LUCAMA, NC – Southern National Motorsports Park unveiled the Alex Hayden Broadcast Center prior to the 25th Thanksgiving Classic finale on Sunday.
Hayden, who currently works as a pit road reporter for MRN Radio, got his start in announcing and broadcasting at Southern National and the now-defunct Wayne County Speedway. He returned to co-announce the 25th Thanksgiving Classic and was both surprised and honored by track owner Michael Diaz, former track operator Charlie Lamm, and colleagues of MRN Radio during the dedication ceremony.
“I’m speechless,” Hayden said after the ceremony. “For somebody who gets paid to talk for a living, I was so caught off guard and so surprised. I had no idea it was coming and, when we went out on the deck a while ago, just before they unveiled the sign, I turned around and looked and I saw my boss from MRN come walking out. I thought, wait, there’s Dave Moody. Wait, there’s Pat Jaggers. Wait, there’s Todd Gordon.”
Hayden’s initial thought was that they were there to show support for Winston Kelley, the longtime MRN Radio announcer and NASCAR Hall of Fame executive who served as the Grand Marshall.
“All my buddies and bosses from MRN coming down here, I knew something crazy was going on,” Hayden continued. “It’s like, they’re not here just to watch a race on Thanksgiving weekend. There’s something else going on. So, I thought it was a deal for Winston and I was trying to figure out what was happening and trying to formulate something to say about Winston, and then they unveiled what they did and it completely caught me off guard. I was literally speechless.”
During the pre-race show, Hayden talked about how he got his start at Southern National. He recalled replying to an ad looking for a track announcer and auditioning for the role. Former track operator Charlie Lamm hired Hayden for the job, and had recorded Hayden’s announcing and sent it to MRN Radio. From there, Hayden’s career took off.
Hayden still considered Eastern North Carolina home and resides in Goldsboro.
After the dedication ceremony, he co-announced the 25th Thanksgiving Classic alongside track announcer R.J. Garris for Ultra Broadcasting from the Alex Hayden Broadcast Center.
Hayden also offered a piece of advice to young people looking to start a career in motorsports.
“Reach out to your local short track.”
The opening of the Alex Hayden Broadcast Center was followed by the dedication of the Matt McCall Grandstands on the frontstretch. McCall, wife Meredith, and his children were present for the ceremony. McCall, who now works for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series, is a legend at Southern National, having driven for years for the late Jerry Moody and for Wendell Davis.
Davis and Moody’s daughter, Haley, were in attendance for the race. Davis was the crew chief for multiple cars in the Charger feature which kick off Sunday’s feature racing program while Moody was working with Jamey Caudill’s team.
