Final Thoughts On 2010
The past year was certainly one to remember for a lot reasons. Some were good, some were not so good.
Piloting a Chevy for Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member Ronnie Sanders, Bubba Pollard was a front runner for The Georgia Gang in 2010. Photo by Justin Poole/Courtesy GMP Media
Top of the list has to be the incredible resurgence seen on a national level by The Georgia Gang, one that hasn’t been seen in many years. On the short tracks, drivers such as Chase Elliott, T.J. Reaid, Bubba Pollard, Mike Garvey, Jimmy Garmon and Justin Wakefield proved to be the ones to beat, with victories at Rockingham, North Wilkesboro, Nashville, Pensacola, Mobile, Montgomery and Gresham.
Move up a the ranks a little further, and you find that Griffin, Georgia stand out Max Gresham picked up two victories in his first full season of competition in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Piloting a Joe Gibbs owned Toyota, Gresham recorded a win from the pole at South Boston, followed by another victory one race later at Iowa, leading him to an eighth place finish overall in the points chase.
Gresham topped that with a trip to victory lane in only his third ARCA start, picking up the victory at Mansfield driving a family owned Toyota in July.
Also making waves for the Georgia Gang in ARCA was Lawrenceville, Georgia’s Casey Roderick, who picked up his first career ARCA win in just his fourth start, winning on the road course in Millville, New Jersey in a James Finch owned Dodge.
In the upper NASCAR series, the Georgia Gang was well represented with solid performances from Reed Sorenson in the Nationwide Series and second-generation racer David Ragan in the Sprint Cup Series.
2011 should prove to be a strong one for The Georgia Gang.
It was also a year for sadness in the Georgia racing community, as we lost Georgia Racing Hall of Fame members Raymond Parks, Katron Sosebee and Tommie Irvin, along with long time competitors Charlie Burkhalter and Andy Buffington, just to mention a few. With each day, we lose a little more of our racing heritage in the Peach State.
Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member Tommie Irvin was among many key people lost to the Georgia racing community in 2010. Photo by Eddie Samples
On another note, the news that the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame is now operating under its own auspices has to be one of the bright spots of the year. The longtime volunteers of the non-profit Hall have worked hard over the years, and saw their loyalty paid off by taking control of the day-to-day operations of the facility, which is dedicated to preserving the history of the state’s racing history.
The Hall of Fame is working towards 501(C)3 status, which will give them the opportunity to branch out and continue to grow, ensuring the history of the sport continues to be preserved for future generations.
The plight of Georgia’s short tracks has also been a big story in 2010. With few exceptions, several tracks across the state saw a decline in attendance, despite strong fields of racecars and good advertising campaigns. Hopefully 2011 will be a year in which we see these trends reversed.
On the flip side, several tracks played host to important events. Gresham Motorsports Park made a huge step towards bringing Super Late Model racing back to the Peach State by offering $20,000 to win the legendary World Crown 300 back in November. A strong field took the green flag on Nov. 14, with Woodstock, Georgia native Justin Wakefield picking up the win (which continued a streak of Georgia winners in the 300-lap grind that dates back to 2000).
GMP also hosted an event for the NASCAR K&N Pro East series that included a visit from NASCAR President Mike Helton, NASCAR executive vice president Jim France and International Speedway Corporation chief executive officer Lesa France Kennedy, who threw the green flag.
Now, when’s the last time a non-sanctioned half-mile could claim to have a group like that in attendance for a Saturday night show?
Add to that the CRA early season SpeedFest show at Lanier National Speedway, the strong showings at tracks like Needmore and Dixie Speedways, and you have the makings for another strong season in 2011 on Georgia’s raceways.
The loss of it’s spring date has been the talk of the town for Atlanta Motor Speedway, as officials continue to work to find events to fill the void left by the move of one NASCAR date to Kentucky. Doubtless Ed Clark and his fine staff down in Hampton will find a way to keep the speedway strong and viable and continue to be a jewel in Georgia’s racing crown.
Here’s hoping for a strong, fast and safe 2011 for all of Georgia’s racers, racetrack and race fans!
Brandon Reed is the editor and webmaster of Georgia Racing History.com.
Questions, comments, suggestions? Email us!
This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame or the Georgia Auto Racing Hall of Fame Association, Inc. All content is the intellectual property of the individual authors. All opinions are those of the individual authors. Please do not repost images or text without permission.