COEBURN, Va. — Mark Ebert, the owner of the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience, has entered into an agreement with Lonesome Pine Raceway owner Bobby Hill to purchase the Coeburn racing facility.
In an agreement the parties released on the track’s Facebook page, there will be a brief lease period before a closing date in the first quarter of 2023.
Hill has owned the venue, which features a 3/8-mile asphalt oval track, since 2018. He transformed the track briefly to a dirt track named Clay Valley Speedway before going back to its asphalt surface.
There was another lease agreement announced in January 2022, but that deal fell through. The RWRE group has operated Motor Mile Speedway in Dublin, Virginia, the last two seasons and looks to bring those concepts to Lonesome Pine Raceway — which celebrated its 50th anniversary this season.
“Motor Mile Speedway, we inherited an amazing facility with so much potential, and we see that same potential here at Lonesome Pine,” Ebert said. “With a little investment and elbow grease, the racing surface is going to be outstanding. We’ve fallen in love with this area and the community here. Adding Lonesome Pine is going to make us better at both tracks.”
Rusty Wallace Racing Experience operates at 70 tracks across the nation, while the group also runs a Late Model program. Wallace, the 1989 NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer, weighed in on the Lonesome Pine deal.
“When Mark and I first got together, we talked short-track racing before we ever talked business,” he said. “It’s a passion that runs deep for us both and through our whole team. You see that passion in our short-track Late Model program and you’ll soon see it at Lonesome Pine. It’s going to be great watching Lonesome Pine come back to life in 2023.”
Former LPR racer Jeff Roark will serve as track president. He mentioned a schedule of events, which will include racing on the asphalt track, the dirt go-kart track and dates for the racing experience, which will operate out of a race shop on the property. He promised more announcements to be released on their Facebook page.
Hill talked about the tough decision to sell the track after investing time, work and financial resources. He said the right partner was needed before selling the track.
“When Mark and the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience came to us with their plans, we knew this was the future for the track and the community we were looking for,” Hill said. “We’re excited for the future of Lonesome Pine, and we’ll be in the stands next year to watch the races.”
Jeff Birchfield is a sports writer for the Johnson City Press with a lifelong passion for motorsports. The father of two attended ETSU and served in the Tennessee Army National Guard.
