Brandon Reed

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 9/3/10

When the NASCAR Sprint Cup tour rolls into Atlanta this weekend, it will be mark the last time the tour will visit the 50 year old facility twice in one season for the foreseeable future.

It’s an odd situation to see Atlanta lose its spring race date.  Since it’s first event in 1960, the speedway has hosted to Cup events yearly.

But the spring race has always been a tough sell.  And, with the opportunity to go to new venues, the decision was made to limit AMS to only one event, the successful Labor Day race, for 2011.

The track has a history of ups and downs.

The speedway was conceived by a group of real-estate developers in the Atlanta area in 1959.  Costing around $1.8 million to build, the track, then known as Atlanta International Raceway, played host to its first race on July 31, 1960.

The track was a classic oval layout, 1.5 miles in length, with great sweeping turns and smooth straightaway transitions that meant fast speeds.

The track opened as the third true paved speedway on the NASCAR circuit, along with Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Speedway.  Charlotte Motor Speedway would be the fourth track, and it would open later that same year.

A crowd of around 25,000 came out to take in the first event at Atlanta, which was won by legendary wheelman Fireball Roberts.

The track was far from ready to go racing, however.  The asphalt had only just had enough time to cure.  Some of the stands weren’t completed, with the retaining wall blocking the view for some fans in the lower portions.

Rainstorms had turned the surrounding area into a mud pit, and early on, Atlanta gained notoriety as one of the worst tracks to get out of following an event.

Financially, the situation wasn’t rosy either.  The track struggled from the beginning, fighting to stay out of the red.  At one point, the speedway even went into bankruptcy.

Weather was not friendly to the 1.5-mile speedway to boot.  Several races early on were delayed by rain, not by days but by weeks.  It would be several years before Atlanta would settle into friendlier race times during the year.

One thing that caused the speedway problems was its location.  Placed south of Atlanta, developers thought that, with all the growth that was occurring north of the city, the southern side would do the same, putting Atlanta International Speedway in what they thought would be a prime spot.

They were dead wrong.  The growth continues to the north today.  Had the speedway been built the same distance north of town, off of Interstate 85, odds are it would have been one of the most successful venues on the circuit.

That’s not to say the track didn’t see some success, and some great moments.  Nebraska racer Bob Burdick won his first and only NASCAR event at the track in 1961.  Rex White picked up the first win for Chevy at AIR in 1962.  Indycar racer Jim Hurtubise won in a “questionable” Plymouth in 1966.

A.J. Foyt recorded one of his seven NASCAR wins at Atlanta in 1971.  Richard Petty became the first NASCAR driver to win a career total $1 million in a 1974 event there.

Legendary drivers such as LeeRoy Yarbrough, Ned Jarrett, Fred Lorenzen, Buddy Baker, David Pearson and Bobby Allison would park in Atlanta’s victory lane.

A big break occurred for AIR when the fall date for the speedway was moved to November, putting it near the end of the season.  Fans who wanted to see how the NASCAR points chase would shake out would flock to the track.

In 1987, the season finale was held at Atlanta for the first time.  Fans packed the stands to watch Dale Earnhardt win his second consecutive and third overall Winston Cup.

Atlanta appeared to have found its place.

The next big step in the right direction for the facility came in October of 1990, when Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., purchased the Atlanta International Raceway.  He promptly changed the name to Atlanta Motor Speedway, bringing it, name wise, in line with his other tracks.

From there, AMS began to grow exponentially.  Additional grandstands were added in the east turn.  Suites were added all around the top of the towers around the track.  Driver and fan amenities were added.

Race wise, fans were still being treated to terrific racing.  Local fans got to see their hometown hero, Bill Elliott, crowned the Winston Cup champ in 1988.  Rusty Wallace would earn his lone championship trophy there in 1989.  Meanwhile drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Morgan Shepherd and Ken Schrader visited victory lane.

But it was the 1992 Hooters 500, the season finale for the Cup series that year that may be the track’s all-time greatest moment.

It’s known for being arguably the most exciting race in NASCAR history.  It was the last race for Richard Petty, as he hung his helmet up after a stellar career.  Meanwhile, five drivers entered the race with a mathematical chance to win the title.

Fans watched as Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki fought though the closing laps, both looking for a title and a win.

In the end, Kulwicki led one more lap than Elliott, and took the Winston Cup by a scant 10 points over Elliott.

Davey Allison, who had entered as another title contender, was eliminated in a mid-race crash, as was Petty.

A near-capacity crowd took in all the action and drama.  It went down as one of the greatest sporting events ever held in the state of Georgia.

The track underwent more changes a few years later when, in 1997, the track was transformed from a true oval to a quad-oval track, similar to the layout at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The track saw a huge jump in speeds, making it one of the most popular tracks to attend on the circuit.

Over the last few years, it’s provided great racing and memorable moments, including several races decided by just inches at the start-finish line.

But the track lost its place as the home of the season finale in 2001 to Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.  While attendance seemed to hold steady for both events, whispers began about moving one race date to another up and coming venue.

Next year, it will happen.  The track’s spring date will go away.

But, under the helm of general manager Ed Clark, the speedway will survive, and should continue to thrive.  Clark and his staff are keen at finding new events and keeping the speedway in the public eye.  That will continue, as will racing at Atlanta.

Racing continues to grow.  Unfortunately, as it grows, it threatens to grow away from its traditional homes.  Atlanta is one of the fortunate ones to not be completely walked away from.

Hopefully, one day, the powers that be will remember where they got their start.  Until then, tracks like Atlanta and Darlington will have to think outside the norm and do what they can to keep the home fires burning.

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.

A look at Jefco Speedway (now Gresham Motorsporst Park) just prior to its opening in 1967.

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 8/27/10

When the green flag falls at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia on the night of Saturday, August 28, it will be another page in the NASCAR history books at the storied speedway.

NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East is making its only Peach State appearance this year with a 150-lap event at the high-banked half-mile track.  Drivers such as 2009 series champ Ryan Truex, Ty Dillon, Darrell Wallace, Jr. and Eddie MacDonald will be vying for the win.

But that’s just the latest piece of NASCAR lore to go into GMP’s history books.  For much of its existence, the speedway has had involvement from NASCAR.  In fact, the speedway remains one of only two still in operation in the state of Georgia that has hosted a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.

The speedway opened in July of 1967 as a NASCAR sanctioned facility.  Track owners Hansel Wilson and Quentin Freeman had spent five years planning the track, which was located next to their existing drag strip outside of Jefferson, Georgia.

Jody Ridley (98) leads Curtis Turner into turn one during the inaugural event at Jefco Speedway.

The track was laid out as a high-banked half mile, with smooth, gradual transitions that transferred into blazing speeds and side-by-side racing.

The track opened as “Jefco Speedway”, a name combined of those of the two largest cities in the county, Jefferson and Commerce.  The first event run on the track was a NASCAR Sportsman event called the “Tiger 200” in honor of Commerce’s high school football team, the Tigers.

Oddly enough, that race was won by journeyman driver “Tiger Tom” Pistone.  Pistone outlasted legendary NASCAR driver Curtis Turner, who was piloting a car owned by Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member Dub Smith.  Other Hall of Fame drivers taking part in the race were Bruce Brantley and Jody Ridley.

"Tiger Tom" Pistone celebrates his win the inaugural event at Jefco Speedway.

The NASCAR folks really took to the track, with several of the their divisions racing on the Jefferson high banks over the next two years.

In July of 1968, NASCAR’s Grand Touring division, which was made up of Pony Cars, made their first appearance at the speedway.  Pole sitter Tiny Lund dominated the event, winning the 200-lap event in his 1968 Mercury Cougar.  He bested Donnie Allison, “Little Bud” Moore, Harold Dunaway and Frank Sessoms to take home top honors.

NASCAR’s next appearance in Jefferson would be one of the biggest in history, as the half-mile Jefco track hosted the season finale for the Grand National series (now called Sprint Cup) on Nov. 3, 1968.

David Pearson started on the pole for the Peach State 200, but would surrender the lead almost immediately to second place starter Bobby Isaac.  Isaac would go on to lead 144 of the event’s 200 laps, but a late race crash would leave him in ninth place at the end.

Cale Yarborough, piloting a hot Wood Brothers’ Mercury that day, led 51 laps to pick up the victory, followed by Richard Petty in a Plymouth.  Pearson would finish third, with James Hylton and LeeRoy Yarbrough rounding out the top five.

Tiny Lund dominated both NASCAR Grand Touring events held at Jefco Speedway.

