Knoxville Nationals Chicken Feed Celebrates 50 Years!
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
by Joanne Cram
Anyone who has been to the Knoxville Nationals has encountered the chicken feed that is hosted outside the pit entrance every Thursday night of the Knoxville Nationals. This event is celebrating its fiftieth year in 2018, that is a lot of chicken!
The current chicken-meister is Ron Bougher of Des Moines, formerly of central Florida. Ron has a long history in the racing industry, from racing IMCA stock cars since 2012, to working on the 4 wheeler crew at Knoxville Raceway since 2004. Ron took over the chicken feed in 2012, when his uncle Dave Cornwell passed away. Dave was the second chicken-meister after the original chicken cooker, Harold Rube Cornwell passed away in 2009.
The chicken feed started back in 1968, when Harold Cornwell (Rube) started cooking chicken at the track the first night of the Nationals. Rube was also involved with the track as a push truck driver since about 1959. “Rube was in the used car business his entire life. He absolutely loved Knoxville Raceway and was passionate about sprint cars and racing in general,” Ron recalls. “I believe they started cooking after a couple years of having some cold ones after the first night of the nationals”. Rube and his friends acquired quite the following of fans, friends, officials, and fair board members as they continued cooking chicken year after year. After several years of the tradition, Rube started counting up the years to keep track. The tradition has continued and evolved slightly over the seasons, but it is still in the family and still going strong 50 years later.
“But in anything you do, you have to have a great team.
I wouldn't be able to do any of this without the help of our official chicken cooker, Roger Gorman and his great family. As he's been a major part of this since 1977, taking the reins from his father, Floyd Gorman. I usually get the shirts, and the chicken. Roger and His family take care of the rest.
I think it gets a little bigger every year. I can remember only going through 200 pounds of chicken…now we go through almost 400 pounds. We also go through 25 pounds of livers and gizzards, which Cappy was pretty fond of”.
Until 2013, Rube’s family paid for the chicken feed out of their own pocket, and it’s something they have been honored to do. As the prices for chicken and supplies have risen, the raceway helps out with whatever the chicken feed team needs; which Ron and his crew appreciate very much. “It's something that's become more than just cooking chicken. It’s definitely a tradition at this point. Hopefully I'm around for many years, but I expect at some point Roger's children will one day carry on this beloved event. Until then hopefully nothing changes,” Ron reflects. “I look forward to this every year as much as the nationals itself. We get to see many of the same fans,year after year. The fans share memories they have of the chicken cook through more years than I've been around. Some have attended every year, like Bob Riggens. Others still make it out when they can. We'll keep doing it as long as we can, and we'll see ya every Thursday night of the nationals!”
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