A Davidson County judge has dismissed protection order petitions filed against a public affairs consultant by two men tied to the campaign to remove auto racing from the Nashville Fairgrounds, and ordered the pair to pay his court costs and attorney fees after finding they knew their stalking allegations were false. William Lee Pardue and Alexander James Mott, both members of Citizens Against Racetrack Expansion, had accused consultant Kevin Wisniewski of stalking them during the group's petition drive earlier this year.
Davidson County General Sessions Court Judge Allegra Walker made the finding after Pardue and Mott dismissed their own petitions on September 30, according to WZTV. Under Tennessee law, a court can only order a petitioner to pay a respondent's costs and fees if a judge explicitly finds the petitioner was not a victim of abuse or stalking and knew the allegations were false when filing — a high bar that otherwise shields petitioners from such penalties, according to Justia Law.
Walker found that both men knew their claims were false, and ordered each to cover Wisniewski's court costs, filing fees, litigation taxes and attorney fees. Pardue and Mott had originally secured temporary protection orders against Wisniewski in August after alleging he followed and confronted them while they were collecting signatures, according to the same WZTV report. Their petitions described an alleged encounter at the Shelby Park Community Center on August 6 and another near the petitioners' office on August 12.
A Vanderbilt Witness Undercuts the Claims
During the September 30 hearing, a Vanderbilt professor testified that she witnessed the August 6 encounter and saw no aggressive behavior from Wisniewski. The professor also testified that Pardue remained at the location afterward and did not appear afraid, per the station's account. Pardue and Mott's attorney told the court the men dismissed their petitions because they believed the judge was unlikely to grant them, while Wisniewski has denied the stalking allegations.
Wisniewski works for Calvert Street Group, a public affairs firm that has worked on behalf of NASCAR interests at the Nashville Fairgrounds. The restraining orders had initially been granted by a judicial magistrate in August before being dissolved in court, with Wisniewski maintaining throughout that the petitions amounted to a public relations stunt, according to the Nashville Scene.
The Charter Fight Behind the Courtroom Drama
The legal skirmish is the latest flashpoint in a much larger battle over the future of the Fairgrounds Speedway, one of the oldest continuously operating motor racing venues in the country, having hosted races on the property since 1904, per the Nashville Scene's reporting. Citizens Against Racetrack Expansion gathered signatures for a proposed Metro charter amendment that would strip auto racing as a required activity at the fairgrounds and add affordable or workforce housing in its place.
Auto racing is currently protected under the city charter because Metro Nashville voters approved an amendment safeguarding the track back in 2011, which is why opponents must pursue a charter change rather than a standard council ordinance, as WPLN News has reported. The Restore Our Fairgrounds coalition delivered 74,905 petition signatures to the Davidson County Election Commission on September 18, far more than the 40,193 valid signatures needed to place the measure on the August 2027 ballot, with election officials given a month to verify them.
This was not the campaign's first setback. In April, Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal struck down an earlier version of the petition, ruling its title failed to clearly state it would eliminate auto racing at the site, a decision reported by Axios that forced organizers to revise the caption and collect signatures a second time.
Millions in Bonds and Stalled Negotiations
The fight carries significant financial stakes. Speedway Motorsports, the parent company of Bristol Motor Speedway, has proposed a 30-year lease and a track renovation exceeding $100 million, funded through Metro Sports Authority revenue bonds with a starting annual rent of $1 million, according to the Nashville Scene's reporting. Those negotiations have remained stalled under Mayor Freddie O'Connell's administration.
Reporting from the same outlet also found that key consultants for the anti-racing coalition have ties to Nashville SC owner John Ingram, whose MLS stadium Geodis Park sits adjacent to the speedway, while pro-racing public relations efforts draw support from Speedway Motorsports. The fairgrounds campus has become ground zero for competing commercial interests, with both the stadium and the historic track sharing the same grounds.
Canvassing tensions spilled into other corners of Metro government over the summer. An opposition group called Decline to Sign distributed name-removal forms after secretly recorded videos showed canvassers claiming the speedway was already slated for demolition, according to NewsChannel 5 Nashville, prompting hundreds of voters to request their names be withdrawn from the petition. An ethics complaint was also filed in August against Metro Nashville Public Schools board member Zach Young over his vocal opposition to canvassers, alleging harassment of student volunteers, per the Nashville Scene.
The dismissed stalking case adds another chapter to a dispute Hoodline has tracked since February, when former driver Neil Chaffin sued to challenge the racing ban effort, and continuing into this week's coverage of fairgrounds solar investments. Whether the Election Commission certifies enough valid signatures for the August 2027 ballot, and how the O'Connell administration proceeds with Speedway Motorsports, remain open questions as both sides brace for a potential citywide vote.
