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 23^rd 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.

Huston Platt's famed Dixie Twister funny car sits in a place of honor in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, Georgia. Photo courtesy GRHOF

By Angela Williamson
Posted in Feature Stories 1/27/12

The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, Georgia has seen its share of “hero” cars. And the newest addition to the list is currently on exhibit at the GRHOF.

The “Dixie Twister”, and its driver, Huston Platt, went through many years of pain and suffering before it was finally realized that they too, deserve a spot in the hero arena.

The “Dixie Twister” was involved in what is still known as the worst racing tragedy in U.S. history. It was an accident that forever changed the safety regulations of all of motorsports.

On March 2, 1969, Platt was racing the Dixie Twister at the Yellow River Dragstrip in Covington, Georgia. Competitor Frank Oglesby was in the opposing lane as Platt, competing as an owner/driver, readied for the next run.

Both were in Funny Cars, with Platt’s Twister decked out with a shiny, new 1969 Camaro body – one of the few during that time era.

The run went fine, but disaster lay at the far end of the drag strip.

When Platt released his chutes to slow his dragster , a spectator approached the sandy, narrow track. The spectator leaned across the track to retrieve a beer can. When the chutes opened, the spectator was swept-up into them, killing him instantly.

The weight of the victim’s body in the chute caused the car’s body to sling shot off the chassis, sending it into the crowd while the chassis stayed on the track.

Yellow River Drag strip, located in Covington, Georgia. Ernie Scott's photo shows just how close the fans were able to get to the track. Photo by Ernie Scott/GeorgiaDragRacing.com

The tragedy left 12 people dead and more than 40 injured.  It was the last race ever run at the Yellow River Dragstrip.

Many years passed and it seemed that the 69’ Dixie Twister had disappeared. By the early 2000’s, the flip-top funny cars of the late 60’s and early 70’s were soon becoming an extinct breed. But that didn’t stop Platt’s former crew chief, Randall Davis, from searching for the Twister.

Davis said Platt was a father figure to him and after seeing reproductions of the car he insisted on finding the original and actually running it again.

“Everybody was starting to look and finding those cars and we just kept hunting,” Davis said.  “Anybody that knew somebody would start asking around. When we went to look at a car, they would just send us in another direction.”

Davis tracked the car until he lost sight of it in Virginia.

“A friend of a friend called me and said they think they found the car,” Davis said. “I said “okay.  I had been told that so many times it was just disheartening because we wanted it so bad.”

In the winter of 2003, Davis finally received reassurance that he had found the car.

“The reason I knew it was the car is because the owner told me the manufacturer’s number on the chassis,” Davis said. “When you eat, sleep and wipe down that chassis as many times as I have, you just know that’s the car.”

Huston Platt poses with the restored Dixie Twister. Photo courtesy Racin' Today.com

Davis waited until spring of 2004 before making his trip to Nova Scotia, Canada to bring the Dixie Twister home.

“The car’s owner told me I couldn’t get up there until spring because of the winter storms in Canada, so I had to wait it out,” Davis said.

After eight long years of searching, travel, restoration, and over $80,000 in expenses, the Dixie Twister was primed and ready to receive its blessing. On March 2, 2008, coincidentally, the 39^th anniversary of the accident, Davis brought the car to it’s former driver’s home, Huston Platt.

“We had the ‘Dixie Twister’ name painted down the side but Huston’s name wasn’t above it,” Davis said. “We had to take it to him to get his permission to put his name back on it.”

After Platt’s reunion with the car, he made a step back into the racing world and accompanied the car at various events.

“Seeing that look on Huston’s face when he made public appearances with the car was worth every bit of it,” Davis stated.

Platt spent his last years of his life enjoying his renowned Twister and his racing family and friends. The 79-year-old legendary drag racer passed away this past November.

The circled area shows the scene of the accident at Yellow River. An investigation cleared Platt's name in the crash. It was the final event ever held at the track. A mobile home park now occupies the site, with the dragstrip serving as the main road through the property.

Investigators said the poor and unsafe track conditions were to blame for the accident at Yellow River. It was considered a motivation for all motorsports safety officials and directors to begin revising the regulations and codes. As a result of the tragedy, motorsports, and it’s spectators are safer.

Officials began implementing new regulations that increased the footage spectators were to remain from the track. Spectators were no longer allowed to be in the pits during “hot times”. Guard rails and concrete replaced chicken wire and wooden fence posts. Track widths and lengths were increased to allow for driver correction and more slow-down time. The PA boxes were relocated from the hot zone to a safer, less congested area. And most importantly, all tracks were required to maintain liability insurance.

The Yellow River Dragstrip itself still exists.  A mobile home park was built on the property, with the dragstrip used as the main road through the park.

The Dixie Twister will remain on exhibit at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame through February. It has been fully restored to comply with the current NHRA standards. Many of its safety features were improved, due to new safety regulations.

“We will begin running the car in March,” Davis said. “But my future plans include cloning it and retiring the original.”

Only this time, Davis has no intentions of taking his sight off of the car that has always been a part of his life and has inadvertently helped saved the lives of so many other motorsports enthusiasts.

Editor’s note: Portions of this story were orginally published by the Dawsonville News & Advertiser.

