A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday for the New Dennis Albaugh Suite Tower at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum in Knoxville.

The new six-story tower will be a replica of the existing Bryan Clauson Suite Tower. The twelve new suites will go up on the east side of the museum looking out at turn two of the Knoxville Raceway as a bookend to the facility. The new suite tower is set to open for the start of the 2025 season at Knoxville Raceway next April, and more than 20 guests have been on the waiting list for a suite.

This new suite tower will provide additional revenue to help the museum remain open all year. At the groundbreaking, a large crowd came out to celebrate the new addition. Among the speakers at the event were Hall of Fame Executive Director Bob Baker, Dennis Albaugh, Don Lamberti, and Knoxville Mayor Brian Hatch. Baker says this additional suite tower is going to be a great addition for Knoxville.

“It’s a great thing not just for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum and the Knoxville Raceway, but really for all of Knoxville because this building is going to sit right next to Highway 14 when people drive here off the interstate and come down south on Highway 14. It’s going to be one of the first large buildings they see. As soon as they go by it the next thing they’re going to see is Knoxville Raceway and they’re going to realize that this is a big thing, that Knoxville really is the sprint car capital of the world.”

Neumann Brothers will serve as the general contractor for the $6.2 million project.