TEAM CO-OWNER WILLIE ALLEN EXPRESSES GRATITUDE TO LOCAL AREA FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT OF TEAM MOVE TO NORTH CAROLINA
By Rackley W.A.R. / November 14, 2024
Centerville, TN (Nov. 14, 2024) – In 2008, Willie Allen firmly planted a stake along the backroads of Highway 100 in Centerville, Tennessee when he officially opened the doors of W.A.R. Shocks and Willie Allen Racing (W.A.R.).
Yesterday, Allen and the team announced it’s pulling up anchor from the company’s middle-Tennessee headquarters and moving its racing operations to Statesville, North Carolina to better position itself geographically and competitively within the motorsports industry.
Today, Wilie Allen made remarks from his office in Centerville. Reflecting on the many years of living and doing business here.
The 2007 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) rookie of the year and the 2015 Pro Late Model champion at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, has dedicated most all his adult life to racing and Hickman County and the surrounding area has been home.
Allen has always been dedicated to the local communities of Hickman and Dickson counties. He, in fact, even worked for the local water department before he got his first taste in racing. His team has been dedicated to sharing the excitement of motorsports with the local schools and children’s organizations. The team has supported events by bringing the race team’s decked-out semi hauler/transporter and race cars to various events; spreading the word of a great sport, building young fans and maybe even sparking the interest of a future race car driver. The community has also taken great pride in calling the W.A.R. operation its very own home team since the inception.
Allen joined forces and created a partnership with Curtis Sutton, president of Rackley Roofing Company, Inc., in 2020 and the team evolved to its current name, Rackley W.A.R.
“This is certainly a bittersweet move,” said Allen. “This is my home and my family’s home. We have been dedicated to Tennessee for so long. Our race team has just grown so much, so quickly, that it just didn’t make economic or competitive sense to continue being stretched from here to back and forth to North Carolina where all our Chevrolet, chassis, engines, fabrication, and pieces and parts partners are. We were keeping the interstate hot several days per week going back and forth continuously.
“The western North Carolina area is the hub of NASCAR racing, and to take our operation to the next level, a move was just inevitable at this point. Curtis and I are dedicated to winning on the racetrack and creating a competitive culture all-around within our team of exceptional employees, talent, and partners.”
Allen’s W.A.R. Shocks operation was the first business endeavor for Allen and wife, Kristen at their current Centerville headquarters. The company builds, maintains, and ships racing shocks and suspension parts nationally and even overseas for asphalt and dirt racing teams. Allen said the shock operation will remain at its current location in Centerville, Tennessee with business as usual while the Rackley W.A.R. NCTS program and the Late Model Racing Development programs transition to North Carolina.
He added that there are so many people to thank for their years of support, that he simply couldn’t address everyone individually. He noted that his friendship with Nashville award-winning singer/songwriter, Wendell Mobley, provided him with not only a friendship, but a business mentorship that gave him the courage to step up and do what he knew and loved to do as a career. The duo had previously met competing together in the U.S. Legends Cars series. “I can never thank Wendell enough for everything. He will continue to be a part of our organization and keep the lights on for us here in Nashville.”
Thank you, Hickman County, thank you Dickson County. Thank you, Middle-Tennessee. We’re still your home team and will always be. Thank you for your many years of support. We can’t wait to take you all back to victory lane, again and again.
Willie Allen Racing (W.A.R.)
