Sixties Slow Down
NASCAR legend Curtis Turner leads the pack during the warm-up laps prior to the start of an ARCA event at Lakewood.
With NASCAR and USAC gone, things did not look rosy for Lakewood Speedway going into the ‘60s.
But if ever Lakewood had friend in City Hall, it was Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield. Hartsfield was a long time race fan, having attended races as a child at the old Atlanta Motordrome. Hartsfield worked hard to help the track, authorizing a complete resurfacing of the speedway using new clay brought in from out of the area.
Around that same time, legendary stock car ace Curtis Turner fell out of graces with NASCAR for trying to unionize the drivers. Turner came on board at Lakewood as the promoter, bringing USAC and ARCA to town with their stock car shows.
Turner convinced friends like Tim Flock, who had also been bounced by Bill France for trying to bring in the Union, Gober Sosebee and Bob Welborn to run in the events.
Midwest legends like Elmer Musgrave, Don White and Ernie Derr picked up wins, along with Turner himself, who finally won one of his own races in April of 1962.
Stock cars and modifieds topped the bill most of the time. Georgia racing Hall of Famer Bruce Brantley was among many racers to pick up wins at Lakewood during the sixties.
The decade wasn’t without a dark spot, however. Motorcycle racer Dexter Campbell, of Orlando, Florida lost his life at the track in an AMA event on May 15, 1966. It was during a six lap heat race, and Campbell, who was leading, went into the treacherous turn one too hot, resulting in contact with the guardrail and an ensuing pile-up. He was 29 years of age.
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A rare photo of T.C. Hunt’s NASCAR Grand American Chevy. Hunt won the G.A. event at Lakewood in 1969.
NASCAR would return to Lakewood two more times in the ‘60s. In October of 1969, Georgia native T.C. Hunt picked up his only career win in NASCAR’s Grand American series, a division for Pony cars like the Camaro and Mustang. Hunt piloted his 1968 Camaro to victory in the Lakewood GT 100, holding off Frank Sessoms and Wayne Andrews.
The division would return to Lakewood once more, in April of 1970.
The race started off badly, with a 13-car pile up that eliminated a quarter of the field. In the end, Tiny Lund, a master of the Grand American series, recorded the victory over Ken Rush. The two were the only drivers on the lead lap.
With the ‘70s now underway, the end of the road for Lakewood loomed ahead.