The Mountain Moonshine Festival is held annually in Dawsonville, Georgia.
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 10/30/09
Saturday marked the opening of the 42nd annual Mountain Moonshine Festival in downtown Dawsonville, Georgia.
The festival, which now coincides with the induction ceremony for the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, has long brought out racers and fans alike that enjoy meeting, reminiscing and sharing a fun time in the North Georgia Mountains.
The event annually draws thousands, and is listed as one of the top annual festivals in the southeast.
Rance Phillips, pictured with his daughter Lynn and his son Randy in victory lane in the late '70s.
By Mike Bell
Posted in Feature Stories 10/23/09
Some of the greatest Georgia drivers started later than others and are still racing.
Even though Rance Phillips started out drag racing in Florida, when he moved back to Waycross, Georgia, and went to work for Walker Chevrolet, he and his buddies decided to build a car to run at the local oval.
Rance remembers it this way:
Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 10/16/09
It really came as no great shock this past week when the names of the first five inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame were announced. From the time it was announced that five would be whittled down out of the 25 possible inductees, it was pretty much a pre-conceived notion who the first five would be.
Four out of the five were right on the money, they being Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Bill France, Sr. and Bill France, Jr. The only wildcard appeared to be if it would be Junior Johnson or David Pearson who would make it in. Johnson, once dubbed by writer Thomas Wolfe as “The Last American Hero”, won out.
The 2009 class of inductees to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame is one of the strongest in the seven years of the hall's history.
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 10/9/09
Friday, October 23 will be a night to honor great racers with ties to the Peach State.
That’s the night for the induction ceremony for the 2009 inductee class to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame, which is housed at the Dawsonville City Hall Municipal Complex in Dawsonville, Georgia, is entering it’s seventh year of honoring Georgia’s racing legends, and the 2009 class is one of the strongest.
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Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 10/2/09
Last week I found myself out at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia, formerly Peach State Speedway, watching a few drivers make laps as part of a tire test for November’s World Crown 300.
Among those taking laps was the defending World Crown champ, Russell Fleeman. Fleeman had been taking laps, and was talking to the Hoosier tire guys about how the car handled. A few minutes later, everyone walked over to Fleeman’s number 98 late model while his crew made changes and adjustments.
Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Jack Smith with his trophy from the 1951 NSCRA season in 1999. Photo courtesy Eddie Samples
By Eddie Samples
Posted in Feature Stories 9/25/09
I started looking at NASCAR’s list of their top 50 drivers of all time, but I never saw the name of Jack Smith.
The list was chock full of good racers but very absent of one of its best.
Anyway, I called Jack at his transmission shop in Spartanburg, South Carolina and asked to stop by to see him.
I wanted to know exactly what it was I was missing that NASCAR apparently wasn’t.
Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 9/18/09
Georgia is known as a home for many forms of auto racing. Open wheel racing, for example, long had a foothold in Georgia, with races being held at the famed Peach Bowl, Lakewood Speedway, Central City Speedway in Macon and at the old Atlanta Speedway, including big cars, Indy cars and the ever popular midgets.
And, of course, it goes without saying that Georgia was the early cradle of stock car racing, with events held all over the Peach State, including NASCAR events, ARCA, ASA and more.
NASCAR pioneers Gober Sosebee and Swayne Pritchett were remembered by their family members during the recent Arcade Centennial Celebration, which included recognition for the nearby Jackson County Speedway.
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Feature Stories 9/11/09
On August 17, the city of Arcade, Georgia, officially turned 100 years of age.
As part of their centennial celebration, city officials chose to honor and recognize the Jackson County Speedway, which was located nearby.
The Jackson County Speedway was built in 1947, and operated until sometime in the early 1950s. The track was notoriously known for an accident that led to the death of driver Swayne Pritchett, as well as for two separate accidents that took the lives of race spectators.
Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 9/4/09
I was fortunate enough earlier this week to get to witness a little piece of history.
On Monday, Micky Cain brought out the ASA Southeast Tour’s ride-along car and made the first laps at speed at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia.
In case you hadn’t heard, Gresham Motorsports Park is formerly Peach State Speedway. Towards the end of last year, the 42 year old speed plant was purchased by a group headed up by father and son Jim and Tony Gresham, whose roots in auto racing go back a long ways.
Labor Day at Lakewood Speedway, 1946
George Robson of Britain.
By Mike Bell
Posted in Feature Stories 8/27/09
In the March 2005 issue of Vintage Oval Racing magazine, there was an article on George Barringer written by Bill Barringer, his son. It contained information about George’s career and Indy racing. We contacted the magazine about getting in touch with Mr. Barringer for more information on his dad.
George “Tex” Barringer died along with the 1946 Indy 500 winner, George Robson, in an accident at Atlanta’s Lakewood Speedway on September 2, 1946.
