Third Race – Sept. 5, 1948

"Jug" Williams ans son Butch pose outside the E&S Speed Shop in Atlanta. Bob Osieki prepared this car for Gober Sosebee.

The next race at Columbus was on Sunday, September 5, and all the top drivers were there.  NASCAR’s other main event in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina was rained out.  So was the SCARA (South Carolina Automobile Racing Association) event in Spartanburg.  In Jacksonville, Florida, promoter Eddie Bland called Harold Hill to hold spots for some of their top drivers, including Bill Snowden, as rain too was a culprit there.

Among these best drivers in the country, Hill entered a car with souped-up equipment ordered from E&S Speed Shop in Atlanta and driven by local ace Wyatt Terry.

When it was over, though,  Gober Sosebee, who ironically was racing out of Atlanta specifically for E&S, took the feature.  But rain stopped the 40-lapper way shy of the finish.  Only 16 laps in, track officials called the event due to a much too slippery track.  Several lesser-known drivers skidded off and down the embankment, so for safety reasons, the action was halted.  Ed Samples, Red Byron and Roscoe Thompson rounded out the order behind Sosebee.

The fans were promised a 50-lapper on the next race date to make up for the shortened feature.

So what probably could well have been hailed as the biggest race of its season, as far as a who’s who list of stock car drivers was concerned, turned out to be quite lackluster due to mother nature.