Angela Williamson is a staff writer for the Dawsonville News & Advertiser, and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

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.

The Flock Brothers, Bob (left), Tim (center) and Fonty (right) were terrors and winners on the sandy beach and road course at Daytona. Photo courtesy Frances Flock

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 1/20/12

As we close in on the annual running of the Daytona 500, thoughts go back to at time prior to the building of the great speedway, when drivers did battle on the hard packed sands of Daytona Beach to prove who was the best.

Many drivers from Georgia made the trek south each winter to compete on the beach, but few saw the success as the three fabulous Flock brothers, Bob, Fonty and Tim.

The three brothers, who were always among the favorites to win in early southern stock car circles, saw much success on the beach, and were always in the thick of the action.

Bob, piloting a car for famed Georgia car owner Raymond Parks, started the family tradition of winning on the beach on March 9, 1947.  It was the first of many wins at Daytona for the Fabulous Flocks.

Bob Flock, pictured left, and Red Byron, pictured right, were potent drivers for Raymond Parks. Photo courtesy Eddie Samples

Bob would back up that first beach win with another in the next event, held on August 17.  In doing so, he made what well may be the most incredible charge in the history of auto racing.

Starting 31st due to being unable to qualify,Bob Flock flew through the field to take the lead before the FIRST MILE of the race had been completed.  After taking the top spot, Bob never looked back, leading every lap of the event for the win.

The feat led local sportswriter Bernard Kahn to dub Bob Flock “The Wizard of Whiz”.  Flock credited the power to car builder Red Vogt.

The race was also significant for Bob’s brother Fonty, who was running his first race on the beach since being injuries at the circuit back in 1941.  Fonty would finish in the top 20 piloting a Ford.  He would go on that year to with the NCSCC points title.

Fonty Flock led most of the Feb. 15, 1948 event at Daytona Beach, but crashed hard after a spindle broke on his Ford. Photo courtesy GRHOF

Fonty would run strong in the first race under the new NASCAR banner was run at Daytona Beach on Feb. 15, 1948.  He led the first 60 miles of the event, and was leading with 18 laps to go when his Ford broke a spindle.  His car flipped end over end, landing in the palmetto bushes.  Flock escaped injury.  Fellow Georgian Red Byron would score the victory.

Of note is the third place finisher.  Car owner Raymond Parks is credited with the third place effort, but it should be noted that Bob Flock drove in relief of Parks after his own car fell out.  The race also marked the first beach event for Tim Flock, youngest of the three brothers.  It marked the first time three brothers competed in the same event at Daytona.

Seven years after the crash that left him badly injured, Fonty Flock finally got his revenge at Daytona Beach in the August 8, 1948 event.  Fonty started his Hugh Babb owned Ford in the third position, and was trailing Red Byron when a rock punctured Byron’s oil pan with four laps remaining.  Fonty was more than a lap down at the time, and had to pass Byron’s car twice as it sat still to take the lead.  Fonty would sail on to victory, averaging 73.92 miles an hour in the process.

A few years later, things would not go in the brother’s favor on more than one occasion on the beach.

It appeared that Tim Flock was the winner of the Modified-Sportsman event on Feb. 9, 1952.  Tim streaked across the finish line 18 seconds ahead of Atlanta’s Jack Smith.  Smith, however, was flagged as the winner.  Flock called for a scoring check, which showed that he had indeed won the race.  Smith was placed in second.

Smith, however, had other ideas.

When Flock showed up at the beach, his car did not have roll bars.  The rulebook for 1952 stated that roof supports would be mandatory for all events.  Bill France had some of his track workers use two-by-fours to construct a roll bar out of wood.

After the race, Smith went to the NASCAR officials to protest the wooden roll bars.  The officials took the win away and gave it to Smith.  Flock was given last place.

Fonty Flock would run out of gas just short of a win in Grand National competition at Daytona in 1953. Photo courtesy GRHOF

One year later, it looked like Fonty Flock had the field covered in the Feb. 15, 1953 Grand National event at Daytona.  Fonty led 38 of the event’s 39 laps driving for fellow Georgian Frank Christian.  But on the final circuit, Flock’s Oldsmobile ran out of gas.  Slick Smith, Fonty’s teammate, pushed Flock’s car around to the pits, while Bill Blair cruised past for the win.

In Feb. 21, 1954 Grand National event, Tim Flock, piloting an Oldsmobile owned by Kentucky Colonel Ernest Woods, took the lead of the event on the third lap.

Flock dominated most of the event while being in constant communication with the pits via a two-way radio, the first time such was used in a Grand National event.  Flock took the checkered flag by almost a minute and a half.

But in post race inspection, officials found the butterfly shaft on Flock’s carburetor had been soldered to keep it from vibrating loose.  Flock was disqualified, and the win was given to Lee Petty.

It was the second time in three years that Tim Flock had been disqualified.  It was the second time in two years that the Flock family was denied victory on the beach.

Tim Flock is congratulated in victory lane after the 1954 Grand National event on the beach. Flock would later have the win stripped from him hours later. Photo courtesy Frances Flock.

Flock argued that the soldering gave him no advantage and only prevented potential problems.  The race officials did not agree.  Flock swore he was through with NASCAR, and sat out most of the 1954 season.

