Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 7/2/10
First off, let me start this column by saying a big thank you to all our readers!
Georgia Racing History.com turned one year old on June 26. So far, the response has been phenomenal, and we can’t say thank you enough!
The birth of this website actually started more than a year prior to the website being officially launched. It began as a conversation between myself and Mike Bell, the historian and CEO of the Georgia Auto Racing Hall of Fame Association.
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Posted 02 July 2010
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Raymond Parks poses with Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt had sought out Parks in the mid 1990s, saying he wanted to meet the "other great man of Daytona."
By Eddie Samples
Posted in Feature Stories 6/25/10
On a cool summer morning in 1928, fourteen-year-old Raymond Parks did his usual pre-dawn chores of building a fire, milking the cow, and feeding the stock. Then, using his wooden scythe as a guise, he told the family he was going to cut briars by the creek. Searching across a dark cornfield, he met up with some men waiting in a nearby car. A few months earlier, they had offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse.
Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 6/21/10
Of the late Glenn “Fireball” Roberts passing, sports writer Max Muhleman once wrote that it was like waking up to find that a mountain that had always been there was suddenly gone.
That’s how members of the Georgia racing community felt Sunday after learning of the passing of Mr. Raymond Parks.
Mr. Parks passed away in his sleep early Sunday morning at his home in Atlanta. He had celebrated his 96th birthday just two weeks prior.
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Posted 21 June 2010
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The 2010 class of inductees into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 6/18/10
On Sunday, June 13, the final round of voting was held to choose the 2010 inductees into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.
The final five choices, picked to be the next to be enshrined, were made up of both historic and ground breaking motorsports contributors, including pioneer drivers, engine builders, car owners, and the Hall of Fame’s first motorcycle racer.
The 2010 inductees are Ted Edwards of Atlanta, Ernie Elliott of Dawsonville, Jack Etheridge of Atlanta, Laverne Kendrick of Tifton and Jerry Wimbish of Atlanta.
Raymond Parks celebrated his 96th birthday over the weekend at J.B. Day's annual party. This cake honored Mr. Parks and his history. Photo courtesy Eddie Samples
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 6/11/10
On June 6, as many have for the previous 11 years, some of the biggest friends and fans of Raymond Parks traveled to Easley, South Carolina to celebrate the birthday of the man we call “The Godfather Of NASCAR.”
Raymond Parks, who, as a car owner, scored multiple wins at Daytona Beach and won the first two NASCAR titles, had turned 96 the day before.
J.B. Day and wife Willavene at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway. Photo by Eddie Samples
By Eddie Samples
Posted in Feature Stories 6/4/10
At the commencement of World War II, Jimmie (James Bolt) Day found himself in the predicament of either staying home and helping his family through tough times or getting a job.
Choosing the latter, he would leave his Cadillac LaSalle every morning at it’s usual spot, walk the short distance to the workshop, and begin rebuilding Model A water pumps for Smith’s Auto Parts in Greenville, South Carolina.
Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 5/28/10
If there’s ever been a track on the NASCAR circuit that drivers have struggled to get a handle on, it would have to be the 1.5 mile Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Year after year, drivers have looked for the right way around the venerable old speedway, looking for the right combination to win NASCAR’s longest event, the famed World 600.
That struggle goes all the way back to its first event back on Memorial Day of 1960, when two key drivers with Georgia ties were at the center of the first 600-mile grind.
The first World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was a grueling event that broke several cars, and several hearts before the checkered flag fell.
Jerry Williams (left), David Sosebee (center) and Capt. Herb Emory (right) go three wide during the vintage car pace laps at GMP. Photo courtesy GMP Media
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 5/21/10
On May 15, Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia played host to the inaugural Georgia Racing Hall of Fame night.
The track, which was recently named as the official track of the GRHOF, invited every Hall of Fame member or family members of Hall of Fame members who are no longer with us, to take part in this special evening.
The Augusta International Raceway was part of what was planned to be a multi-track facility in Hephzibah, Georgia. Photo courtesy Henry Jones
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 5/14/10
On May 1, 2010, one of the most unique and interesting race track complexes in Georgia history was remembered.
It was exactly 50 years ago to the day that the Augusta International Speedway complex was opened in Hephzibah, Georgia. It was intended to be a massive racing facility that would include a three mile long road course, one mile dirt oval, a two mile long tri-oval superspeedway, a half-mile paved oval and a 1/4 mile dragstrip.
Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 5/7/10
It was 62 years ago this month that the racing world lost a driver that many felt would have been an early NASCAR star.
On May 16, 1948, Swayne Pritchett of Baldwin lost his life due to injuries sustained in a racing accident in Jefferson, GA.
Pritchett was born in 1922, and early on, was fascinated by speed. As many young men of the day were, he was involved in the moonshine business.