The NASCAR Grand Touring series would return to the speedway on March 16, 1969 for the Bulldog 400, billed as a 400-lap event.

Tiny Lund dominated the event, jumping out front on the fist lap from the outside of the front row over pole sitter Pete Hamilton.  Lund went on to take the win ahead of Frank Sessoms, Billy Yuma, Larry Wallace and C.B. Gwyn.  It took just over two and a half hours to complete the race, which saw five cautions and 16 of the 24 starters go the distance.

NASCAR’s Grand National series would return to the high banks on November 2 for the third from the last race of the 1969 season for NASCAR’s premier division.

David Pearson took the pole again, with Bobby Isaac again on the outside.  Pearson would manage to lead 62 of the race’s 200 laps, but it was clear that Isaac was on a mission.

After dominating the previous year’s event only to lose due to a crash, Isaac led 138 laps to dominate the event.  His performance was slowed one by a caution, when James Hylton crashed on lap 98.

Isaac won the event over Pearson, with Richard Petty, LeeRoy Yarbrough and Neil “Soapy” Castles rounding out the top five.

Drivers do battle off of turn four in what would turn out to be the last NASCAR Sprint Cup event held at Jefco Speedway in 1969.

The race had been a great one, but one of the most significant moments in the track’s history occurred after the event was over.

As the story goes, Big Bill France was very pleased with the layout and location of Jefco Speedway.  It’s proximity to the northern half of Metro Atlanta, I-85 and the Jackson County Airport just across the street made it a prime location for a race track.

With that in mind, France sat down with owners Freeman and Wilson, and proposed that he bring each of his major touring series to the Jefferson half-mile twice a season forever more.

In exchange, he wanted a piece of the action in the form of a portion of ownership in the speedway.  Reports conflict as to how much, but it’s ranged between 15 to 40 percent, depending on who’s telling the story.

How much didn’t matter, Freeman and Wilson had no desire to give away any portion of their track.  They told France, in the strongest possible terms, that there would be no deal.

With that, Big Bill France packed NASCAR’s bags and said they would not be returning to Jefferson, Georgia any time soon.

It was a decision that would affect the future of Jefco Speedway, and damn near kill it over the next few years.

–

Without the NASCAR sanctioning the track had opened under, the track fought hard to survive over the next few years.

Attempts to run weekly shows just didn’t work.  The track was too fast, and local racers found they would burn their equipment out trying to keep pace.

Drivers mix it up in turn one at Jefco in the early '80s. Photo courtesy the Robert Turner collection.

For a period of time in the mid 70’s, the track closed.  A brief resurgence in 1977 under the promotion of Ray Newman was spotty at best, and the track closed again for the entirety of 1978, 1979 and 1980.

It reopened in 1981 under the promotion of Mac Simpson and L.C. Smith, with several All Pro series Late Model shows, promoted by Bob Harmon, was the salvation of the track.  Drivers such as Randy Couch and Neil Bonnett put their cars in victory lane, with Georgia Racing Hall of Fame driver Ronnie Sanders setting a new track record of 17.89 at one show.

In 1982, after a 12-year absence, NASCAR returned to the Jefferson high banks.

Bill Elliott celebrates his 1982 win in the Katherine's Kitchen 200 with his father George (right) at Georgia Int'l Speedway. Photo courtesy the Robert Turner Collection

But there was already one big change at the track.  The Jefco name, which had served the track since it’s opening in 1967, was abandoned.  The track was now known as “Georgia International Speedway.”

The track reopened by hosting a NASCAR Grand American Late Model event.  Mike Alexander would take the win in an event that would be the first of several Grand American races to be held at the track that year.  Other winners in 1982 included Junior Niedecken, and Dale Earnhardt.  Several other NASCAR drivers came to the track to compete in Late Models over the season, with David Pearson finally winning on the track he had twice won poles on.  Georgia Racing Hall of Fame members Bill Elliott and Jody Ridley also picked up wins, including a victory for Elliott in the season ending Katherine’s Kitchen 200.

The influence of both NASCAR and Harmon’s famed All-Pro series was just what the track needed to get back on its feet.  In June of 1983, Ron Neal took over ownership of the speedway, and announced it would only run special events for the remainder of the season.  While NASCAR didn’t return to the track that year, their drivers did, with Neil Bonnett winning the 200 lap All-Pro event on August 13.  Several NASCAR drivers would also take part in the first World Crown 300 that November.  Dick Trickle won that event, which would go on to become the signature race for the speedway.

NASCAR would make their return to the track in 1985 by sanctioning the World Crown as part of its All American Challenge Late Model series.  Mike Eddy took the victory in the event.

The field prepares to roll off for the 1986 NASCAR Grand National event at Georgia International Speedway. Photo from the Jim Coletrain collection, courtesy Chris Hussey

NASCAR would return in a big way to Georgia International in 1986, as the track played host to a Grand National (now Nationwide) series event on May 10 of that year.

Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champ Darrell Waltrip started the race from the pole, and would lead 179 of the 200 laps to grab the win over Dale Jarrett, Jack Ingram, Ronnie Silver and L.D. Ottinger.  It would be the first of two big wins at the Jefferson half-mile for Waltrip that year, as he would bag the World Crown 300 in November as well.

Sandwiched in between was another NASCAR All-American Challenge series event in June, this one won by Mickey Gibbs.

1987 was another big year for NASCAR at Georgia International, as the track hosted two Grand National events as part of its season.

The first was on July 5, as Budweiser sponsored a 200-lap event.  Second generation driver Larry Pearson started on the outside of the front row, alongside pole sitter Mark Martin.

Darrell Waltrip won the first NASCAR Grand National (now Nationwide) series event at Georgia International Speedway in 1986. Photo courtesy the Robert Turner collection

In the closing laps, Pearson would battle with former GIS winner Mike Alexander.  Alexander led 58 laps to Pearson’s 56, but Pearson led the one that counted, the last one, picking up the victory.  Dale Jarrett ran third, with Martin fourth and Rusty Wallace fifth.

Pearson would return to victory lane at Georgia International in the second NASCAR Grand National appearance of the year at the track on August 30, leading 129 of the 200 laps for the victory.  L.D. Ottinger ran second with Mike Alexander third, Jimmy Hensley fourth and Darrell Waltrip fifth.

Waltrip would find his way to victory lane at Jefferson as well that year, winning the World Crown 300 for the second time.  Waltrip became the first driver to win the Crown more than once.

Over the next few years, NASCAR would continue to be a force at the track in the form of Bob Harmon’s All-Pro Late Model series, now racing under the NASCAR banner.  Drivers such as Jody Ridley, Jason Keller, Jeff Purvis, Rich Bickle and Billy Bigley, Jr. would all put their Late Models in victory lane between 1988 and 1993.

Late in 1993, the track was sold to a group of investors from Atlanta.  Under the new ownership, the track would see it’s second name change.  After the 1993 season ended, the facility would become known as Peach State Speedway.

NASCAR’s All Pro Series continued to frequent the Jefferson speed plant over the next two years.  Jody Ridley picked up a win in 1994, while Mike Cope picked up the win in the NASCAR sanctioned World Crown 300 in 1995.

With the Hooter’s Pro Cup now becoming a strong force in southern stock car racing, NASCAR found itself losing dates at some of it’s usual venues. That was the case at Peach State Speedway, as the venerable All Pro series made it’s last appearance at the track on July 3, with Ron Young taking the last NASCAR sanctioned win at the half mile.

A look at the redisigned Gresham Motorsports Park from overhead. The track is now light years ahead of when it was Jefco Speedway. Photo courtesy GMP Media

It would make the last time NASCAR would make an appearance at the track.  That is, until this year.

Following the end of the 2008 season, the Gresham family purchased Peach State Speedway, and gave the facility a much needed facelift.

The front and backstretches were flipped, with new grandstands and a new control tower being built.  Trackside parking now surrounds the track, which boasts a new infield facility and a quarter-mile legends track.

The track itself was not altered in any way, other than the addition of a fresh coat of asphalt to the 43-year-old facility, now known as “Gresham Motorsports Park.”

While NASCAR’s return will culminate with the K&N Pro Cup event Saturday night, the signs of the sanctioning body’s return have been very evident.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. recently took practice laps around Gresham Motorsports Park, a track his father won on back in the early 1980s. Photo by Brandon Reed

Since the first of the year, several NASCAR teams have used the track as a testing facility, including Tony Stewart, Georgia’s David Ragan, Greg Biffle, 2009 Sprint Cup champ Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and, most recently, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

The drivers have praised the track’s fast layout and the consistency they find in testing on the asphalt, which isn’t as harsh on the team’s tires as many other tracks they could test at.