After running a Pure Oil gas station in Atlanta for a year, Tim Flock accepted the invitation of some friends to return to Daytona Beach as a spectator in February of 1955.

As he sat watching the cars go by on the beach, he saw a particularly quick 1955 Chrysler 300 power its way around the course.

Flock told his friends that if “I had that car, I’d win this race again this year.”

Standing within earshot was Tommy Hagood, a local outboard engine dealer.  He introduced himself to Flock after recognizing him as the man flagged the winner of the ’54 race, and offered to introduce him to the car’s owner, Mercury Outboard engine company president Carl Kiekhafer.

The two were introduced, and the rest is history.

Flock shattered the qualifying record by nearly seven miles an hour with a pass through the measured mile at 130.293 mph.

But there was a problem, and Flock had spotted it right away.  The Chrysler was equipped with an automatic transmission, which would slow the car coming out of the turns.

Tim Flock powers his way around the beach and road course at Daytona in 1955. Photo courtesy Frances Flock

As the race unfolded, Fireball Roberts, driving the Red Vogt tuned Fish Carburetor Buick, took an early lead, with Flock giving chase in the powerful Chrysler 300.  Flock would close on Roberts down the straightaways, but would lose contact with him on the turns due to the automatic transmission.  Roberts was flagged the winner 14 seconds ahead of Tim.

But in post race tech, officials discovered that the push rods were not stock.  24 hours after finishing second, Tim Flock got his victory and his revenge.  He won his first race at Daytona Beach, joining his brothers Fonty and Bob in the history books.

When the 1956 season rolled around, it was more success for the Fabulous Flocks on the sands of Daytona Beach.

Tim Flock started by winning the pole for the Modified-Sportsman event with a speed of 137.405 mph in a 1946 Chevy Coupe powered by an engine out of a 1956 Oldsmobile.

Tim Flock piloted this unique Chevy modified to victory in 1956.

The engine was set back a full 26 inches in the modified, putting the drivers’ seat where the back seat usually would be.

Tim was dubbed “America’s Number One Back Seat Driver”.

Tim took control of the Feb. 24 event early, and was challenged only by Speedy Thompson’s Ford.  Thompson’s day ended with a blown engine, and Flock moved away for the win.  Tim led every lap en route to the win, finishing just over seven miles ahead of second place Glenn Wood.

When the engines fired on the beach on Feb. 26 for the Grand National race, all eyes were again on Tim Flock.

He put his Chrysler on the pole for the event with a speed of 135.747 mph, over six miles an hour faster than second place.

Flock controlled the race, giving the lead up only on pit stops.  He finished 57 seconds ahead of second place Billy Myers.  Flock commented afterward that it was easier this year due to having a manual transmission in the car.

Tim Flock and members of his crew make their way to victory lane after the 1957 convertible series event on the beach. Photo courtesy Frances Flock

Tim would have one last hurrah on the sands of Daytona Beach.  Driving a factory supported Mercury convertible for Bill Stroppe, Flock dueled convertible series aces Joe Weatherly and Curtis Turner on Feb. 16, 1957 on the beach.

Mechanical failures and pit stop woes on the parts of Turner and Weatherly gave Tim the edge, as he finished 53 seconds ahead of Weatherly for the victory.

It would be the last win for Tim Flock in his career and the final win on the beach for the Flock brothers.

While the sight of cars rushing up and down the old Daytona Beach course is a thing of the past, its memories live on.  So do those of the Flock brothers.  All three are members of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, with Tim belonging to several other Halls of Fame.

When the engines fire this year at the speedway in Daytona, the spirit and the sound will surely carry over to the beach, where the Flock brothers made their mark on the record books.

Brandon Reed is the editor and publisher 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.

Lloyd Seay is considered by many to be the greatest natural talent in a stock car. Photo courtesy GRHOF

By Cody Dinsmore-Guest Contributor
Posted in Columns 1/13/11

The short but daring career of Lloyd Seay began somewhere around the summer of 1934 in the hills of Dawsonville, GA.

When he was as young as 13 years old, he was driving some sort of jalopy to haul a small load of Dawsonville’s finest moonshine out of the woods and down to Atlanta.

He most likely at the time worked for the legendary Raymond Parks, his older and successful cousin.

Many lawmen that covered “the old bootlegger’s trail” also known as GA Highway 9 were quoted as saying Seay was the best automobile driver they’d seen. When running the precious white liquid to Atlanta, you had to be careful.  If any bottles or jars broke, you lost money.

But that certainly didn’t apply to Lloyd Seay. He could ease in and out of the winding mountain roads and make his way down to the re-built city of Atlanta. He could easily top 100mph while driving with his palms at the bottom of the steering wheel facing up.  That allowed him to make a complete turning motion at once if he ever needed to make a 180 degree bootlegger’s turn.

However, “Lightning” Lloyd, also known as Parker to his friends, was known not only for his skills off the track, but also on the track too. In the fall of 1938, businessman and promoter Frank Christian was traveling to his home in nearby Dahlonega when he glanced off to the side of the road in an abandoned corn field near the river.

There he spotted some of the fastest street cars racing in circles with a small group of locals who came to see the excitement after church. When he approached one of the drivers, they told him that they were trying to see who had the fastest moonshine runner.

