OPENING THE GATES TO JACKSON DRAGWAY

Tyler Firmin opening the gates to Jackson Dragway for the first time in 2026.

Put as simply as possible, yes, Jackson Dragway located in Jackson TN will be open for the remainder of 2026 and 2027 for certain. The recent buzz lead to questions, questions led to conversations, and here we are. Before we dive right into the details, let’s give some contrast to the recent past.

Jackson Dragway’s opening day was 1967, that’s a good bit ago. The track being around for so many years has seen many versions. Changing owners and simply adapting to the times, Jackson has become home to many racers near and far. The track sat dormant for most of 2026, with no explanation, along with another popular Tennessee track that was closed by the same ownership body.

This came as a huge shock, as much of 2025 was spent making vast improvements to the racing surface and infrastructure. Racers all around said the track was looking the best it ever had. But as suddenly as improvements began, everyone was left with no answers, and no track.

There is some scraping to be done according to Scottie Corbin, “A little dragging and we are ready”.

Here we are now, one quarter of 2026 is left. The weather will start to cool just in time to fill the remaining weeks with drag racing of all sorts; Radial racing, Index, Small Tire, Bracket and big touring events as well. The plan is to start the season off with some all-run and Gamblers Racing and get some rubber on the track. Who’s behind the push to get the track open?

William “Bubba” Bernard, a native to Jackson and his grandson Tyler Firmin have taken that step to make this happen. According to Bubba, he has a 2 year lease on the track with plans to purchase at the end of the two year agreement. Bubba wants to let everyone know that the previous owner is not involved, “This deal is in good hands” were his words. Bubba and Tyler, with the addition of Scottie Corbin, are the core management team spearheading this movement.

William “Bubba” Bernard says Jackson Dragway is his home track, “I want to see it alive again”.

Scottie Corbin has made a name for himself in the racing community not only as a racer but also as the “Track Prep King”. Corbin is no stranger to Jackson Dragway; he was the previous manager before the shutdown. Scottie says there’s a good bit of scraping to be done out to the 330 foot mark. Once they can get some new rubber on the surface and drag it, Corbin says it will be good to go.

Scottie Corbin the “Track Prep King”.

“The weather its going to cool, but the track will be hot!” -Scottie Corbin

What can we look forward to? Bernard says they plan to tidy the track up, fix little things everywhere from fixtures to grass and bathrooms, everything will get a makeover. Not a lengthy overhaul, just what needs to be done to make it right and fun for the fans. The bleachers, and yes the food, don’t forget the food. What’s a race track without good food? The kitchen will get a good remodel, and all of our favorite ladies will be back to take care of us!

Opening day is set for October 9th and 10th, Friday and Saturday. Friday test and tune and racing on Saturday. It’s basically an all-run event so anyone with any car can come out and run, all kinds of racing and private testing as well. “We have a good straight track here, we are excited to bring some bigger racing back to Jackson. We are going to have some big money races coming up”, Bubba said. He seems to be genuinely invested in making this track thrive to give racers a home and spectators something thrilling for the entire family.

Opening day is set for October 9th and 10th, an all-run event.

In the end that’s what it is really all about. The gathering place to do this thing we all love in different capacities. Bubba and Tyler need all of our support on this, there’s a lot of work to be done. Let’s all come together and be thankful we have another track to enjoy drag racing for a little longer. Maybe, just maybe, it will be around long enough for the next generation of drag racers.

Christopher Russell

Editing: Jaime Russell