Crowd at iconic speedway starts brawling around bonfire. Several arrested, SC cops say
A popular speedway known as “The Place Your Mama Warned You About” lived up to its reputation when a large fight erupted during a race weekend bonfire, according to investigators in upstate South Carolina.
The fan gathering at the Cherokee Speedway started at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, in Gaffney, and the first 911 call came about three hours later, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said in a Dec. 4 news release. Gaffney is about a 100-mile drive northwest from Columbia.
“Deputies were dispatched to a fight involving at large crowd at the Cherokee Speedway,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Upon arrival, deputies located a large crowd gathered around a bonfire and several people with minor injuries from fighting. ... Several people involved fled the scene prior to deputies arriving on scene to restore order.”
Multiple people were arrested, and a 15-year-old boy was referred to the state Department of Juvenile Justice “for his involvement in assaulting one of the victims,” the sheriff’s office said.
Among the suspects was a 57-year-old Gaffney man who was hospitalized with fight-related injuriesand given a summons to appear in court on a third-degree assault and battery charge, officials said.
The injured included track official Chad Wilson, who was pushed to the ground and “kicked repeatedly” while trying to break up the fight, according to a statement released by the speedway. He suffered three broken vertebrae in his back, the track said.
Investigators have not said what started the brawl but noted more could be charged for their involvement.
“It looks like some in this crowd grew tired of watching the race cars sling some mud on the famous dirt racetrack, so they started slinging fists at each other, causing minor injuries to several people,” Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Mueller said in the release.
“Watching alcohol fueled race cars is exciting but watching alcohol fueled adults fight it out was not part of the admission ticket.”
The dirt track began hosting races in the 1950s and has track records dating back more than 30 years on its website.
Speedway officials announced in a Dec. 3 Facebook post the track will no longer host bonfires and after parties due to the fight.
“We’ve held these two events late in the season to give our racing community something different to do at the racetrack. ... Both events have had altercations,” track officials wrote.
“If people can’t conduct themselves in a professional manner, then we won’t give them the platform to make bad decisions moving forward.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Crowd at iconic speedway starts brawling around bonfire. Several arrested, SC cops say."