I spent a lot of time at the Superspeedway both as a spectator and as a young reporter trying to learn the business. So, I have mixed feelings about its closing.

Lets start with the positives, all of the employees did a great job of making sure everybody was taken care of, which included the hard work of the racetrack’s Vice President and General Manager Cliff Hawks.

Hawks tried everything to get people to come watch one of the races. He lowered ticket prices, added a meet-and-greet with the drivers, and got NASCAR to change the schedule so the races would not go up against the Titans home preseason games.

However, hardly anyone showed up, especially after the IndyCar Series left after the 2008 season. That race would always sell-out even before Danica-mania took off in 2005.

The concrete surface was different to look at from afar, but it would cause trouble for the drivers especially when the Indycars raced at the track. The way the surface was laid in sections caused a jarring effect when the cars drove on top of the breaks in the concrete.

Another problem was the lack of banking, which of course led to no passing. By the end, most of the people in attendance were bored and counted down the laps till the checkered flag.

As for me, the Superspeedway let a college reporter at the time cover the races since there was nothing going on at the MTSU campus during the summer.

I worked for MTSU's “Sidelines” from 2001-06. During one summer, the faculty advisor, at that time, Wendell Rawls gave me the chance to head up to Gladeville to cover one of the races. He also hooked me up with a local legend in this business and current Post columnist Larry Woody.

The first few times, I got a press pass, but the officials would not let me into the Infield Media Center. However, Larry talked them into letting me into the building. I will always be grateful for that, because during those long days I learned how this business works.

I was lucky enough to meet and interview some of the top drivers, including Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Dario Franchitti and Danica Patrick.

I also learned tips from some of the top auto racing media, including ESPN and the Speed Channel, including meeting current open-wheel reporter, Robin Miller.

At first I was nervous, since he is one of those guys that likes to tell it like it is. However, after meeting him, he was a cool guy to talk racing with.

One year, I even got to meet one of my idols growing up in sports media, Bob Jenkins.

Jenkins was one of ESPN first employees back in 1979, when the channel was created.

He covered every series that was broadcasted on the network in the '80s and '90s, which included the Indycars, Sportscars and NASCAR. Today, he covers the IndyCar series for the Versus (soon to be NBC Sports) network.

He was a really nice guy and he took the time to answer all of questions.

There was a lot of funny things that happened inside that media center, and some of them I cannot share with you. In the end, everybody was really helpful to me and I will miss that place.

In closing, I hate to see that place go.

However, if the owners would have done some things differently like adding more passing chances and putting a Sprint Cup race there. They would prepare for 2012, instead of locking the doors forever.