That consistent speed will pick up even more Saturday night, when NASCAR returns in competition to the track that “Tiger Tom” Pistone won at in 1967.

And, just to show how things can come full circle in racing, one of the drivers entered in the event is 18-year-old Ben Kennedy, the great-grandson of “Big Bill” France.

Hansel Wilson and Quentin Freeman would be proud of what their half-mile track has become.

Brandon Reed is the editor and webmaster for 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.

In the number 113 Ford Standard coupe from Columbus, Georgia is Dusty Rhodes – the perfect name for a race car driver. Taken at Columbus Super Speedway by Earl Garrettson.

By Mike Bell
Posted in Feature Stories 8/20/10

Most people don’t remember but there have been several race tracks in the Columbus, Georgia area that are long gone.  Let’s quickly review the first two, which were the Idle Hour Speedway at Martin Stadium in Phoenix City, Alabama and the Columbus Speedway northeast of town off Hamilton Road.

Before World War II, the Peach State Midget Racing Association ran a single meet on the little track in Phoenix City at Idle Hour and shortly after the war, Alex Brewer of Tampa brought midget racing back to this facility.  For about two and a half years, Columbus fans got to see the “Doodle Bugs” on the tiny track.

With the opening of Columbus Speedway in June of 1948, Idle Hour faded.  Columbus Speedway was inspired by the success of the Jacksonville Speedway in Florida.  The dusty half-mile, high-banked oval lasted only a few years.  This was mainly due to a freak accident that saw one spectator lose a leg to amputation in the hospital and the death of seven-year-old James Brannon.  Even though the first NASCAR championship was decided at the track in November of 1948, no PR could bring the crowds back.

For a few years, Columbus fans and racers had to sit at home or travel to Macon, Albany, LaGrange or Opelika, Alabama, to see racing.  Then on April 24, 1953, promoter Carl Stevens opened something of a copy of the highly successful Peach Bowl in Atlanta.  The Peach Bowl was more of an oval, whereas this new, almost flat quarter-mile track was shaped like a paper clip with real sharp turns and straights in-between.

Charlie Mincey sweeps under the checkered flag at Columbus Super Speedway, piloting Roy Shoemaker’s 1934 Ford 5-window coupe. Mincey won some 22 out of 25 features he entered for Shoemaker with this car.

The new track, originally called Rocket Speedway, opened to rave reviews and NASCAR Sportsman Division racing (like at the Peach Bowl).  Early winners included the Myers Brothers of North Carolina, who went everywhere NASCAR held a sportsman race to garner points to win the National Championship Trophy.

But it soon diminished to locals trying to keep up with the Peach Bowl racers with a NASCAR Short Track Division late model race thrown in during the year.  Lee Petty won the race in a 1953 Red Ram Dodge before a turn-away crowd.  As the excitement of that race faded, the 1953 season closed down racing.

But in 1954, the track changed promoters as well as their class.  They opened with the same top class as the Peach Bowl, but local racers were several years behind the Atlanta bunch and week-to-week, the locals couldn’t keep up.  Atlanta weekly racing was highly competitive due to an early start some drivers had (1946 or 1947) and the six to eight years of knowledge in running the temperamental flathead Ford, the racing engine of that period.

Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member Charlie Mincey won five features in a row before the track switched to amateur only racing.  The local drivers made a showing, but there just weren’t enough to keep the fans in the stands.

The next year, the restrictions flip-flopped during the season and local drivers made a showing by winning the first race, beating out-of-towner Nero Steptoe.  Jack Ferguson was his name, but he was only stationed at Fort Benning.

This 1934 Ford coupe is the Jones Special of Harvey Jones, Sr. out of Tallahassee, Florida. Jones saw much success at Georgia tracks, and is a member of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

A real local driver broke his winning streak two weeks later.  It was O.H. Baker, the Flying Mayor of Crawford, Alabama.  Baker outran the field the third week.  Bo Spradlin then broke the Mayor’s winning streak.  Between these drivers and Harvey Jones of Tallahassee, Florida, Walt Kruger, Gaines Hart and a transplanted Yankee, Eddie MacDonald, all features went mostly to a local group.  Kruger won the season ending championship in late October.

The 1956 season saw either Harvey Jones or Eddie MacDonald win the races.  The Flying Mayor was critically injured at the Auburn-Opelika oval and never made a comeback.

There was another NASCAR late model race after the Southern 500 that year, and Joe Eubanks of Spartanburg took it.  At the end of the season, the strictly stock crowd took over the speedway again to slim crowds, cold weather and few cars.

Standing next to the number 12 is the Damn Yankee, Eddie MacDonald at Columbus Super Speedway. MacDonald was transferred to Fort Benning while in the service, and lie the South so much, he stayed.

Jack Ferguson, considered a local but actually from Raleigh, North Carolina, via the Army, won the two opening races at Super Speedway in 1957.  Then Harvey Jones and Eddie MacDonald took over again, with Bo Spradlin and Walt Kruger winning as well.  It went back and forth each week the way racing should be.  Jones would win one week, with MacDonald the next week, the Spradlin the following week and Kruger the next.  Jack Ferguson sneaked into victory lane as well.

It all boiled down to the last race of the year, which was held on Thanksgiving, November 28.  It was the only race held in Georgia on that day.

Harvey Jones won the 50-lap feature to become the 1957 Georgia State Champion.  Sam McQuagg, and up-and-coming driver from Columbus, was second, with the late J.C. Hendricks of Griffin, Georgia third, Charles Barnett of Orlando fourth, Wildman Jerry Smith of Chattanooga fifth and Willie Quattlebaum sixth.

A young Sam McQuagg carries the checkered flag on a victory lap. McQuagg was born, raised, played high school football, married, had children and raced out of Columbus, Georgia.

The MARC Southern Division became the ruling body over the Super Speedway in 1958.  The rules would be the same there as well as other North Georgia tracks such as the Peach Bowl, Dallas, Canton, Hall County or Banks County.

And as a special added attraction, the late model division of the MARC Southern Division would make several appearances at Super Speedway during the year.

Roscoe Thompson won the first late model race before some 2,500 fans, and would do so again in July.  Otherwise, it was the Harvey Jones and Eddie MacDonald show each week with Frank Taylor, Walt Kruger and Sam McQuagg winning one race apiece.  McQuagg won the last race of the season in late October, even though the Southern Racing Enterprises promised more in November.  However, no more racing was held there in 1958.

Today, the Columbus Super Speedway sits alone and mostly forgotten. Odds are the folks shopping at that shopping center directly in front of the old track haven’t got the first clue that a race track is so close to them.

The 1959 season at Super Speedway started late as Jimmy Thomas, a local furniture store owner, didn’t open the track until June 3, a Wednesday night, with modified racing.  Nero Steptoe brought a car over from Birmingham and took the opener.

Roscoe Thompson, Freddie Fryer, Charlie Mincey and Ernie Reeves of Miami, Florida (with the initial invasion of the Allison brothers) won the races.  Only local (but transplanted) Eddie MacDonald could break in the winners circle for the locals.  MacDonald had a big win on Labor Day at the tiny oval with the Georgia State Championship, which essentially closed the track for good.

Willie Quattlebaum tried to reopen the track in 1960 with amateurs, but no one showed – neither fans nor racers.  So Super Speedway at the corner of Victory Drive and Lumpkin Road went the way of all race tracks, as it became a shopping center.

But, when you drive by, you can still hear the modifieds.  Or at least I can.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the March 2000 edition of the Pioneer Pages magazine.

Mike Bell is the CEO and historian for the Georgia Auto Racing Hall of Fame Association, Inc. (GARHOFA).

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.

People congregated at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, Georgia to remember Lakewood Speedway on Aug. 7. Photo by Brandon Reed

By Brandon Reed and John Close
Posted in Feature Stories 8/13/10

On August 7, around 350 former racers, fans and friends of the old Lakewood Speedway gathered to remember the grand old track and those that raced there at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, Georgia.

A huge contingent of former Lakewood motorcycle racers were in attendance, many making their first trek to the Hall of Fame, as the facility prepares to induct motorcycle racing legend Ted Edwards into the Hall later this year.

The stock car community was also out in force, as the racing Flock family, headed by brothers Tim, Bob and Fonty, along with siblings Ethel and Carl, were remembered for their racing, which had strong roots buried in the Lakewood clay.  A multitude of Flock family members were on hand to honor thier racing heritage.

Not to be forgotten were some of the all-time racing greats who also joined us, including Charlie Mincey, Mike Head, Rex White, Bruce Brantley, Roz Howard, Ronnie Garmon, Paul Trammell and so many others!

