Airborne At The Peach Bowl
Georgia offered NASCAR racing at Atlanta's Peach Bowl Speedway in the fifties. In that era, the best of the best drivers in the nation, such as Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Gober Sosebee (pictured) could be found at the little quarter mile track.
“It was the spring of 1950 because the Korean War was about to break out that coming summer. The Peach Bowl was near downtown Atlanta. I was on active status from the Army after leaving California, so I went to the Bowl with Billy, who was already a legend around the place. A fellow from Crawfordville, GA had an extra car, and I got to drive it.
“It was back when NASCAR was running every race on Wednesday nights there. Johnny Bruner was the flagman and manager of the events, and the class of the field were the Sportsman cars.
“The Peach Bowl was built for the midgets a year earlier and was still dirt, but pretty much immediately switched to stock cars and later that year it was paved. Stocks were far more popular to the fans around Atlanta.
“The track was a quarter mile and I was lined up on the outside for a consolation race. As the flag dropped, I tried to quickly get in front of this guy by passing on the outside which wasn’t easy. My left front wheel rolled over the right side of his rear bumper and my car started flipping and rolling.
“Unfortunately, this particular car I was in had the seat belt chained around the seat itself, and not the frame of the car. So the seat and I departed the vehicle during one of the flips. Once I landed on the track the car continued to flip and finally rested beside me and the seat, which I was still buckled.
A very hurt but thankful Lanier Englett (center) is comforted by NASCAR official Jimmy Stephens (left) and Englett's friend Billy Carden (right). Carden went on to win the feature later that night at the Peach Bowl (May, 1950).
“Through the dirt and sweat in my eyes I see a swarm of fast race cars driven by twenty or so very pumped up speed demons…coming straight at me. Though the seat still had me strapped to it, I was too hurt to move anyway if time had been on my side.
“About that fraction of a moment the veteran Bruner jumped down on the track in front of the onslaught and waved every flag he had in his hands. Cars were dogdgen and spinning and ramming into one another, but they didn’t make it to me. Thank you very much Mr. Bruner. Billy and some others came over and lifted me in an ambulance and off I went to Crawford Long Hospital.
“By the way, after they had cleared the track, Billy went on to win the feature later that night.
“At the hospital, I remember I told the doctor I’d be fine just let me sit up and I’d go home. He told me I wasn’t going anywhere. I said to pull me up and I’ll show you. I saw my shoes and clothes in the corner of the room and figured with a little help, I’m out of there. Well, he sat me up, and bam…I fell over like a sack of potatoes. I wasn’t going nowhere that night.
“They made me a brace and after a couple of weeks I took it off as I began to walk and soon was getting around fine.
Billy Carden outruns fellow Hall of Famer Bob Flock to the feature after Englett's wreck at the Peach Bowl.
“NASCAR paid my bills. Plus every week they sent me twenty five dollars. That was a lot more than I was making driving those things. NASCAR was good to me. Plus I was getting cards from people all over wishing me luck.
“That was one bad wreck. But the Korean war was starting up, and that accident probably saved my life.”
The Wreck That Gave Back
“When the Korean War came calling me a couple of months later; guess what? I had a gold chip in my closet, and it was time to cash in. I pulled out that back apparatus, strapped it on, grabbed a cane, stooped over, and went hobbling into the medical facility for my physical update. I told those doctors, as they could plainly see, that I could barely walk. But they demanded me though to take off my shirt and the brace. I said captain, I’m sorry, but I’m not taking off this brace and splatter on that floor. By time he read my reports and physician letters he had to let me go. He wasn’t happy, and I’m not sure of my acting antics, but he had to stamp rejected on my papers.
“I jumped back in my car and threw that wonderful brace in the backseat and split. Later though, I found out one of my buddies in our old unit got killed and another one seriously wounded. I would have been with them. That faulty seat that night at the Peach Bowl likely saved my life.
“Around Christmas of 1950 I got my official discharge. After nearly eight years, my service days were finally over.”