Darlington Raceway in the fifties. The lack of a seperating wall between the pits and the track would lead to disaster and death during the 1960 Southern 500.
By Eddie Samples
Posted in Feature Stories 4/29/11
The racing world started for Jerry Elzey as a youngster in the 1950’s, when his dad, D.J. Elzey, leased his garage across from their service station on Howell Mill Road in Atlanta to Frank Strickland, a prominent local businessman.
“Frank’s family owned Hudgins Wrecking Company so they had money,” said Jerry. “But my dad was leery of renting to race people. It was an expensive hobby even at NASCAR level, and my old man wanted his rent.”
John Henry Maddox, a tough man with a big heart who was a great race car driver.
By Mike Bell
Posted in Feature Stories 4/22/11
Whoever said big men come in small packages knew John Henry Maddox.
In a lot of sports, there are special considerations for size, but then they always talk about “heart” when someone comes along that doesn’t meet their requirements.
In racing, the first requirement is “heart”, or whatever the unknown qualifier is that makes a race driver a “great” race driver. Great race car drivers win a lot of races, money, championships, and even the fans.
Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 4/15/11
There is no denying it. Over the years, a lot of odd and flat out weird things have happened at the 2.88-mile Talladega Superspeedway.
First off is the style of racing the track, with cars running in packs and often ending up with a multi-car crash that can eliminate the best cars in the field, opening the door for other drivers who may not have had a prayer to score a win.
Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 4/8/11
Whether it was falling off the top of a building or putting together one of the most popular race teams in NASCAR history, Hollywood stuntman and legend Hal Needham always did things with success in mind.
Needham tells his story in his autobiography, “Stuntman!”, which came out earlier this year and is well worth the read.
Needham tells about his childhood in Arkansas, and how he parlayed working as a treetopper in California into a start in television and movies doing stunts. Over the years, Needham did stunts for John Wayne, Burt Reynolds, Richard Boone and countless others.
It looked like old times when former racers, fans and officials gathered at the old Middle Georgia Raceway for a reunion hosted by Racer’s Reunion.com earlier this month. Photos by Joe Cawley
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 4/1/11
Back on March 12, the folks at Racers Reunion.com held the inaugural Jeff Smith Chevrolet Middle Georgia Raceway Reunion, held at the historic Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia, near Macon.
The old track had sat dormant for many years, but a group of volunteers worked tirelessly to get the track ready for the big day.
