Changing Times

Howard Corbin and his Super Modified, which were called "Skeeters" by most fans, at the Peach Bowl. The cars were usually raced without the wing on the quarter mile track.

In 1959, Boyd’s Speedway in Chattanooga completely opened up their rules.  Cars were coming from all over the country to run and their cars became just motor, frame, wheels and a driver – Super Modifieds.

The Peach Bowl changed with the times, but a little more slowly, demanding that the car owners use early model bodies in some form or other.  New cars, new drivers and a new night made the Peach Bowl more successful than it had been for over five years.

Roy Shoemaker and Norm Ash presented two nights of racing each week in 1959.  On Fridays, the Late Model Sportsman division, made up of year model cars 1955 through 1957, was started.  Initially, it was under NASCAR sanction but this was dropped in August.  On Sunday nights, the modifieds roared around the oval with as many as 39 entries one evening of the summer months.

Roscoe Thompson won most of the Friday night Late Model shows.  This was after an operation in the spring.  Charlie Mincey won a couple before Roscoe got out of the hospital.  Both were piloting 1957 Chevrolets.

Drivers such as Eddie MacDonald, Sam McQuagg of Columbus Georgia, Harold and Freddy Fryar, Joe Lee Johnson and Jerry Smith, both of Chattanooga and Bud Lundsford of Gainesville, Georgia won features in the Sunday night modified races.  Even NASCAR Grand National start Jack Smith came back to run a few races.  Atlanta drivers Charlie Mincey and T.C. Hunt had to fight hard for the few checkered flags they got.

Among the drivers that came to the Peach Bowl and didn’t win were future NASCAR star Bobby Allison, then of Miami, Red Farmer, who was also then a Miamian, Friday Hassler of Chattanooga, Jackie Evans of Miami, Charlie Griffith of Chattanooga and Ernie Reeves of Miami.