Here’s a look at the 2010 Lakewood Speedway Reunion!

On display in the main section of the hall was J.B. Day's beautiful replica of the Ford modified that both Bob and Fonty Flock raced for Raymond Parks. Photos by John Parks

A great number of former motorcycle racers from Lakewood came out to take part in this year's reunion. We were very glad to have them, and we hope they'll come back in the future!

Carolyn Mincey and HOF member Charlie Mincey smile for the camera during the reunion.

Frances Flock (left) and Debbie Conley (right) were on hand to honor the Flock family during the reunion. Frances, the wife of GRHOF member Tim Flock, always comes out to support us, and we're so happy we could salute her and her family this year!

Brandon Reed

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 8/6/10

For some reason in the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a slew of stock car racing movies filmed in the south.

Some were okay, some were terrible, but many of them had one thing in common – they were made by people who really didn’t know what stock car racing was all about.

The film “White Lightning Road” is just such a film. It was made in 1965, written, directed and produced by Ron Ormond, a low-budget filmmaker from Nashville.

Make no mistake, the film was no award winner. But, what it gives us is a window to stock car racing in the mid 1960s.

The movie was filmed mostly at the old Cumming Speedway, which was known as “the cow pasture”, due to it literally being cut out of a cow pasture.

Movie poster art from the release of "White Lightnin' Road".

The film revolves around our hero, a local bootlegger and racecar driver who gets himself mixed up with a big-time crook out of Atlanta (played by Ron Ormond himself). Along with the racing footage at the Cumming Speedway, we also see some neat footage of a small track “skeeter” racer taking laps at the Atlanta International Raceway.

Some of the acting was, to be honest, bad. The lead actor was Earl “Snake” Richards, who would star in two other films, “That Tennessee Boat”, and the infamous “The Girl From Tobacco Row.”

The main female lead is played by Arline Hunter, who’s other claim to fame was being Playboy magazine’s playmate of the month in August of 1954. She tried in this film to look and act like Marilyn Monroe, but succeeded mostly in acting like she had taken a crowbar to the head at some time in the past.

But forget the acting. That’s not the point of what makes this film a time capsule. It’s the people that helped to make it, and the people in the background.

Another such movie was filmed around Georgia called “Corky.” The movie, which was made in 1970 and released in 1972, starred Robert Blake as the title character, Corky Curtiss, a dirt track racer and mechanic from Texas.

The story revolved around Corky’s obsession with becoming a big time NASCAR racer, based solely on a picture taken with himself and Richard Petty. Corky leaves his wife and children to travel across the country from Texas to Atlanta in an attempt to break into the big time at the Atlanta International Raceway.

The film "Corky" was filmed in 1970, but went unreleased until 1972.

Also starring in the film is Charlotte Rampling as Corky’s wife, veteran actor Ben Johnson, and a host of NASCAR and local racers in cameos. One scene features Corky turning laps in a modified 1966 Plymouth Barracuda (sporting a Superbird rear-wing, no less!) around Atlanta International Raceway, swapping paint with the Dodge Daytona of Bobby Allison. Another shows Buddy Baker, Allison, Cale Yarborough and several other NASCAR stars during a coffee break in a suite at AIR.

But for Georgia race fans, there are some priceless shots. The movie’s finale was filmed at the legendary Peach Bowl Speedway, a raceway that sat closer to Atlanta’s downtown area than the Atlanta Zoo does today. The film shows the track towards the end of its existence. Roy Shoemaker, the owner, builder and promoter of the track, sold the speedway in 1970, and the track closed one year later. A MARTA bus repair depot now sits on the spot where the track was.

Racing scenes were also filmed at the old West Atlanta Raceway in Douglasville. In that scene, Corky takes on local drivers in a borrowed racecar. In that sequence, he picks up a win after a spin by none-other than Georgia racing legend and NASCAR winner Jody Ridley, with Ridley piloting his famous number 98 Ford Falcon. The track would later become Seven Flags Speedway. Sadly, it too is now closed.

Needless to say, Blake didn’t do his own race driving in the film. Georgia Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Mincey was behind the wheel in the racing sequences, one of several movies Mincey worked on in the Georgia area. Mincey was a track champion at the Peach Bowl, as well as at the Toccoa Speedway and the old Athens Speedway.

After its 1972 release, “Corky” fell into obscurity. After a run a drive-in theaters and occasional late night television runs, the film faded into the dust. It never even made it to the home video market. Neither did “White Lightnin’ Road”, for that matter.

You can occasionally run up on a “collector’s” copy here and there. If you’re so lucky, go ahead and take a look at both of these.

Despite what they appear to be cinematically, it is another rare opportunity to see a couple of Georgia’s grand old racetracks in their glory. It’s another chance to see Tommy Roberts and his contemporaries slug it out at the Cow Pasture. It’s one more chance to see cars at the Peach Bowl. It’s a chance to see Jody Ridley’s blue Ford on dirt again. It’s a chance to see the winged Dodges on Atlanta’s original layout, before it was turned into a Charlotte clone.

Chances like that are hard to come by.

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.

Brandon Reed

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 7/30/10

Reports from the Associated Press this week said that two of NASCAR’s top tier drivers were handed down stiff financial penalties recently for making critical comments publicly about the racing series.

In other words, after telling them “boys, have at it” in the off season, it was followed by “boys, keep your traps shut.”

This move has been justified by some since other big league sports have taken the same path over the years.

But that’s the fatal flaw in the current line of thinking by NASCAR’s management – that what everybody else has done is what they need to do.

What made big time stock car racing stand apart from the other stick and ball sports was its transparency, along with its connection to the fans.

When one of NASCAR’s competitors had a beef, they could speak their minds.  It was part of sharing the experience with the fans and the general public.  Many times, it was the only way to get attention onto a real problem.

Competitors have spoken out about all kinds of issues that they felt needed to be addressed, from unsafe tires during the Great Tire War of 1988 to pit road safety by crew members.

To muzzle that competitor takes a way that transparency, and makes it look as if NASCAR has something to hide.

1970 NASCAR Cup champ Bobby Isaac had a few choice words for NASCAR following his win at Nashville in 1970.

Back in 1970, NASCAR ran two races back-to-back one day after the other.  They ran a 200-lap race in Maryville, Tennessee, on July 24 and then had their drivers hustle over to Nashville to run a 420-lap event July 25 in the hot summer sun.

The end of the Nashville event was broadcast live on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and when winner Bobby Issac climbed from his K&K Insurance Dodge, he had a few choice words to share with the camera.

He wasn’t fined the next week.  That’s because Big Bill France understood that criticism is something that you have to endure when you’re working towards the big picture.  While I’m sure France wasn’t pleased about the negative exposure, I’ll wager he took Isaac’s comments to heart when it came to laying out the future schedule.

Can you imagine legendary car builder Smokey Yunick having to deal with such a policy?  Yunick was one of the most outspoken people in auto racing, and was especially critical of NASCAR and the France family. They would have bankrupted the owner of the “Best Damn Garage” in Daytona in no time.

And just think of the money NASCAR would have collected from A.J. Foyt over the years.  SuperTex has never been one to hold his tongue, and that certainly would have cut into his pocketbook after a few bad races.

The point is that once you’ve told your competitors not to say anything negative about you, to paint the situation to be rosy and bright, you’ve instantly thrown gasoline onto the fire of those who feel everything is NOT rosy and bright.

And, at the risk of getting a fine myself, I’ll tell you right now that there are problems in NASCAR land, and the same attitude that led to fining drivers for speaking their minds is adding to those problems.

What comes next?  Will NASCAR issue scripts for the drivers for what they need to say before and after a race?  Will there be teleprompters set up in the pits so that the drivers will know what NASCAR wants them to say when the cameras are turned on?

Okay, maybe I’m a little over the top, but where does the control end?

When you start telling the competitors they aren’t allowed to speak when they see a problem with what’s going on, you show full well your own insecurity in the product you are putting out there.

NASCAR has always been big enough to weather the critics, to look at their criticism and work on things that had merit.

That is, until now.  And in doing so, they may well have done more damage than all the harsh post-race words in the world.

In trying to project strength, they are, instead, showing weakness.

My buddy Glen Shepperd had the best idea as to who should get the next fine for actions detrimental to the sport.

The question is, can NASCAR fine itself?

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.

Jack Etheridge accepts the trophy and a handshake for a win at Atlanta's Peach Bowl in 1951.