That’s when it all clicked for Christian. He thought that if these people were coming out for free to see these guys run, then they surely would pay to see them on a professional track.

He was right. On Armistice Day of 1938, the first known and organized stock car race was held in the state of Georgia. Frank Christian decided he would rent the Lakewood Fairground Track in the heart of Atlanta. But auto racing there wasn’t his idea.  As early as 1916, the first auto race was held there with Indy type cars racing the clay mile. Pryor to that, it was used for Horse Racing.

Lloyd Seay poses in front of Raymond Parks’ Hemphill Service Station. He went on to win at Lakewood in 1938. Photo courtesy Eddie Samples

Hundreds of people gathered to the Lakewood Fairgrounds to watch what some would say is one of the most historic moments in Georgia Racing History. The race was just a small, 50-lap event with Lloyd Seay driving his 1934 Ford roadster with a broken arm to a win against the likes of his cousin Roy Hall, Bill France, Jap Brogdan, and Bob Flock.

But he never would have gotten to get that trophy, without one Mr. Raymond Parks. Parks was one of his Dawsonville cousins. Seay worked for Parks starting around 1934 or 1935 in the moonshine business along with their cousin, Roy Hall. When Seay got word that an organized stock car race for the local moonshiners and hot-rodders, he pleaded and begged Parks’ to field him a modified moonshine car.

So Parks talked to his friend, Red Vogt, who also built Seay and Hall’s moonshining cars, about building a monster of a racecar for the upcoming Lakewood event. Parks’ figured if he lost that race, then he wouldn’t have to deal with racecars any more. But he was wrong.

Since most of the 38’ season was over with, the three cousins waited until the start of the 1939 season to continue their assault on the racing world. Seay’s first race was at Daytona saw him run strong, finishing third at the end. He won several races in the 39’ season from Florida to all the way to Langhorne, PA.  Just one year into his short career, he was already a house-hold name in the racing family.

Vogt and his assistant, Buckshot Morris, were hired full time by Parks to prepare his team of cars. But at the time, Seay was his most successful driver, so just a little more money went to the No. 7 Ford.

In 1940, Seay started off the season driving the No. 4 1939 Ford sedan for Parks at Daytona, where he finished seventh. He also had quite a memorable year, as he won eight races in five different states. New promoters were quickly latching on to the new Stock Car Racing idea and new tracks were popping up everywhere you looked. Sometimes a track would run for one race and shut down.

In 1941, Seay’s last year in competition was also his best.

Although he didn’t win his first race of the season until mid-August, he still was very competitive and always one to watch on race day.  Seay made his first trip to victory lane of the year in his fifth start of the season at the Summer Daytona beach race. It may seem like a long time, but there weren’t many races in the series he was competing in, so the win came in the fifth race of the season, in August.

Georgia's Lightnin' Lloyd Seay bicycles his car through the north turn at the beach en route to his only win there on Aug. 24, 1941.

He started the event 15^th, but before the first lap was counted, he had charged to first place. He would go on to lead the entire 50-lap event to score his first Daytona Beach win in five starts.

He loved the Daytona Beach course and knew how to get around it well. In fact, just a few months before, the famous “two wheeled picture” occurred. While going through the North turn, Lloyd Seay managed to get his entire car on two wheels while driving one-handed.

The next race on the schedule was at the new track up in High Point, North Carolina on August 31. For the second straight race, the No. 7 Hemphill Special dominated, lapping the entire field twice.

The next event was slated for the next day, Sept. 1, 1941 at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta.

Since it was a far drive, Seay arrived late to Lakewood and missed qualifying, and was forced to start in last place. This was a championship race, so many top drivers were racing. However, Seay found the lead just 35 laps into the race.

He battled fiercely with Bob Flock all afternoon eventually ending in Flock overdriving his car on the last lap and getting into the wall, but still finishing second. It was the third win in just 15 days for Seay.  The Labor Day victory for the “Blond Bambino” (as some called him) was the biggest win of his career.

Tragically, it would also be his last.

After the big championship race, Seay was tired and didn’t feel like he could drive back home to Dawsonville. So he went over to his brother, Jim’s house to spend the night in a nearby, small town called Burlsboro.

When morning rose on September the second, another one of their cousins, Woodrow Anderson, angrily banged on the door. He claimed that Lloyd charged a $5 bag of sugar for moonshine to Anderson’s credit account and hadn’t paid him back. So after a bit of arguing, Jim and Lloyd got in Woodrow’s car to travel to their aunt’s house so she could figure out who owed what and how much.

A rare photo of Lloyd Seay competing in his last race, Sept. 1, 1941 at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, GA. Note the usual No. 7 on Seay's car has been marked out and replaced with a 13. Photo courtesy Skimp Hersey family collection

Along the way, Anderson stopped the car to get some water for his radiator at his dad’s farm several miles down the road. According to the Seay family, Anderson angrily took out a small pistol from his overall pocket and first shot Jim Seay in the neck, then shot Lloyd Seay in the heart. Jim survived, but was badly wounded. Lloyd was killed instantly. Neither had time to get out and fight since Anderson shot through the window. He was tried in court the following month and was found guilty and sentenced to life in Georgia state prison.

