[caption id="attachment_3305" align="alignright" width="200"]
A vintage diagram of the track[/caption]
In 1909, Asa Candler found property near Hapeville, Georgia, just south of where the NASCAR track is today, and built a two-mile dirt track costing him over $500,000. Candler saw how positive the building of the Indianapolis Speedway was becoming, so he thought one was needed in Atlanta. The track in fact, was loosely based on Indy; it was just a bit over two miles in length, except this track had round turns instead of being squared like Indy, where it has "short chutes" between the turns. It did have banking, but nobody ever recorded the track telemetry like they do today. I would guess from the few pictures floating around, it probably had less than 20 degrees in the turns. The track even had a grandstand much like what you see today. The wooden stands were built up with the front stretch carved lower than the back. This way, the people in the crowds could look above the cars and watch them pass by. Many tracks of the time and even years ahead had fans viewing from the same level as the racing surface. The facility was called "Candler Field" by Candler, but the local papers named it both the Atlanta Motordrome, or the Atlanta Speedway. It even had a trolley service built that ran from downtown Atlanta to the front gate of the track. At the time, people were becoming curious about auto racing. Even though the average automobile wasn't within the reach of all, horses (for travel at least) were becoming a thing of the past.
[caption id="attachment_3306" align="alignleft" width="300"]
This postcard is from the first "Festival of Speed" in early
November 1909.[/caption]
In November of '09, Candler had planned a 5-Day "Festival of Speed". During the week, many famous drivers attended, such as Barney Oldfield, Louis Chevrolet, and Ralph DePalma. Record attendance showed up to watch Chevrolet win a 200-lap race, which in return, earned him the "Coca-Cola" Cup with an average speed of just over 71 mph. Another Louis, Strang that is, set a 1-mile speed record... 7 seconds faster than that same record set at Indianapolis earlier that year. At the end of the week , Asa Candler realized that race promoting was a hard business, and he would barely have enough to cover his expenses. He would wait 'til May of 1910 to hold the next race. Ray Harroun from Pennsylvania won the 200-lap event, this time sanctioned by AAA. There were only 7 drivers entered this time, and Ray won by over 3 minutes. There would be just two more races in the track's history.
[caption id="attachment_3307" align="alignright" width="250"]
A picture of one of the cars from the inaugural race. *Notice the
wooden pit boxes, much like a garage stall*[/caption]
Starting in 1911, Candler tried to host air shows, and some motorcycle races, but they never really did well. In 1912, the grandstands were torn down and left to sit. In 1923, negotiations were made to destroy the track and build an Atlanta airport, named after Mayor Hartsfield. The first flight from the airfield was in 1926, even getting a visit from Charles Lindbergh in 1927. By 1930, it was the third busiest airport in the country. Today, it is the most visited airport in the world. If you look at some aerial views, you can somewhat see the straight-a-ways, which are now the runways. Until some additions in the late '70s, the banking was still visible. Now it's just airstrips. There's only a few pictures, and nobody that attended those races is alive. The Atlanta Motordrome is just a memory; it closed over 100 years ago. But it's still a good memory and quite fascinating to think that the sport of auto racing helped take flight, right here in Georgia.
-Cody
Email: cody7474@yahoo.com
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