End of the Road
This Chevy racer still sits today in the infield at Banks County, right where it was left when Irvin closed the track.
So, why did he shut down the track?
It turns out a 1969 drag racing accident that killed several spectators at the Yellow River Dragstrip, which led to sweeping track changes around the state and country, claimed Banks County Speedway.
“The government started making you have a million dollars worth of insurance, same as the big tracks such as Atlanta Raceway. The fire marshals said we needed newer type fences, and told us our grandstand was a firetrap and we had to build better ones. Plus, I was tired of trying to keep the drivers legal and so forth. I just didn’t need the hassle. After one more race around 1970 I just shut the place down. Wasn’t fun anymore. Actually, I had forgot to turn the lights out that night. Darn things stayed on for two or three weeks,” he said.
The concession stand and remnants of the wooden bleachers at Banks County.
And he wasn’t kidding about leaving and not coming back. If you go to the track today, well over a quarter of a century since the last race, you will find the lights, loud speakers, grandstands, guardrails, catch fence and, unbelievably, four race cars sitting on the track, just as Irvin left them after that final event.
And as for Tommie, you will find him usually at his general store, passing stories with his faithful customers or at his hunting lodge deep in the heart of his property, or even tending to his purebred dogs, who live comfortably in the prison bus used in the movie My Cousin Vinny.
Irvin at his lodge, which lies deep within his property, minutes away from the old racetrack.
“I love my dogs and I love my racing and all the people I have met by my involvement. I really hated to quit driving more than anything, but I remember my last two races really did me in. One was at Hartwell Speedway and Russell Nelson did a squeeze play on me and forced me into the infield. And at Anderson’s East Park track, I was using that new fuel nitro propane. The stuff made me so dizzy I had to crawl on all fours out of my car. Too old for that anymore. I still have people wanting me to sponsor their cars. I tell them I’m sorry, but it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of my friends who still race,” finished Irvin.
And if you’re in Baldwin, Georgia, get Tommie to take you through the pines and kudzu down to the old track. Look for that faithful water truck. It’s still sitting on the backstretch, waiting for Buck Simmons to maybe someday give it one more lap.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the September, 2000 edition of the Pioneer Pages magazine. In June of 2009, Tommie Irvin was announced as an inductee to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. He will be formally inducted at the Hall of Fame banquet on October 23, 2009.
Eddie Samples is a racing historian and writer, and is the son of champion stock car racer and Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Ed Samples.
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