Many mourned the loss of one of the most popular and fearless driver of the time. Future NASCAR founder, Bill France was once quoted as saying that Lloyd Seay was the best stock car driver he’d seen. His funeral possession was led by his famous Silver Bullet 1939 Ford driven by Raymond Parks. Parks even secretly paid for a top-notch head-stone made of marble with an inscribing of his racecar and the trophy he won at Lakewood dated September 1, 1941. Inside the car on the tombstone was placed a picture Seay behind the wheel.  It looks today like it was placed in there yesterday.

Seay’s cousin, Roy Hall, took the death very hard.  He became involved with crime and was in and out of jail the rest of his life. Raymond Parks once said that after he died, he really didn’t feel a true connection with the sport of stock car racing, but he still loved it very much.

The next race at Lakewood was in November, and was named “The Lloyd Seay Memorial 100”. And from news reports, was the biggest attendance at the track up until NASCAR had its first race there seven years later.  The race was won by Georgia’s Jap Brogdon.  The trophy is now on display at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Seay’s hometown of Dawsonville, Georgia.

Even though Lloyd Seay never competed in NASCAR, or any other big name organization, his name can still be heard from older fans and recent reports about early racing. Since September 2, 1941, the legacy of “Lightning” Lloyd grows more and more every day, and will continue to grow wherever race fans tell stories about the best drivers to ever compete.

Cody Dinsmore is a racing historian, racing emcee and long time volunteer at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. He can also be heard weekly on Racers Reunion Radio.

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 familiar sight for Senoia, Georgia's Bubba Pollard, as he scored 19 victories in 2011. Photo by Justin Poole

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 1/6/12

According to a group of motorsports journalists and racing aficionados recently polled, Bubba Pollard’s stellar Late Model season has been chosen as the top historic event in Georgia Racing History for 2011.

The Senoia, Georgia speedster went on an absolute rampage in 2011, scoring 19 victories in 43 starts, along with two series titles, the Gulf Coast Championship and the 2011 Viper Series Championship.  In doing so, he pushed his all time Late Model win total to 55.

Among the highlights for the driver of the No. Ronnie Sanders Racing – Atlanta Thrifty Nickel racer was his first PASS South victory, which came in a photo finish at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, GA.  He also won events at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL, South Alabama Speedway in Opp, AL and Mobile International Speedway in Mobile, AL.

Pollard also was named the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame’s Driver of the Year in the first year of the award.

But the cherry on top would have to be Pollard’s emotion filled victory in the inaugural Beau Slocumb Memorial Pro Late Model event at Gresham Motorsports Park during the World Crown weekend.  Pollard held off a hard charging Willie Allen to win the race named for his late friend with Slocumb’s family in attendance.

“Bubba’s spectacular season has to be the top story for the 2011 racing year, not only for Georgia but nationally as well,” said Rocky Sinyard of Motorsport America.  “Pollard’s win-to-start ratio for the year (was) a mind-blowing 0.442.  Has any other touring racer ever posted a comparable number?  I believe that Bubba has secured a spot in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame with his outstanding year.”

Pollard takes a victory lap after one of two 2011 victories at Gresham Motorsports Park. Photo by Justin Poole

“The win record obviously speaks volumes but his drive to honor his late friend Beau Slocumb really added to his accomplishments this season,” said Lindsey Marks of Legends Nation and StixFx Entertainment.  “In addition to taking the checkered flag at South Alabama one week after Beau’s passing, Bubba backed it up by winning the Beau Slocumb Memorial 100 Pro Late Model race during the World Crown 300 weekend at Gresham Motorsports Park in November. That was an incredibly moving victory and one those in attendance will never forget.”

Doug Turnbull, co-announcer at Gresham Motorsports Park and of WSB Radio, summed it up in once sentence.

“The choice is easy.  Bubba Pollard’s season, capped off with winning his buddy Beau Slocumb’s Memorial 100 race at GMP.”

“Bubba Pollard in 2011 has done what every driver dreams of, WIN in every class or division he drove in,” said William Barber of Southern Race Week Radio.  “Whether in his Late Model or in an Open Wheel mod he captured the trophy and often times made it look too easy. He has the right combination of skill behind the wheel, car set up know how and long running history of winning.”

Charles Head, long time race announcer and host of the CHAMP Radio Program, echoed those sentiments, adding, “His inclusion as racer of the year by the Hall of Fame was also quite an accomplishment as was the record setting pole at the Snowball.”

Brandon Reed

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 12/30/11

With the New Year now upon us, it’s time to take a moment and thing back to some of the things that occurred during the 2011 racing season.

It was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting seasons in recent memory.  From the short tracks to the super speedways, it was certainly one to remember.

Let’s start with NASCAR.  Nobody knew what to expect in Daytona when a rookie scored his first win in his first start in the biggest race of the year.  Piloting the famed Wood Brothers’ Ford, Trevor Bayne shocked the racing world by putting the No. 21 in victory lane.

But for just a few more car lengths, however, it could have been different.  A mistake by Unadilla, Georgia’s David Ragan in switching lanes to early cost him the lead and an almost sure victory in the Great American Race.  The question of “what if” would dog him until the series returned to Daytona in July, when he scored his first career Sprint Cup win at the 2.5 mile super speedway.  He would also scored two poles, 12 top fives and 20 top tens, cementing himself as a driver to be dealt with.

