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Enter NASCAR

In 1951, NASCAR’s Strictly Stock division, known by this time as the Grand National division, came knocking at Lakewood’s door. It came as no surprise when hometown favorite Tim Flock won the first event at the track. His car owner, Ted Chester, was also an Atlanta native. Flock took the win handily in a 1951 Hudson, leading 87 of the 100 laps, with his brother, Bob, finishing second in a Chester owned Oldsmobile.

This race too had a tragic turn. During the event, Jesse James Taylor of Macon found his car tumbling end over end after a spindle broke. He was thrown from the car, and hit by another driver.

Taylor survived, and after a stay in Crawford Long Hospital, would return to racing. He later won the Georgia Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (GASCAR) title.

Legendary sprint car racer Tommy Hinnershitz also visited victory lane in 1951, taking a AAA Eastern win at Lakewood one month earlier.

NASCAR and the AAA jockeyed for the ruling roost at Lakewood in 1952. Bill Blair took the win in April, outdistancing Ed Samples, while Donald Thomas, with relief driving from his brother Herb, won in November.

Lakewood was also a premier stop for NASCAR’s new Indy-type open wheel division, called the Speedway division, which ran only one full season. Al Keller led the last 40 laps of the event after Bill Miller, driving for Atlanta’s Raymond Parks, dominated the first half of the event.

But 1952, unfortunately, also had it’s share of disaster at Lakewood.

Frank Luptow had begun racing midgets in the early forties, and won the IMCA champion in 1949, 1950 and 1951. In 1949, he won 38 of 47 events he started, and won a record 98 events in his six-year stint with the IMCA.

According to news reports of the day, Luptow’s wife wanted him to quit, fearing the danger the open cockpit cars held. Promoter Sam Nunis convinced Luptow that racing in stock cars would be much safer.

In 1952, Luptow began running the AAA stock car circuit, and was second in points to Marshall Teague after picking up wins at Milwaukee and Terre Haute. Luptow normally drove an Oldsmobile, but for some reason, he piloted a number 9 Hudson Hornet at Lakewood.

On lap 44 of the event, a right rear axel on Luptow’s Hudson broke as he came off the second turn, sending him tumbling down the backstretch. As the car tumbled, Luptow was thrown out of the car. Still tumbling, the car rolled over Luptow, killing him.

Luptow was 46 years of age.

It would be the last race at Lakewood for the AAA stock cars, and one of the last for Sam Nunis as promoter.

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Over the next few years, the winners list at Lakewood read like a who’s who of auto racing. Buck Baker, Herb Thomas, Ernie Derr, Iggy Katona, Curtis Turner, Junior Johnson and Fireball Roberts would all pick up wins in stock cars.

The USAC sprint cars and Indy cars were also regulars at Lakewood, with Eddie Sachs, Elmer George, and George Amick visiting victory lane.

That’s not to say there wasn’t also racing in some of the smaller divisions at the track. Each year, during the Great Southeastern Fair, a 100-mile race was held.

In 1955, Tommie Irvin piloted his stock car to victory lane in that event. He still considers it the biggest win of his career.

Irvin said in a 2007 interview that the track was a fast one to race on.

“You got as fast as you wanted to go,” he said. “When you went into that upper turn, you would be running a good bit over 100 miles an hour, which was fast at that time. But when you came down through that lower turn, you’d come out at around 60 or 65 miles an hour. You lost all your momentum going around that lower turn. But coming down that straightaway, you could get on up there. You were really running.”

But as the 1950s were coming to an end, so too was an era in racing at Lakewood.