By Eddie Samples
Posted in Feature Stories 7/23/10

Jack Etheridge was a Georgia native, and lived in Mableton, Georgia, just west of Atlanta.  Jack was married to his wife, Roma, for 65 years before his passing in 2000.

Jack had an interesting life, which included 20 years as a race car driver.  He retired from behind the wheel in 1954, saying he felt it was time to find a real job.

He and Roma married in 1935.  At the time he was a WPA foreman making about $12.50 cents a week.  He also dove a greyhound bus and was an executive for the City of Atlanta.

Jack even played some professional football before he became a racer.

Jack’s daughter served as an assistant district attorney in Maryland.  His son worked as an advertising executive in New York City.  His grandson was a pro wrestler.

Back in 1998, we stopped by his house to chat for a while.

GRH: When did you start racing?

JE: Best I can recall it was either in 1932, 33 or 34.  Generally started racing sprints.  After the war, stocks mostly.

GRH: Tell us a little about those pre-war days.

JE: Well, as a kid I would go to Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta and watch them race.  I fell in love with it and would just about do anything to drive one.  Met a man named A.G. Weldon from Oxford, Alabama, and ran his car for a while.  Red Byron drove it some.  I won a few races in it (Editor’s note: That car still exists today).  Raymond Parks had Red Vogt fix up a car owned by Gilbert Daniels.  He owned a garage at Bankhead and Hightower Road.  AAA sanctioned a race at Lakewood with Ted Horn and all the big names.  This little ole car did good and Daniels sold it on the spot for $700.

Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway was where Jack Etheridge would fall in love with racing.

GRH: Speaking of Raymond Parks, did you ever drive for him?

JE: I drove a midget at Lakewood for him once.  I finished second.  Red Vogt built it too.  His regular drivers, Bob Flock and Red Byron, had no interest in driving it.  That car really flew just to have a Ford engine in it.  Beat a many Offy’s that day.

GRH: Offenhausers were the class of the day?

JE: Pretty much so.  The Ford engines would wind up pretty good though.  I drove a sprint once for some patrolmen.  The car had a six cylinder Curtis airplane engine cut down to a four cylinder, but weighed too much on the front end, couldn’t do much with it.

GRH: Ever have any bad wrecks in those kinds of cars?

JE: Not really.  But I don’t know how.  Those cars had no protection.  I remember once at Lakewood my front wheel had dug in too deep there close to the grandstand and the car kept rolling and rolling, but somehow never hurt me.

GRH: Many people come to those races?

JE: There would be a crowd of 20,000 or so all the way around that mile track.  Promoter Sam Nunis would always put on a good show.  I remember once for a pre-race exhibition he had a ramp built out in the grandstands and this guy on a motorcycle left that thing going full speed and landed in the lake.  Some show.

GRH: So Red Byron drove Indy type cars?

JE: Yeah, he fooled around with them over at Vogt’s Garage.  Back in the 1930s, those things were two seaters and the mechanics would ride with them.  I know in the 1940s Byron went to Indianapolis a couple of times but never could qualify.

GRH: How would you compare the midgets or sprints to the stock cars?

While mostly known today for his stock car racing achievements, Red Byron was also an accomplished open wheel racer. Photo courtesy GARHOFA

JE: I don’t know, racing is racing.  But I will tell you with the sprints you had to be on your toes.  I mean, like at Lakewood going around at 125 mph with that little steering wheel.  It would wear you out mentally and physically.  Once I drove a midget for a couple of aviators, I can’t remember their names.  But it was on the little quarter mile track at Lakewood in front of the grandstand.  It was a night race and I ran a few slow laps then gunned it to qualify.  Well, I had no brakes.  I kept going straight…through the darkness and luckily was able to stop halfway down the backstretch of the mile track.  That car didn’t have a chop (kill) button and I couldn’t find the ignition switch.  Lucky I didn’t end up in the lake.

GRH: Let’s talk about the stock car part of your career.  What do you remember about starting in stocks?

JE: I grew up with a bunch of guys in Atlanta.  I raced for Airline Auto Service over on Spring Street some of the time.  A bunch of us guys would be there or over at Red Vogt’s Garage on West Marietta Street.  All the trippers and drivers and mechanics had some link with both places.  They always worked on tripping cars at Vogt’s and it just overflowed over to Airline.  Trippers and racers were in those days much one and the same.

GRH: Who exactly did you drive for?

JE: Claude and Roy Alexander.  They had a shirt factory in East Point, Georgia, and a diary in Rex, Georgia.  Wayne Sanders was a cousin of theirs and had Airline.  Wayne was raised around the Grove Park area of Atlanta with me.

GRH: What exactly is “tripping?”

JE: You know what tripping is.  Liquor was made in the mountains and transported to the city.  The trippers provided the transportation.

GRH: Who were the trippers?

JE: There was a bunch of them.  Way of life for most of those race drivers from around here.  Just about everybody was involved in some form.  You had your captains, sergeants and lieutenants.  Thing was organized like the army.

GRH: What was the best car for tripping?

JE: I was talking to Raymond Parks the other day and we both agreed it was hard to beat a ’32 Ford.  It would carry 125 gallons at 8 lb. per gallon real good.  Best trip car there was in my mind.

GHR: I always had the image of those “trippers” as Robert Mitchum in the movie “Thunder Road”.

JE: Trippers usually came out a lot better when they would fill up their cars in the mornings and blend in with morning traffic going into Atlanta.  You would be surprised at how many cars came to Atlanta in the mornings even back then.  They call it sneak traffic.

Anyway, everybody knows if you are carrying half a ton of liquor in your car and somebody got after you the advantage is theirs.  Of course a lot of times if they got after you, just ditch the car and head for the woods and have someone pick you up.  The main road to Atlanta was Highway 19, but sometimes it got too “hot” and you would by-pass to Gainesville and come down Highway 23.

GRH: Who was the best tripper?

JE: I would have to say Legs Law.  He was Raymond Parks brother-in-law.  I never knew a man that could drive a street car in those circumstances better than Legs.  But on the other hand, he was about the worst at driving a race car.  He just never could make the changeover.

GRH: Somehow we got off of racing.  Tell me the scariest moment you had in racing?

JE: You mean the day I talked to the Lord.

GRH: Okay.

JE: It was in a race in Orlando, Florida.  I was on the pole and Roy Hall was on the outside.  Every lap he kept pushing me further in towards the fence until finally he pushed me through the fence and out in a lake I didn’t even know was there.  When the car finally hit the water it felt like concrete.  The car went sinking to the bottom.  The lake was at least 30 feet deep.  The windows were p and I had on leather gloves and couldn’t unbuckle my safety belt, which was a holding back strap for a mule with a big iron hook.  I was in trouble.  I asked the good Lord to help me and he told me how.  I made it to the top about the time the divers were entering the water.

GRH: What became of the car?

JE: The divers hooked a long cable to it and a wrecker winched it right out.  The car was sitting outside a motel the next morning and there must have been 10 or 12 crawfish that crawled out of it.

GRH: Did Roy Hall say he was sorry?

JE: Yeah, but you know a professional driver knows what he was doing.  And Roy was a pro.  He seemed to spend more time in jail than on the track, but regardless, he could drive a race car.

GRH: Did you have any other “incidents” like that?

Jack Etheridge's car goes for a ride after being clipped by Red Byron at Lakewood Speedway on April 20, 1947.

JE: One time at Lakewood (April 20, 1947), I had the pole with a new record (his 49.5 seconds had just beaten Red Byron’s 49.8 set a few minutes earlier).  In one of the heat races, Byron flipped my car over.  There never was a feature ran because of rain and Red got first place money because I could not line up on the pole.

GHR: You think he meant to wreck you?

JE: I don’t know.  He was a professional just like me and we both knew where we “let off” going into the turn.  He hit me then told me he hit me again and I turned over.  He said he was trying to “straighten me out.”  Regardless, that “straighten me out” part ended my day.

GRH: Did you ever wreck anybody?

JE: Once in South Carolina Ed Samples and I were somewhere.  He qualified in front of me and during the race I rammed him pretty good.  After the race I walked him back to my car to prove my brakes had went out.

Etheridge's car comes to rest after the resulting flip from contact with Byron. Byron said later he was trying to help Jack "straighten up" from a broadslide.

GRH: Any other incidents you remember?

JE: Nothing in particular.  Some wrecks are really accidents and some are not.  Sometimes a driver does what the owner of the car tells him to do or take the chance of losing his ride.  I remember one time Buck Baker got mad at Jack Smith for something and hit him in the head with his helmet.  You could hear it all over the track.  I forgot what Jack did to him.  You’ll need to ask Jack.  But sometimes we were like a bunch of wild kids out there.  We would do something like that, and then five minutes later it was forgotten.

