Didn't know the Gresham was closed and up for sale.
A shame, it was a great track. I attended both K&N East races there and really enjoyed both! I have a bad feeling that it won't open again.
Always went to the Crown Royal 300, their Super Late Model race and it was always a great show. I saw quite a few races there, when it was to old Peach State Raceway, great racing back then too. Guess all of that is gone, forever, now.
As for Lanier, yes it was a great track, saw some great racing there, over the years. As for Lanier ever reopening, don't hold your breath. This Downing, that bought Lanier, made a statement, when he purchased Lanier, that he would not reopen it for stock car racing. He had and still has (as far as I know) no plans or interest in bringing Lanier back as a stock car racing short track. He said, at the time of the purchase, that the site has potential for "other" uses. Unless he has changed his mind, and/or said something different since the time of purchase, his decision to not reopen Lanier still stands.
I guess Lanier is gone, forever now too.
Both Greenville-Pickens and Anderson are out of my driving range/budget, so scratch them. Dixie, I use to love, when it was a paved track. Not only attended allot of races there, but also drove there back in the early/mid-70s. Great track, back then. In 1975, I saw Richard Petty race there, in the debut of the old Dodge "kit car". The late Hal Hamrick, ran the track back then and was the promoter at (then called) Atlanta International Raceway. He was always able to get a Winston Cup star or two to run there during this time, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip and several others competed there. Petty was the big coop however. There were 47,000 in attendance that night, biggest crowd they ever drew, before or since that night! Since Dixie was plowed up and converted into a dirt track, I have been there a couple of times, for late model dirt races. While they're good, there just isn't the appeal that the place had, when it was a paved track. Same story with Rome, just not that big enough appeal for me to drive the 2+ hours it would take me to get there.
I guess what this all boils down to is, with the demise of both Gresham and Lanier, my days of attending races are pretty much over. Atlanta Motor Speedway, not only is a long drive from me, but smith and the failed economy have basically put attending races there far outside of my price range. Gresham and Lanier offered, at least, venues that were close enough and inexpensive enough for me to attend, but now, they are both gone. This pretty much means that now, my being a race fan/seeing races is limited to television. Within the next few years my guess, considering the greed that drives racing these days, is that televised racing will be moved to a pay for view channel. NASCAR has floated this idea for a couple of years now. I can, realistically see my days of being a race fan pretty much numbered and very likely could come to a close altogether. As a fan, there is little left of me now, if/when racing moves to pay for view channel, there will be nothing left for me. With distances, ticket prices (and other expenses) and now track closures, pretty much everything has been taken away from me. Just wonder how long I have left, until I have to say goodbye to racing forever? I guess 57 years, as a fan, is a pretty fair run, a shame it likely will come to a close. Never saw it ending like that, but what else is there to say?