Trackside with Rick Minter

 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...

 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 collec...

  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 Arche...

 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...

   For a lot of us, race tracks big and small are much more than just pieces of real estate. They’re special places in our hearts, and just thinking about them evokes fond memories.  Some of my favorite tracks are gone or have uncertain futures.  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the old West Atlanta Raceway in Douglasville, especially after one of its best promoters, the late Ed Massey, was inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame last week.  West Atlanta was one of my favorites. It was on the ropes for a time after Massey’s tenure there before former Senoia Raceway owner Charlie Edwards bought it and gave it new life as Seven Flags Speedway. But that didn’t last. With residential growth closing in, complaints from neighbors and rising real estate values, it was eventually sold for development and bulldozed beyond recognition.  On the NASCAR circuit, North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham was one of my favorites. For a time it hosted the second Cup...

   Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are one of my favorite parts of sports, especially racing. Those ceremonies are a way to cement the legacy of those who have once heard the cheers of adoring fans from Saturday night short tracks to superspeedways across America.  On Saturday, the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville will induct its 2022 class. After holding inductions since 2002, one might think the Hall might be running out of deserving candidates.  Instead the opposite seems true. Every year, more qualified candidates are added to the ballot.  Some of the inductees have been on the ballot for a long time but have been overlooked by voters while others were a long time getting nominated, for one reason or another.  I was particularly happy to see Dale Singleton finally voted in. For those who don’t know, he was one of the most successful independent motorcycle racers ever.  The Dalton native twice won the prestigious Daytona 200, o...

   Charlie Loudermilk, best known for his founding of the Aaron’s Rents company and his philanthropy, died this week at the age of 95.  You may be wondering at this point why you’re reading about Mr. Loudermilk in a racing blog. Well here’s why.  I got to know Mr. Loudermilk through Tom Beard, one of the co-owners of the old MB2 race team that once fielded cars in the Cup Series. Mr. Loudermilk’s company was a big NASCAR sponsor at that time, but the company president, Ken Butler, was the face of the sponsorship for most fans and those in the industry.  Tom kept insisting that I needed to get to know Mr. Loudermilk so I drove up to Atlanta and went to lunch with them.  The first thing I found out was that Mr. Loudermilk was way smarter about modern-day racing than I ever imagined.  He seemed to have a pretty good eye for driving talent or lack of it, even though he didn’t get involved in the day-to-day decision making at the teams his company...