Fate, however, has dealt him a different hand in another of the big stories of the year.

It was triggered by comments made by Kurt Busch when he didn’t know a fan’s camera was on him.  Those comments led to his ultimate firing from Penske Racing, leading to a land rush for potential drivers.

With his sponsor gone from the No. 6, Ragan asked for a release from Jack Roush, giving him the opportunity to vie for the coveted No. 22 seat.  But that seat ended up going to former open wheel ace A.J. Allmendinger instead.

Allmendinger’s departure from Richard Petty Motorsports meant the seat in the famous No. 43 was now open.  With the laid back, respectful manners that Ragan possesses, it seemed like the perfect match up.

But word came late in the going that Aric Almirola, armed with a sponsor, was the front runner for the Petty ride.  That leaves Ragan as the odd man out in the scenario, though rumor has it he may be heading for a Nationwide Series ride with Jr. Motorsports.  News is expected on that front shortly after the New Year.

For the open wheel folks, the season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the IndyCar Series was meant to be a major event.  It ended up being an unfortunate disaster.

A multi-car crash just 13 laps in sent four cars airborne, and ended with the death of defending Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

It proved to be one of the darkest days in racing in many years.  Hopefully, IndyCar can learn something from the tragedy and make such an occurrence a rarity for the racing world.

On the home front, Senoia, Georgia’s Bubba Pollard went on a tear this season, scoring a total of 19 wins in 43 Super and Pro Late Model starts while driving for Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Ronnie Sanders.  It was one of the best seasons we’ve seen somebody have in a long time, and hopefully, Pollard and Sanders will see a lot more success in 2012.

It was a great year for the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, as we saw unprecedented growth at the facility in the first full year under the control of the new Hall of Fame Board of Directors and all of our volunteers.

Unfortunately, we also saw great sadness in the Georgia Racing community, with the loss of young driver Beau Slocumb, along with Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member Jimmy Summerour, Gary Brantley, Garland Glaze, Red Langford, John Henry Maddox, Geneva Milam, Betty Mosteller, David Pritchett, Shorty Tanner and Hubert Platt.

But now, the green flag is set to drop on a new year, with new challenges and lots of new memories to see.  I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get started!

Brandon Reed is the editor and publisher 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.

Georgia's Charles Barrett piloted this #09 Torino for George Elliott in 1973. Photo courtesy the Barrett Family

By Mike Bell
Posted in Feature Stories 12/23/11

When Chris Rutledge and I went up to Cleveland, Georgia to interview Charlie Barrett, we felt it best to talk to him at his used car lot. That is where he always is and I knew he would feel comfortable there. The used car business has been his life since 1965.

“From 1965 to 1974, I was just in the wholesale business,” Charlie told us. “I started out going to (Albany) New York to buy cars. I did that for a year or maybe a year-and-a-half. We even bought a carryall. We went up near Chattanooga to buy the carryall. We wanted one with a good engine. We put new steering bars and tires on it. Then the engine blew. We used it about a year or so.

“I was in the wholesale business a long time when I went over to Clarksville to sell a man some cars. He said that he didn’t want to buy anything but he did want to sell me all his cars and rent me the lot. That was what we did. Ray Franklin and I were partners for years. We came back to Cleveland in 1990 or 1991. I live next door so it is walking distance to work.”

But it didn’t start out that way for Charlie. His father Carl C. Barrett and mother Cleo Todd Barrett ran a farm in White County.

“He had about 80 or 85 acres and I knew every foot of it,” Charlie said. “I was a good farm hand on a tractor. I worked that farm when I was a teenager. My dad had so much for me to do that I didn’t have anything else to do. I knew there had to be something better than raising cotton. You couldn’t plow it when it first came up it was so fragile. And when you went to pick it you would start at the lower side and work your way up. Then when you looked back, you knew you had to start all over again. When you gathered corn you could pick all the ears from one side. When you got to the end of a row, you knew you were through but not cotton; that wasn’t the way with cotton.”

Brandon Reed

By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 12/16/11

With the big raceways sitting silent and fans counting the days to the start of the major racing seasons, the question comes to mind as to just why we see so little racing in the winter months.

The obvious first answer is the weather.  Traditionally, NASCAR and other larger touring series have always taken the winter months off to keep teams and fans from having to deal with cold winter weather.

But that’s not necessarily true.  Yes, usually December has been a quiet month for the stock car set, but racing used to continue throughout November and pick back up in January, even in the Deep South.

In fact, a look at the history books shows that, in the case of 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup series seasons, the first points paying race of the season took place during the previous year.

1954 NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) champion Lee Petty scored the first win of the 1955 season - which happened to be run in Nov. of 1954. Photo courtesy GRHOF

The first time this occurred was in 1955, when the first points paying race of the season actually was held on Nov. 7, 1954 at Tri-City Speedway in High Point, NC, with Lee Petty taking the win.  The second race of the season was held on Feb. 6, 1955 at Palm Beach Speedway in West Palm Beach, FL, with Herb Thomas scoring the win.

The 1956 season would get underway late in 1955, with the first four events taking place before the New Year.

