The Bounty

 With the Pollard family’s return to ownership and management of Senoia Raceway and the accompanying emphasis on the track’s history and heritage, my mind wanders back to some of what I consider the greatest moments of my time at the track.

 The summer of 1979 stands out. The Late Model class offered up spirited battles between drivers like Leon Archer, Roscoe Smith, Doug Kenimer, Dennis Vernon, Leon Sells, Billy Clanton, Mike Head, Russell Nelson and Charlie Mincey. All of those except Vernon, who hasn’t been nominated, are now in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

  The Limited Sportsman division also was packed with talent.

 Drivers like Gar Dickson, Buddy Dingler, Len Harper, Horace Fowler, Gilbert Jenkins, Mike Bagwell, Larry Raines, Gary Gourley, Phillip Goss, Sammy Cooper, Jerry Couch and Tommy Cumbie were regular threats to win, but Ricky Williams seemed to wind up on top more often than the rest.

 Williams hit a particularly hot streak in late July of ‘79, and after four consecutive wins, track officials placed a $100 bounty on him and his gold No. 17 Camaro.

  Buddy Dingler took the checkered flag the next week but wouldn’t tear down the engine in his red No. 4 Camaro, so the bounty grew to $200. The following week, after a hard crash at Rome on Sunday night, Williams, in his hastily-repaired car, ran his Senoia streak to six, taking the checkered flag and surviving a protest from runner-up Gilbert Jenkins to keep the bounty money for himself, as track rules specified.

 The following week, the bounty came to an end.

 Raines, the Cumming, Ga., driver and his blue No. 37 Camaro, ended Williams’ streak with a dominant win on Sept. 15. He too survived a protest and left the track with a bigger payday than the Late Model winner.

 Raines, in a phone conversation this week, recalled the winning move.

 “I was running third,” he said. “In Turn Two, I passed one on the inside and the other on the outside, took the lead and drove away down the back straightaway.

 “It was the best-driving car I ever had.”

 I also talked to Ricky Williams about those days, and he and Larry sounded like they were reading from the same script.

 Both talked about how much fun they had those Saturday nights decades ago, even though they were quite serious about their racing.

 They spoke of the respect they had for their competitors.

 “Even though Ricky won the most, there were eight or 10 drivers who could win on any night,” Raines said.

 And both said that while their Limited Sportsman days at Senoia might not have been the absolute best of their careers, they were certainly right at the top.

 Raines said he and his long-time sidekick Harry Moseley still today often reminisce about their days of racing at Senoia.

 Some of you might wonder why young drivers of today like Ricky’s grandson Bailey Williams, or Dylan Knowles or Austin Horton or Colby Darda would want to read about races that happened more than 40 years ago, long before they were born.

 The reason is that youth is fleeting. Those young whipper snappers might not realize it now, but they may well be in the midst of the best times of their lives.

  I hope they enjoy them as much as we did our time back in the day.



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