GRH: How did you enjoy the Peach Bowl Reunion this year?

JE: Lot of fun.  Jack Jackson has a good thing with that deal.  I met people I hadn’t seen in a while.

GHR: Like who?

JE: I saw Bad Eye Shirley.  He and Raymond Parks go back.  Bad Eye never was much on driving a race car, but back in the early thirties at Macmillan Grocery store over off Chestnut and Kennedy Streets in Atlanta they needed a boy with a bike and basket.  Mr. Macmillan had about 10 of those boys in a race around there and Bad Eye won.  He never raced cars but he could sure ride a bike.  I also got to see Billy Watson.  Hadn’t seen him in years.  Back in the 40s he was just a little skinny kid about the size of a pencil.  Just a nice kid that liked racing.  I remember Lee Morgan who was tripping and racing carried him to a race in South Georgia.  He put Billy in a car and nearly got away with it.  I don’t guess Billy was but about 14.

GRH: Returning to 1947, you should have won the winter race in Daytona.  What happened?

JE: Ed Samples had the fastest car there.  When he blew I knew then nothing could touch me.  I was determined to lap the field but then I blew up.

GRH: Why didn’t you slow down?

JE: Ego, I guess.  The car belonged to Modern Motors owned by Louis Brooks over on West Peachtree Street in Atlanta.  We drove the car from Atlanta to Daytona showing off all over town.  That probabably didn’t help us any.  I remember Brooks before the race said take his wife and scare the hell out of her.  I wasn’t for it but we got going about 115 down the beach and spun it about four times.  The woman fainted and I thought I had killed her.  I never did that again.

GRH: Speaking of women, who was the best woman driver?

JE: There were some pretty good women drivers.  Ethel Flock and Sara Christian were good drivers.  I guess the best was Louise Smith.  She and her husband ran a parts place in Greenville, South Carolina and also ran the speedway there.  She was a strong woman.  She could hold her own.

GRH: Where did you enjoy racing the most?

JE: I don’t really know.  They were all right I guess.  They were all dusty.  I remember one track in North Carolina I had been invited to race and they had me a room and a quart of moonshine beside the bed.  Nice people.

GRH: You told me your scariest moment, how about our saddest in racing?

Jack Etheridge inside the cockpit of the Jack Edwards owned racer he piloted in 1948.

JE: I guess one would be the day Charlie Marks got ran over in Greenwood, South Carolina.  It was a Saturday afternoon race in October of 1948.  It was so dusty and I could see his car wreck and go on the outside of the track so we naturally went inside.  With the dust you couldn’t see but I think several of us ran over him.  He had been thrown from his car after his belt broke and he was crawling.  We thought he was in his car.  I will never forget it.  We were to race that night in Columbia, South Carolina.  I told Jack Edwards, the car owner, to find somebody else.  I just didn’t have the stomach for it.  I guess the other time was Skimp Hersey at Lakewood in 1950.  We sometimes carried extra gas, or alcohol in a 55 gallon drum in the back seat of the racer.  For whatever reason his car caught on fire and he flipped it trying to put it out.  He tried to crawl out of the fire.  A newspaper man grabbed his leg but the skin came off and he just didn’t make it.

GRH: Okay, any lighter moments you recall?

JE: I remember for a race at Lakewood one time a couple of fellows rented some new tires for a day from a service station.  You could rent tires during that time.  They didn’t make racing tires back then.  Anyway, after the race they tried to carry them back.  I remember the attendant hollered, “these ain’t my damn tires.”  Anyway, they had to pay for them.

And I remember Bob Flock and his wife Ruby.  He was the quietest of the Flocks.  Whereas Tim and Fonty could talk you out of your false teeth, Bob was always easy going.  I remember Bob went out of town one weekend for some races and when he came back Ruby had had a baby and he didn’t even know she was pregnant.

I remember once I had gone to Birmingham in the early fifties and Ruby and Bob went to watch (he had been in a serious racing wreck earlier).  I had flown over with Ed Samples in his plane but Ruby asked if I would drive them back to Atlanta.  I did.  I was going the speed limit and Ruby kept complaining and finally she pulled out several hundred dollars out of her bra and said to step on it, she would pay the fine.  She really kept Bob a-hopping.

GRH: Most embarrassing moment in racing?

Jack Etheridge in 1998, at the time of this interview.

JE: Probably right after I won a stock car race at Lakewood.  I think it was in 1948 or ’49.  Anyway, I had just crossed the finish line and I was trying to unbuckle my safety belt and the front tire blew.  I wasn’t going over 10 mph.  The car just slowly slid over an embankment and landed on its roof.  I undid my belt and hit my head on the roof.  I had the best set of Firestone tires you could buy.  After that, we cut a hole in the floorboard so as to watch the tires during the race.

Another time we were racing in Oxford, Alabama.  I had a ’32 Ford and was late getting there so I had to start in the back.  Anyway, with all the dust we followed each other down the backstretch and I thought a tornado had touched down.  Come to find out we had left the track and were racing through a cornfield.  You just couldn’t see where you were going.

GRH: I guess driving would be easier now?

JE: Sure it is.  Asphalt and not dirt.  Racing tires, power brakes, power steering.  I might just start racing again.  I could start with those Legends cars and go from there.  What do you think, Roma (calling to his wife)?

Roma: Hmmm….

Editor’s note:  This interview was originally published in the May 1998 edition of the Pioneer Pages magazine.  Jack Etheridge passed away two years after this interview was done, on August 9, 2000.  Later this year, he will be inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

Eddie Samples is a racing historian and writer, and is the son of champion stock car racer and Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Ed Samples.

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.

Tim Flock and his 1953 co-driver, Jocko Flocko. Photo courtesy Frances Flock

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 7/16/10

When the American automobile racing scene was in its infancy, having a passenger in a racing car was a common thing to see, as drivers would have “ride along” mechanics to help them during races.

These mechanics would diagnose any problems with the car, as well as to warn the driver when someone was approaching them from behind or preparing to make a pass.

The first warning sign that the days for the ride along mechanics were numbered came when Ray Harroun won the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911.  In that event, Harroun gained an edge by using the first rearview mirror, making his racing machine lighter and eliminating the need for a mechanic as a passenger.

Although the riding mechanic would stay around in certain forms of racing for several more years, by the time stock car racing began to make its big splash, race drivers really didn’t have a need for passengers.

However, in 1953, NASCAR did see its only co-driver in eight Grand National (now Sprint Cup) events.

His name was Jocko Flocko, and he was a Rhesus monkey that rode shotgun with Georgia Racing Hall of Fame driver Tim Flock.

It’s the kind of story that’s so crazy, there’s no way that it could be made up.

Tim Flock saw much success in 1952 driving Hudson Hornets for Ted Chester, pictured right. Both are now members in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

Back in 1952, Tim Flock recorded the best season of his career driving for Dawsonville, Georgia native Ted Chester.  Piloting Hudson Hornets wrenched by famed Atlanta mechanic B.B. Blackburn, Flock recorded eight wins, and bested Herb Thomas for the Grand National championship title.

In 1953, Flock was back behind the wheel of Chester’s Hudson, and looking for more trophies for his shelf.

As the story goes, Chester was in Atlanta during the early part of 1953.  He was visiting a pet shop to purchase a gift for a family member when he spotted a small Rhesus monkey in a cage.  The cage had a sign on it saying that the monkey’s name was “Jocko.”

Chester’s mind instantly clicked in on the name “Jocko Flocko,” in association with Tim.  What a marketing gimmick for his race team to have a cute little monkey ride shotgun with Tim during the races!

Chester purchased Jocko and took the idea to Flock.

Tim told the story this way in Larry Fielden’s book, “Tim Flock, Race Driver”:

“I thought Ted had been hittin’ the jug too much.  He couldn’t be serious.  But the more I got to thinking about it, the more I liked it.  Jocko Flocko could race with me anytime – if he proved he could handle the Grand National Circuit.”

Chester and Flock didn’t know how the NASCAR officials would respond to the idea of having a monkey in the race, so they just didn’t bother to tell anybody.

Chester had a driving suit made up for Jocko, complete with his name and the car number on the back, along with a helmet.  Safety, of course, was a priority.

Chester also had Blackburn design and install a special seat for Jocko on the passenger’s side that was high enough so that Jocko could see out the window.  That would allow him to wave to the fans or to the cars that he and Tim passed during the race.

