Racers, Friends Gather To Remember The Peach Bowl

Friends, fans and racing aficionados gathered in Austell, Georgia for the 23rd annual Peach Bowl Speedway reunion. Photos by Mike Terrell

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 2/3/12

For the 23rd straight year, former drivers, officials, fans and racing aficionados gathered together to remember and reminisce about one of the most important and historic tracks in Georgia racing history.

The annual Peach Bowl Reunion was held on Sunday, Jan. 29 at the American Legion Post 216 in Austell Georgia, some 41 years after the final race at the legendary quarter-mile track was run.

The speedway, which was located at the corner of Brady Avenue and Howell Mill Road in Atlanta, Georgia, opened in 1949.  It began as a home for midget racing, but quickly became a haven for stock cars and the famed “Skeeters”, a southern version of the super modified.

The track closed in 1971, and was razed in 1972 to make way for a bus repair depot for MARTA, Atlanta’s rapid transit authority.

But over the past 23 years, an annual reunion has been held to rekindle old friendships and remember the track that was important to so many.

Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member Jack Jackson organized the event over many of those years.  For the past few years, Susan Milam Morgan, daughter of Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Weyman Milam, has taken up the mantle and put in a lot of hard work to keep the tradition alive.

Each year, those that remember the Peach Bowl gather to remember the speedway, along with the fans, the mechanics, the officials and everyone else who contributed to the great times had at the corner of Brady and Howell Mill.

Here’s a look at some of the sights from this year’s Peach Bowl reunion:

Georgia Racing Hall of Famer and former Peach Bowl announcer Jimmy Mosteller (right) talks with Georgia Racing Hall of Fame board chairman Gordon Pirkle (right). Photos by Mike Terrell

Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Mike Head shares a story during the reunion.

Captain Herb Emory (right) shares his thoughts with Gordon Pirkle.

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