Final Thoughts
The backstretch of Lakewood Speedway as it looks today. Photo by Brandon Reed
The track is silent now. The backstretch is only traveled by security guards and patrons making their way to the amphitheater that sits atop Lakewood’s fourth turn. The spot where George Barringer and George Robson spent their final moments on Earth has been paved over for an access road.
But there’s still something about the spot, just as there is something about the track, that draws me back. As I walked from turn two down the backstretch several months ago, I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder, as if, at any second, a race car would come barreling out of the corner, tires sliding until finding purchase, then racing down in my direction.
That fateful day in 1946 was just one of many that racers lost their lives at the Lakewood Fairgrounds. In all, 14 racers so far are confirmed to have been killed racing at the Atlanta track.
George Robson (top) and George Barringer (bottom) are remembered today for being two of the top racers of their day. Bottom photo courtesy Bill Barringer
But there’s something about that particular day that draws people back.
Maybe it was the fact that Robson, the first post-war Indy 500 winner, lost his life just a little over two months after his triumph. Maybe it’s the human element, with Ted Horn and a group of fans rushing to Billy DeVore’s aid. Maybe it’s the loss of George Barringer, who had set so many records in the famed rear engine Miller.
Or maybe it, much like Bill Vuckovich’s crash at Indianapolis in 1955, made such an impression that everybody wants to know more about it.
There’s been so many theories as to how, what, where and why in regards to the accident. The bottom line appears to be that there were four men who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Two of them lived to race again.
Two others raced off into eternity, and the immortality that comes with being a part of history.
Brandon Reed is the webmaster and editor of Georgia Racing History.com.
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