NASHVILLE, Ga. — Stacey Rowan watched as the Coca-Cola driver hauled a soft drink cooler into the concessions building on a dolly truck.

“(Until now) the closest place to race was Jasper or Callahan in Florida,” he said.

The racing in question is go-karts. Rowan and his wife, Sherri, are reopening a track in Nashville that had been unused for four years.

Formerly known as Rev Up, the racing field on Hazel Avenue near the train tracks now operates as Dixie Super Speedway.

The Rowans planned to hold their first races Dec. 10 and every Saturday after that.

“I raced go-karts for eight years and missed it,” he said. “I had to dig a bit, but I found the owner of the land and offered to lease it for a year to see what the response is. I fully intend to buy the track outright.”

In its previous life, the track drew drivers from as far as Mississippi, and Stacey Rowan hopes kart teams will return from far afield. 

“We’ve already had a couple of guys come up from Florida to look at the track,” he said.

Karts had been unofficially clocked at 86 miles per hour on the half-mile track in previous years, Rowan said.

Rowan said the track will host 14 classes of races, hopefully drawing up to 15 entrants per race. The track can “easily” hold 1,000 spectators, he said.

Admission price is $10 apiece, with racers paying $25, Rowan said.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.