Racing legend Tony Stewart excited for Plymouth Motor Speedway opening

 

PLYMOUTH, Ind -- NASCAR legend, Tony Stewart was in Plymouth Wednesday signing autographs and taking pictures with members of the community.

Fans of Stewart showed up to the grand opening of Ollie's Bargain Outlet, to see the racing legend, who has strong roots in Plymouth.

"It’s good to be up here and this is an area we’ve raced at a lot and we’ve got a lot of ties to Hoosier Racing Tires in this area," Stewart said.

Those who showed up to see the legendary driver, shared memories of his days on the Plymouth Motor Speedway, when it was a dirt track.

The speedway is now getting a makeover and will soon be an asphalt track.

"It was a dirt track for eight years and we tried it one year with the dirt and we decided to take the dirt off to take it back to asphalt. It was a brand-new track as you can see behind me," Plymouth Motor Speedway owner Kevin Sauer said.

"It’s been a while since it’s been a pavement track, but a lot of pavement racing happens in northern Indiana," Stewart said.

Since deciding to change the foundation of the track, Sauer said he’s received mixed reviews from the community, but with the change, this will allow for other events such as concerts to take place.

"I’ve been some worst enemy to a few people but I also been the best of friends to a lot of people so I think in all around direction we went the right way and we’ll find that out," Sauer said.

Either way, the racing legend believes the speedway to be in good hands.

"It was fun to run on it while it was dirt. I’m more of a dirt guy than a pavement guy but you know Plymouth is a really cool facility," Stewart said.

The Plymouth Motor Speedway is expected to open May 20th, with their brand new asphalt track.