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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
