Eric Hubbard, executive director and founder of Backroads of Appalachia, spoke at the Nov. 15 Perry County Tourism Board meeting about the possibility of bringing rally car racing and drifting events to Hazard and Perry counties. We talked.
Hubbard said previous events held on Appalachian Backroads had a strong impact on the community.
“This year, we brought more than $40 million in donations to the state of Kentucky. To date, we have welcomed more than 112,000 visitors. We have a mobile application that promotes all of Eastern Kentucky, especially our key partners. ,” Hubbard said. “We have a lot of customers, a lot of wealth, and a lot of investment opportunities.”
Hubbard said Appalachian Backroads has brought a corporate presence to eastern Kentucky.
“We currently have three businesses in Eastern Kentucky, all of which were attracted through motorsports events,” he said. “We introduced the American Rally Association and moved our current headquarters from Indianapolis, Indiana to eastern Kentucky.”
He said there are plans to use local land for future events.
“In order to bring rally car racing to Perry County, we have a meeting with landowners, land in Hazard County and surrounding Perry County, stripping operations, unused stripping mine sites, we are not using any activity land.” . Hubbard.
Regarding the legal and logistical aspects of hosting such events, the Hubbard Act makes some of these events possible.
“We held our first rally in Jackson County, with more than 1,900 people and factory teams in attendance, and $3.7 million in economic impact from the race in the Daniel Boone National Forest,” Hubbard said. said. “We can have multiple events of everything from general tourism, bike and car access, drift events, runway closures, etc. America has something unique. Sen. (Brandon) Smith helped pass it. Thanks to Senate Bill 96, it is now legal to close non-residential state highways to host motosport events. We understand the safety protocols before submitting to the Department of Transportation. We make sure it’s legal, safe, and fun at the same time.”
Hubbard said the organization’s efforts in establishing Dragonslayer Highway 160 have resulted in 39 new business openings and 77,000 visitors to the organization’s welcome center. All this will lead to economic development, he said.
“We use tourism to create opportunities for potential partners to invest in our region,” Hubbard said.
Hubbard said they are looking into the possibility of hosting the event in the summer of 2024 with the help of Perry County Tourism.
For more information, download the Backroad of Appalachia app or visit www.backroadsofappalachia.org.