The 1956 season opener was run on Nov. 13, 1955, less than two weeks after the conclusion of the official 1955 season.  1955 Grand National (now Sprint Cup) champ Tim Flock picked up the win Hickory.  Fonty Flock would score the win in the second race of the season, held Nov. 20, 1955, at Charlotte.  Chuck Stevenson would win the third race of the season, held at the Willow Springs Speedway road course in Lancaster, CA on Nov. 20.  Herb Thomas would win the fourth race of the season, held Dec. 11, 1955 at Palm Beach.

The first race of 1956 was actually the fifth of the season, run Jan 22 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, AZ, where Buck Baker took the win.

The 1957 season saw see three points events occur in late 1956, with Marvin Panch winning at Lancaster, PA in November and at Concord, NC in December.  Fireball Roberts would win at Titusville, FL on Dec. 30, the latest date known in the calendar year for a Sprint Cup event to be held.

Most of the seasons that would hold races prior to the New Year only saw one or two events held.  Two seasons would be the exception, and both would prove to be interesting footnotes in racing history.

Jim Paschal drove a Petty Enterprises entry to victories in two of the first three races of the 1963 season, with Richard Petty winning the third. All three were held in 1962. Photo courtesy the Ray Lamm collection.

For the 1963 season, three events were held in late 1962.  The first points paying race of the season was held on Nov. 4, 1962, just a few days after the 1962 season finale, held on Oct. 28.  Jim Paschal won that “season opener”, which was held at the fairgrounds in Birmingham, AL.  Richard Petty would win the next event, held Nov. 11, 1962, at Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa, FL.  The third race, the final of 1962, would be held at the quarter mile Tar Heel Speedway in Randleman, NC on Nov. 22, 1962, with Paschal again winning.

The interesting part is that all three events were won by Petty Enterprises entries, with the last win coming just up the road from the Petty shops in Level Cross, NC.

The 1964 season would see four events held in 1963.  The first occurred just seven days after the 1963 season finale.  It was held on Nov. 10, 1963, with Ned Jarrett winning the season opener at Concord, NC.

The second event of the ’64 season occurred on Nov. 17, 1963 at the new three-mile road course at Augusta, Georgia.  Fireball Roberts would score the win.  It would prove to be the final of his famed career, as he would be badly burned in a crash at Charlotte in 1964, passing away weeks later.

The third race of the season would prove, retrospectively, to be one of the most important events in NASCAR history.

Wendell Scott became the first African American to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup event by scoring a 1963 season event at Jacksonville, FL late in 1962. Scott was declared the winner several hours after the event following a protest. The incident was recreated for the film "Greased Lightning", and was filmed at the Athens Speedway in Athens, Georgia (pictured). Photo courtesy GRHOF

It came on Dec. 1, 1963, at Jacksonville, Florida.  Buck Baker had been flagged the winner, but after a protest was lodged, officials announced that Wendell Scott had actually won the race, making him the first and to date the only African-American to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.

The day was not the triumphant one it should have been, as officials made sure to wait until after most of the crowd and journalists covering the event had left to give Scott the victory.  He never did get the actual trophy for the win.

The fourth race of the ’64 season was held in Savannah, Georgia on Dec. 29, 1963 (second latest date in the year of a NASCAR Sprint Cup event), with Richard Petty taking the win.

1965 would be the first year since ’54 that a season opener would not be held during the previous year.

In 1966 and 1967, the season openers occurred during the previous year.  Two events from the 1968 season would be held prior to the New Year in 1967.

The final year for this practice came in 1969.  The season opener was held on Nov. 17, 1968, with Richard Petty winning at Middle Georgia Raceway in Macon, Georgia.  The second event of the 1968 season was held on Dec. 8, 1968 at Montgomery, Alabama, with Bobby Allison scoring the win.

From there on, all races for a season were held within that calendar year.  In 1972, the season was even trimmed down as Winston came on board to add to the season points fund.

But it goes to disprove the weather theory.  In truth, after such a grueling season, teams and drivers need some down time so they can focus on the task at hand, as they try to win races and championships.

But some of the smaller tracks in the southeast could certainly benefit from some of the warmer weather we’ve seen recently.  I can think of nothing nicer on a relatively cool afternoon than watching some great short track racing here locally, can you?

Brandon Reed is the editor and publisher 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.

Georgia's Huston Platt poses with his Funny Car, the restored Dixie Twister. Photo courtesy Racin' Today.com

By Rick Minter-Guest Contributor
Posted in Columns 12/9/11

The phone call on Wednesday, Nov. 30 from Rocky Platt brought sad news. His father Huston Platt, the pioneering drag racer, had died at his Buford, Ga., home. He was 79 years old.

I’d heard of Huston Platt for years, but never actually talked to him until a few years ago, when Rocky invited me to their home to see the “Dixie Twister”, Platt’s old Funny Car that had been tracked down in Nova Scotia and restored by one of his former crew members, Randall Davis.

My main worry that afternoon was how to write a story about Huston Platt and the Dixie Twister and not dwell on the tragedy that occurred March 2, 1969, at Yellow River Dragstrip in Covington, Ga.

On that day, Platt was in the Twister racing Frank Oglesby on a narrow, sandy track. Fans crowded to within a few feet of the track to get a better view of the cars.

