Despite the best efforts from speedway officials, the 2018
All-American 400 was simply not meant to be.
A race that was twice postponed last fall and again
rescheduled for this weekend was finally outright canceled on Wednesday due to
an abysmal forecast that called for thunderstorms throughout the planned
duration of the event.
In addition to the Super Late Model main event, the event was
also set to feature Pro Late Models. The Pro Late Model season opener and the local
division races have been rescheduled to Saturday, April 20, the regular season
opener.
“The forecast is awful for this weekend and we don’t
want the racers and fans to have to spend the money in travel costs to come
here for nothing,” said Claire Formosa, VP of Fairgrounds Speedway
Nashville. “Many of the drivers were coming from a long way, so we wanted
to do this early to help them out. We are now going to focus on our regular
season opener next Saturday and get prepared for the 35th All American 400 this
year.”
A stout field of Super Late Model stars were scheduled to compete
against Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Busch on Sunday
afternoon. The entry fees and pre-paid pit passes for all of those drivers will
be refunded by track management.
Drivers who were in Nashville for the original attempt at
the All American 400 last fall were scheduled to receive several incentives
upon their return this coming weekend. Officials maintained that those incentives
will remain intact for this year’s race.
“Everything we intended to honored this weekend we will
honor in November for the team’s that were here last November,” Formosa
said. “We are also working with our staff, the racers and other industry
people to get ideas for other incentives for the 35th All American 400 to make
it even more attractive than ever before.”
The 2019 All American 400 is slated for November 2-3, 2019. Entry forms and a weekend schedule for the event will be available on May 4. Official entry lists for the event will be reset and not reflect the order from the 34th edition of the event which has been officially canceled.
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