Tim and Jocko's first race was at Charlotte. Here, Tim (91) looks for a way around Buck Baker (87) in the early laps.

Jocko’s first race was a 150 lapper at the dirt track in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Just before the race, Tim’s crew smuggled Jocko into the car, and buckled him into his little seat.

Tim would lead seven times for 87 laps, lost power with 24 laps to go, handing the win to Dick Passwater.  Flock would hang on to finish fourth, collecting $350 in winnings.  It’s not noted how much Jocko got for his services.

After the race, Tim took Jocko over the grandstands.  Word had gotten out that he had the little monkey racing with him, and he was an instant hit.  The fans clamored to meet, pet and feed Jocko peanuts.  He was an instant fan favorite.

Jocko would go on to race in eight events with Tim.  They would finish sixth in their next event at Macon, Georgia, recorded a fifth at Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and a second at Columbia, South Carolina.

The biggest moment in Jocko’s racing career came on May 16, 1953, when he and Tim finally broke into Victory Lane as teammates in a 200-lap event at Hickory, North Carolina.  The team pocketed $1,000 for the win.  Jocko’s cut was in peanuts.

NASCAR, meanwhile, simply turned a blind eye to the high-speed simian.  They recognized a golden opportunity to bring much needed publicity to the still young Grand National tour.  The attention that Jocko Flocko got as Tim’s co-driver equated to more tickets sold for each event.

A rare look at Jocko Flocko in his uniform prior to a race.

Jocko’s presence also helped out on the competition side.  Years later, Tim would say that when Jocko was riding with him, the two would dive to the inside of a competitor.  The opposing driver would look over to see who was there, and see Jocko staring back at him.  The surprise would break the driver’s concentration for just a second, but that’s all Tim needed to pass him for the position.

The Flock-Flocko pairing hit a rough patch over the next couple of races.  Hopes were high when they went to Martinsville, Virginia on May 17.  The team’s Hudson broke a spring 18 laps in, relegating them to a 32^nd place finish.

Things didn’t get much better when the team traveled to Columbus, Ohio for an event on May 24.

Prior to the event, Tim and his brother, 1952 Southern 500 winner Fonty Flock, checked into a motel near the half-mile Powell Motor Speedway, along with Jocko.  The brothers left Jocko on his own in the motel room while they went out to check in at the track and unload their race cars.

While they were gone, Jocko managed to get out of his cage and was playing around in the room.  Shortly thereafter, a maid came by to bring some towels to the room.  Seeing the woman, the playful simian saw an opportunity to have some fun.

Jumping out of hiding, Jocko landed on the maid’s back and started pulling her hair.  Jocko, who wouldn’t harm a fly, was simply playing, and having fun.

The maid, however, thought some unholy creature had a hold of her.  She exited the room screaming, arms flailing through the air.

The Flock brothers and Jocko were booted out of the motel, and they had to spend the night in their cars.

Things didn’t go much better for Tim and Jocko the next day, as a bad bearing left them with a 22^nd place finish.

Jocko and Tim were looking to turn things around, and paved, one-mile long track in Raleigh, North Carolina looked to be just the place to do it in.

Instead, it would prove to be the final race in Jocko Flocko’s short career.

Fonty Flock took top honors in the Raleigh 300. From left to right is mechanic Red Vogt, Fonty, and car owner Frank Christian. Photo courtesy Frances Flock

Forty-Nine cars took the green flag for the Raleigh 300 on May 30.  Late in the race, Tim found himself running second to brother Fonty as the laps wound down.

Back in those days, Grand National cars raced on regular street tires. There was no such thing as a specially designed racing tire in NASCAR at that time.

To monitor tire wear during the race, teams would cut a small trap door into the wheel well on the right front tire, and attach the door to a small chain.  The driver would periodically pull the chain, opening the door, and they could see how the tire was wearing.  If they began to see the white of the tire cord, they knew they would have to pit soon.

During the course of the previous seven races, Jocko had watched Tim open that little door a thousand times.  He was a curious little fellow, and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

As the race wound down, Tim was focused on trying to catch Fonty.  Jocko, meanwhile, managed to slip out from under his seat belt, and climbed down into the floorboard to have a look at the trop door.

As Jocko pulled the chain and opened the door, the tire apparently kicked up a small piece of gravel, which barely zinged the little monkey between the eyes.

Jocko let out a scream, and began running around the inside of the Hudson.  He eventually ended up on Tim’s back, clawing and screaming at the top of his lungs.

All this at 100 mph around a one-mile race track, in competition.

Tim shares a moment with one of Jocko's relatives during the 1991 Winston Legends weekend at Charlotte. Photo courtesy Frances Flock

Tim showed put on an incredible show of car control, and piloted the Hornet into the pits (I dare anybody to argue my “car control” assertion.  When’s the last time you saw Kyle Busch drive a car with a screaming monkey on his back?).  Once stopped, he handed the frightened monkey out to a crew member before returning to the race.

In the meantime, Speedy Thompson slipped by on the track, relegating Tim to third.  That’s where he would finish, behind Fonty and Thompson.  The impromptu pit stop cost him $600 in prize money.

Needless to say, Jocko was fired on the spot.  He retired to the relative quiet of the Flock household, where he happily lived out the rest of his days.

In their time together as a team, Tim and Jocko would pocket $3,945, making Jocko Flocko the most successful simian in NASCAR history.

Over the years, fans would come up to Tim and ask, “Whatever happened to Jocko Flocko?”

Tim would flash that trademark mischievous Flock grin, and say, “I couldn’t teach him to sign his autograph, so I had to fire him!”

Brandon Reed is the editor and webmaster for 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.

Built in 1949, the Peach Bowl Speedway was one of the most important and historic tracks in Georgia. Photo courtesy GARHOFA

By Mike Bell
Posted in Feature Stories 7/9/10

One of the victims of the New South and the ever-expanding boundaries of the New South “Capital” was the Peach Bowl Speedway on Brady Avenue in Northwest Atlanta.

It all started when Roy Shoemaker built the small quarter-mile oval for midget racing.  He spent some $100,000 to $150,000 to build a full dirt track with seats for 5,000 fans, a large pit area off the backstretch and acres of free parking.

A diner and lounge was to be a part of the facility, but a permit was never given by the city, so Roy turned the building into the Peach Bowl Garage, which later became an auto auction, said to be one of the largest in the nation at that time.

But Roy’s background was baseball.  He played for several years in the amateur league in Atlanta, and played professionally as a pitcher at Columbus, Georgia and Mobile, Alabama.

The first year of operation for the Peach Bowl was 1949.  The speedway saw a variety of programs, but the only auto racing was from the midgets.  After the Southern Drivers Racing Club midget races started on Saturday nights, there were wrestling matches in a ring setup in front of the grandstands on the home stretch.  The crowds were good for both attractions. In August of that year, there was even a professional boxing program brought to the front straight with an exhibition by then champ Ezzard Charles.

But the mainstay was midget auto racing.  Crowds numbered to capacity every Saturday night to see the “doodlebugs” of motorsports broadslide through the dirt turns.

Bill Blalock (38) won the first race ever held at the Peach Bowl. This photo may be from that first event. Photo courtesy GARHOFA

Bill Blalock of Decatur won the first midget race held at the Peach Bowl Speedway.  Woody Campbell, of Knoxville, Tennessee, would in the second, while fellow Knoxville racer Tex Keene won the third feature race.

The races would continue through the summer and into fall.  Campbell would win again, then Jimmy Reid of Phenix City, Alabama.  Stock car ace Red Byron, driving Atlanta car owner Raymond Parks’ latest racing venture, also picked up a feature win.

A driver they called “Wild Bill” Miller of Evansville, Indiana, started to win so much at the Peach Bowl that he moved to Atlanta.  But when it was all over, Bill Blalock of Atlanta won the 50-lap championship race on October 3 to close the first season.

During the summer of 1949, an experiment was conducted at the Peach Bowl.  Stock car races were held.  Actually, three drivers, 1946 National champion Ed Samples, Roscoe Thompson, a man destined to win many races at the Peach Bowl, and Olin Allen of Atlanta ran a special 10-lap race.  Samples won in three minutes and two seconds with Thompson second and Allen third.  Somebody was watching this.

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.

We had been discussing at length trying to find a way to get more of the great stories of Georgia’s racing history, many of which had been published in now long out of print issues of the Pioneer Pages magazine, out to a broader audience.

I hit on the idea of this website.  Mike agreed to be part of it by offering his stories from the Pioneer Pages, along with his advice.  I spoke a few weeks later with fellow writer and historian Eddie Samples, and the ball began rolling.

