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Proud Daddy

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  In several conversations with Sonny Pollard since he and his family repurchased Senoia Raceway and began transforming it into one of dirt racing’s better facilities, he’s asked me: “Do you think my daddy would be proud?”  And my answer is always: “Yes.”  Hence Pollard died young and has been gone for years, but his influence on Georgia auto racing remains strong, and that’s a big reason he was recently elected as a member of the Class of 2023 of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. He joins long-time Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark, Hall of Fame founder Gordon Pirkle and short-track asphalt racers Bob Leach and Sandy Goss.  On a personal note, it was Hence who helped start my career as a motorsports journalist by giving me a season pass when I was just a teenager. I tried to repay him by sending in results from the track to the old Atlanta radio stations WBIE and WPLO and to the Atlanta newspapers, and that eventually led to a career as a full-time writer.  I still have
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The Rest Of The Story

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    It makes me feel really old to be writing about something that happened 50 years ago, but here goes anyway.  Back in 1973, I went to many a race with a group of men from my hometown of Inman and thereabouts. Most of them are gone now. My distant cousins, Wesley, Weldon and Ronnie Stubbs were regulars in our group, as were Freeman Clemons and Pete Gay.  Cecil Dunn went occasionally, and it’s refreshing that his memory of the things we saw back then matches up with mine. Cecil and I were standing next to the backstretch fence in 1975 when Tiny Lund was killed in a crash just in front of us. We also watched as two Georgia men, watching from the infield across from us, scaled the fence and rescued Terry Link from his burning car, even as a track worker was using his caution flag as a weapon to try to keep the two heroes away from Link’s car, which had impacted Lund’s. (Years later, thanks to a savvy researcher at the newspaper, I was able to interview Richard Simpson and David Garm
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New Year, Old Sayings

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  I intended to come up with something new for my first racing blog of 2023.     Instead my thoughts keep taking me back to a familiar theme – about how all forms of racing are in it together and to the old saying about how a rising tide lifts all boats.  As the new season gets underway, there are lots of positive signs across the motorsports spectrum,  including some healthy cross-pollination.   The NHRA’s professional circuit is drawing big crowds and a good TV audience. Despite the harsh weather, Atlanta Motor Speedway had a good crowd for its Cup Series race on a chilly  Sunday afternoon .  Last week at Circuit of the Americas, the Cup race saw two Formula One veterans and an IMSA champ compete against the NASCAR regulars. Afterwards, all three had good things to say about the driving abilities of the NASCAR drivers they raced against.  Based on the pictures I saw from the motorcycle races at Senoia last week, that circuit drew an outstanding crowd even though the weather  Saturday
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Things That Make You Say "Wow"

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 As I sit here on a rainy night in Georgia, I’m thinking about some things I’ve seen lately that have me saying “Wow!” to myself.  On a personal note, I recently received my red, white and blue Medicare card in the mail. Since I lost my health insurance along with my job at the big newspaper we’ve paid some really hefty premiums for some not-so-great coverage.  We even had some agents look at our medical history and tell us our best hope is to hurry up and turn 65.  I’m here now, and it feels pretty darn good.  On the racing front, I, like a million or more others, am still marveling at the way Ross Chastain rode the wall on the last lap at Martinsville Speedway to pass five drivers for position and claim a playoff berth.  I’ve had several drivers, good ones, tell me they’ve often wondered if that would work. Of course none of them ever tried it, which makes what Ross did even more impressive.  Just today, I saw something else on the racing front that I thought I’d never se
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Filling Those Shoes

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 I’ve always thought there’s a country song that fits nearly every situation. The late Loretta Lynn became world famous by boldly writing and singing about issues she and others, particularly women, faced.  As I pondered what to write leading into the Hence and Reba Pollard Memorial race at Senoia Raceway this weekend, the tune that comes to mind is: “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes."  It was written by Troy Seals and Max Barnes and made famous by George Jones. The song features Jones, one legendary giant of the industry, singing about his peers and those who came before them and wondering who, if anyone, would step up and carry country music forward when the current stars are all gone.  I remember thinking similar thoughts when we lost Hence and then Reba Pollard. It was the same when the star drivers of my youth got older and no longer chased checkered flags.  Closer to home, I also wonder who will step up to fill the shoes of the aging antique iron collectors who have been
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Honoring a Pioneer

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  My wife’s 1950 Ford dump truck is special to her for several reasons. For starters, she bought it from the late Vernon Woods of Brooks, a great friend to both of us back in the day.  And it has something in common with NASA’s Lunar Rover. Both have parts made by the late machinist David Castile, who will be honored at Senoia Raceway Saturday night.   Castile worked at a machine shop in Griffin, owned by Frank Ingram, who worked on many high-tech projects for the US Government and others. The duo also worked on one of the first artificial heart pumps.   In addition to his other pursuits, David Castile, who died last December, was a dirt track racer who got his start at the old Zebulon Speedway and was in the starting field for the first-ever race at Senoia back in 1969.  Castile, who raced in the old Limited Sportsman class, was one of a group of Griffin-area racers that included Roscoe Smith, Kenneth Collins, Bobby Pryor and the late Leon Archer among others.  Castile, like m
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Racing Friends

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 The 25th annual Inman Farm Heritage Days, held each year on our family farm, wrapped up last Sunday.  By most all accounts, it was one of the best, if not the best, Heritage Days yet.  Like most everything else in my life, Inman Farm Heritage Days has strong ties to the racing community.  As we get back to Senoia Raceway after a few weeks off and take in the Michael Head Jr. Memorial Southern All Stars race, I can’t help but think of the death of young Michael Head and how it’s related to Inman Farm Heritage Days.  Back on a Sunday in April of 1997, on Joanne’s birthday, she and I were picking up rocks, by hand, on what would become our showgrounds in a few months. (Some birthday celebration, right?)  My pager went off. It was Carolyn Head calling. I immediately called her back. In a calm, measured voice she informed me that her son had been killed.  Joanne and I can take you to within a few feet of exactly where we were standing when we got that call.   Carolyn and Mike Head and thei
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