Sept. 19’s Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series event and finally an Oct. 23-24 World of Outlaws Late Model Series doubleheader.
“It was supposed to be more of a hobby, but it turned into a job more than I expected,” Powell said. “I just wanna break even on it. I ain’t worried about the money. As long as it stops the bleeding and pays for itself and improvements, I’m good. We’ll just keep maintaining it and making it better.”