Witnesses said one of those fans reached onto the track to retrieve a beer can just as Platt deployed his parachute to slow his car. The opened parachute swept up the man, killing him instantly.

The weight of the victim against the parachute yanked Platt’s car into the spectator area. Twelve people died, and more than 40 more were injured. It remains the worst racing disaster on U.S. soil. Yellow River, one of Georgia’s most popular tracks, never held another race.

Investigators determined that unsafe track conditions were to blame. Racing, as it has done throughout history, had outrun the safety measures of the day. But the incident led to sweeping safety reforms in all types of motorsports. New legislation required tracks to carry insurance, and the insurance companies helped ensure the safety of fans and competitors. Even NASCAR founder Bill France found himself testifying before legislators on behalf of the racing community.

In the years afterward, the Platts were understandably leery of the media, and with good reason given some of the stories written about Yellow River.

But that day turned out to be one I’ll always treasure, and I came to greatly respect Huston Platt.

He seemed to know that to do a credible story about him and his car, I had to deal with the Yellow River issue. He talked openly and honestly about it. But in his eyes, you could see the pain he still carried from that incident.

He never said: “Why me?” but I kept thinking to myself: “Why him?”

He did point out that the race cars had outrun the race tracks of the day.

“It was going to happen,” Platt said quietly the afternoon I interviewed him. “It was just a matter of when and where. There wasn’t a track in 10 states that was qualified to run those cars back then.

“It was a bad thing, but it led to safe racing, if you can say it’s safe.”

Since the Yellow River track, which never held another race and is now the main road of a mobile home park, was near Platt’s hometown, he lived the rest of his life in the same general area as the victims and their survivors. In many ways, he could never get away from the tragedy, even after he gave up racing.

“I’ve got feelings just like everybody else,” he said. “When I gave it up, I didn’t want to talk about it. The only time racing ever came up, it was always about Yellow River. I just shut it out completely. …

“I got my mind on other things, worked, played golf. I didn’t even think about racing or watch it on TV until a few years ago.”

But seeing the Dixie Twister, which wasn’t seriously damaged in the Yellow River crash, back in full racing trim seemed to lift a great weight off Platt’s shoulders.

When he accompanied the Twister to public events, the conversations with fans almost always were about the happy times, times when was racing all over the country, outrunning the top drag racers of the day and even winning match races against NASCAR stars like Richard Petty.

“I beat ‘em all,” Platt said as he and I looked over scrapbooks from his racing days on the day I first met him.

I prefer to remember that aspect of Platt’s career. I hope others will too.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published at Racin’ Today.com on December 2, 2011.

Rick Minter is an award-winning sports journalist who began covering motorsports for the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1991, as well as serving as a bureau chief. Minter focused on racing exclusively from 2000-2008 . Minter and his wife Joanne live on the family farm in Inman, Georgia. In his spare time he collects and restores antique tractors and trucks.

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 familiar spot for North Georgia native Bobby Whitmire in the mid 1950s - victory lane at a Georgia short track. Photo courtesy the Bobby Whitmire collection

By Mike Bell
Posted in Feature Stories 12/2/11

For years, Hugh Blackstock has told me about getting with Bobby Whitmire and Charles Probst.  Not thinking that I am getting any older, I figured these guys would be around for years to come.

Then Charles died in a car accident near Gainesville, Georgia.  That made me realize that I’m getting too old and Bobby and Charles were way ahead of me.

I got Bobby’s telephone number from Leonard Cole and called him.  I wanted to meet up with him at Hugh’s shop in Gainesville while John Blackstock worked on MY van.  I emphasize the MY because it’s paid for.

When Bobby got there, I wondered about his age.  He looked no older than my 63 years, but I found out he is 78 going on 79.  Bobby has taken good care of himself through the years.

“I had to,” Bobby said.  “About 1966, I had a heart attack and have been on medication for almost 50 years.”

His birthday is February 5, 1931.

“I was born near the Forsyth County and Hall County line at home,” he told us.  For you young readers, that happened a lot in the thirties and forties – being born at home was what used to be the norm in a rural area.  Now it’s off to the hospital.

“My father was Ray Whitmire and my mother was Agnus Waldrip Whitmire,” Bobby said.  “Daddy was a farmer, or to be more exact, a chicken farmer.  He and Perry Parks went in together with the chicken business.  He finally put out on his own and stayed in the chicken business a lot of years.

“We moved on into Gainesville.  I was raised mostly on West Washington Street, real close to Hugh’s shop.  I went to school in Hall County at Gainesville High.  I didn’t graduate.  I quit in my junior year and went into the air force in January of 1951.  I don’t have any brothers, but I do have two sisters – Helen (married to Curtis Parks) and Evelyn (married to Leonard Coleman).”

“I was always in the chicken business myself,” Bobby continued.  “When everything got real rough, I sold out and went to work for the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and I worked for them until I retired.  You operated under the USDA rules, but the state is the one that checks on everything.  I worked in dressing plants inspecting for the government, either for school lunches or service food.

“I did that until 1995 when I retired after 20 years.  I had owned chicken houses out on Brown’s Bridge Road (in Gainesville).  I had three on one side of the road with my hatchery and two more on the other side of the road.  When I moved my race car shot from over at the airport, I built a garage there at the chicken houses.”