White Pidgeon, Michigan’s Mottville Speedway, a quarter mile with a modest banked surface, has been sold and will be transformed into property for a new church.
Over the weekend, the adjacent Constantine Restoration Church stated that it had bought the land and would be constructing a new church on the ground. The township forced the track’s shutdown and reconstruction, hence it is currently for sale.
Restoration Church has committed to one more goodbye event for the raceway before any renovation gets underway.
A Restoration Church spokesman stated, “We have a lot of memories there (and have been talking about having some type of ceremony this year before anything changes on the grounds.” “Once we plan that, we’ll make sure to post something on Facebook, so stay tuned.”
Alvin Lammon of Three Rivers, Michigan, founded Mottville Speedway on July 4, 1950, as a dirt quarter mile. Joe Hamsher, the founder of New Paris Speedway, served as an advisor. Buck Jones oversaw the paving project when it was completed in the 1960s.
Before selling the tune to Hamsher in the early 1970s, RD Vaughn acquired it through a transaction.
Before 1982, Mottville was owned by Ralph and Nancy McGlothlen, who renamed it Southwest Michigan Speedway. In terms of racers and structural upgrades, the track saw its greatest prosperity during the eight years when the McGlothlens owned and operated it.
Among the frequent headliners were Tony Raines, Denny Nyari, Andy Bozell, Doug Hanna, Jim Blount, Randy Sweet, and Larry Knowlton.
Merle ran the track until his death in 2022, having bought it with Judith Holden in 1990. 2023 saw one final shortened season, and on March 2 there will be a final championship dinner.
