The Peach Bowl Pass

Charlie Mincey was a frequent winner at the Peach Bowl, and a master of the "Peach Bowl Pass."

The hard part about winning at the Peach Bowl, according to Charlie Mincey of Kennesaw, Georgia, was the handicapping system.  The high point man for the week started on the tail end of his heat and in the feature.  Former racer Eddie MacDonald of Tifton, Georgia, said that was where the “Peach Bowl Pass” came from.

“You came up behind someone and nudged them on the back bumper,” he said.  Most racers would slide out of the groove and the pass was completed.  The driver in front didn’t always want to get over, however.

“So you nudged a little harder,” MacDonald said years later with a grin.

Charlie Mincey noted that Jack Smith was always near the tail end at the start but never at the finish.  Somehow, Jack had nudged, pushed, slid or whatever to first place.

“You have to realize, Jack raced for a living,” Mincey said.  “Heck, most of us would have run for free.”

The problem was the promoters sometimes felt that way also, but the Peach Bowl with NASCAR or SRE was the big exception in those early days.  Roy Shoemaker ran a class act whether it was with NASCAR or SRE or an “outlaw” show on his own.