My lovely wife, Suzanne, who is a graphic designer by trade, worked to come up with the terrific logo you see above, incorporating one of my favorite photos from the long defunct Jackson County Speedway.  The family of the late Swayne Pritchett was kind enough to allow me to use the photo, and another piece of the puzzle was in place.

I actually had everything set to launch just after the first of June, 2009.  But a Sunday trip to the spot where the legendary Lakewood Speedway once stood changed that.  I shifted gears, and postponed the launching of the site until I could tell the story of the speedway, which, along with the famed Peach Bowl in Atlanta, is one of the most historic tracks in the state.

We hit another bump just before the official launch when we found the layout we wanted to use did not work with some of the web browsers out there.  That’s when I turned to my computer guru, Patrick Aikens, who came up with the blog style layout we now use.

We were also able to persuade a dear friend of mine, Kathy Wilson, to lend us her services as proofreader.

Once that all fell in place, Georgia Racing History.com finally went live on June 26, 2009.  Since then, we’ve been striving to tell you stories of Georgia’s racing heritage, along with other stories that help to preserve the history of racing in general.

It’s been a strong first year, and we look forward to the next and many more to come.

Hoschton racer Jimmy Garmon celebrates his first victory in five years at Gresham Motorsports Park on June 19. Photo courtesy GMP Media

Third Generation Winner - If you were a part of the stellar crowd that came out to Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia on June 19, you got to see a little bit of Georgia racing history written yourself.

Jimmy Garmon, of Hoschton, held off a hard charge by Bubba Pollard, considered by many to be one of the top Georgia wheelmen today, to win the Super Late Model feature at GMP that night.  It was Garmon’s first win since April 30 of 2005, when he won at the same track.

Now, here’s what makes that win so cool.  Garmon is a third generation Georgia racer.  His grandfather was Jap Brogdon, a pioneer throttle stomper who raced on the beach in the late 30s and in the 40s.  He was a constant competitor to the likes of Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall, Bill France, Sr., Bob Flock and others.

The biggest career highlight for Brogdon was his winning of the Lloyd Seay Memorial, a race that was attended by all of the big names of stock car racing of the day, in November of 1941.  The race was run in honor of the late Georgia racer, who had been gunned down by his cousin in September of that same year over an argument about sugar for the family moonshine.

Brogdon was quoted in the local papers as saying he was determined to win that race.  A pre-race photo showed he and Bill France, Sr. holding the trophy that they both wanted to win.

Brogdon took the trophy home.  For years, it remained in a place of honor in his Chamblee, Georgia transmission shop.  It stayed there until his stepson, Ronnie Garmon, closed the business many years later.  It now resides in a place of honor at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, a spot Brogdon will surely share one day.

Ronnie Garmon, Jimmy’s dad, would make a name for himself as a motorcycle racer around the state and the southeast.  He also spent time as a stock car pilot at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

Jimmy himself started out racing motorcycles, but switched to the stock car set at his dad’s encouragement.

Jimmy won the famed World Crown 300 in 1998.  When he won on June 19, he didn’t get so many handshakes as he did hugs.  The win was a long time coming, and we were very glad to see him back in victory lane.

A Tough Year – So far, 2010 has been a rough one on Georgia racing’s history and heroes.  I know that there are probably some that we’ve missed hearing about, so my apologies for not mentioning anyone.

Charlie Burkhalter poses with his restored skeeter at the Athens Speedway reunion earlier this year. Burkhalter passed away back in May. His is one of several loses to the Georgia racing community over the past several months. Photo by Brandon Reed

Earlier this year, we lost veteran racer Charlie Burkhalter.  Burkhalter had been an ace skeeter pilot, and was a constant competitor all over the state.  His loss was a great one.

Just before we lost Charlie, the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame community was saddened by the loss of Annie Dean Samples.  Mrs. Samples had been a tireless champion for the Hall of Fame, and helped to get the building in Dawsonville, Georgia reopened to the public.  Her efforts were always appreciated, and her loss leaves a void that will be tough to fill.

Long time Georgia racer Andy Buffington also passed away recently.  He was a tough competitor, picking up wins at Lakewood, the Peach Bowl, Douglasville and Senoia.  He was with us at last year’s Lakewood Speedway reunion.

We also lost Tim Richardson, who was a driver, fan and flagman at North Georgia and Cleveland Speedway.

The loss that has gotten the most attention, and rightfully so, was the loss of racing legend Raymond Parks on Father’s Day, June 20, 2010.

Parks record and his accomplishments have been touted quite a lot over the last weeks, so I won’t go into that.

What I will share with you is a moment from Mr. Parks services, which were held on June 23.

There were several NASCAR representatives on hand, one of which spoke during the service.  While his speech was respectful, it did have a tendency to begin sounding like an infomercial for NASCAR’s new Hall of Fame.

Once he sat down, Mr. Parks nephew, who is a preacher from Montana, took to the podium.

He began by thanking the folks from NASCAR who were there, but then pointed out that they hadn’t seen fit to put his uncle in their Hall of Fame.

He then listed off all the Halls of Fame that have honored Mr. Parks, including the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega.

The NASCAR folks, Mr. Parks’ nephew said, apparently didn’t “get the memo.”

Hopefully, now they’ve got it.

Buck Simmons

Buck Simmons – Word came down this week that 2009 GRHOF inductee Buck Simmons had been hospitalized.  He was apparently suffering from pneumonia and had suffered congestive heart failure.  Word is that he is on a respirator and soon will be moved to a regional hospital.

As has been said before, Simmons, of Baldwin, Georgia, is nothing less than a  Georgia racing legend.  With 1,012 victories, he is a member of the National Dirt Hall of Fame, along with being in the GRHOF.

Simmons raced all over the country, and even had a brief stint into Sprint Cup racing.  Anywhere his famed number 41 was unloaded, you knew he would be one of the men to beat.  He was the 1981 National Dirt Racing Association champ, and also recorded wins in the United Dirt Track Racing Association and the Southern All-Stars.

All of us at GRH.com send our prayers and best wishes to Buck and his family at this time.

What’s the problem? – Last week I was fortunate enough to be a guest on the Cuzin Eddie Allen show on WMCL 1060-AM out of McLeansboro, Illinois.  While they don’t quite reach the Peach State, they do broadcast to four states, including Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.

Cuzin Eddie’s co-host, Jeff Turner, contacted me about coming on to their show to talk about Raymond Parks, Lakewood Speedway and a few other items. It was a great time, and I’m very grateful to Jeff and Cuzin Eddie for having me on.

Fans were lined up early to get trackside parking at Gresham Motorsports Park's Super Late Model event on June 19. Photo courtesy GMP Media

One question that I was asked was my thoughts on the tremendous drop in attendance at NASCAR events all over the country, and if that drop had also affected small, local tracks.

The answer, unfortunately, is yes.  Everybody in the race track business is hurting right now.  And it’s not just from the economy.

What built stock car racing to its zenith, in my opinion, was a connection between the fans and the drivers that was unparalleled in the world of sports.

For years, after a NASCAR race, fans would pour out of the stands and into the pit area to meet their heroes.  Guys like Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker, to name just a few, would spend hours after an event with their fans, signing autographs and talking.

Somewhere along the way, that got lost.  Racers got too busy to sign autographs.  The money they could garner away from the track made extra time spent there an annoyance.  While fans spent hours now in traffic, the drivers flew off in their corporate jets.

That common thread that connected the fan in the stand to the driver in the car has been lost.

Until we get the fans back down in the pits, on the big tracks and at the Saturday night short tracks, and make them feel like they are an important part of the show, auto racing will continue to suffer.

Remember, without the fans, we don’t have a reason to go racing on Saturday night.

One last thing – On Thursday night, the 25 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame were announced.  Among them were three Georgia Racing Hall of Fame members – Red Byron, Tim Flock and Raymond Parks.

Of these three, the second inclusion of Parks is most ironic, in that, had the folks that vote had any foresight at all, they would have grabbed the opportunity to honor him while he was still with us.  Hopefully, as Mr. Parks nephew said during his funeral service, this time they’ve “got the memo.”

But to make sure, those of us who knew him, were friends with him or simply admired him need to go to work.  We need to make sure those that vote know how important Mr. Parks is, and how, without him, there certainly would be no NASCAR today.  We need to send emails, make phone calls and make sure the world knows why Raymond Parks deserves to be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame this year. The final vote will be taken on October 13.

Mr. Parks did a lot for racing.  Now let’s do what we can to make sure he’s remembered for it.  Make your vote known at the NASCAR Hall of Fame website.

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.