In any case, I know you didn't come to see me today; you came to hear Johnny spin another of his "Memories", which has been his tag word here at RacersReunion for as long as he's been Without further ado, here is Johnny, replete with all his memories.

The new year has come, and gone are the days of waiting for a race to appear. We pulled the new car out and parked it alongside the shop where the old car was sitting. A couple of people stopped to see what that black car looked like up close. I will say this much; I was in love with how the car looked. It was built low to begin with and everything that was placed or changed didn't change this new stance it had.  It was hiked up a little in the rear; just enough to give it that west coast look that was the rave. The wheels stuck out from under the body, causing a wicked look.  It was wider in front than in back, and that did cause a minor discomfort in that we had to load it nose to the rear.  It wouldn't go between the trailer tires. Dad said if it didn't tow good we would build a new trailer.

I had been working on a little '37 Ford pickup to tow the car with and really wanted to use it. Finally, the time has come to load up and head to McRae GA. Everyone is antsy to go racing, and McRae is opening this weekend. No one wants to go any worse than I do, especially with a new car that was built over the winter. Dad takes the whole shop down so if anything goes wrong it can be fixed.

We arrive early just to be sure we got it all right, or as right as possible. After a few laps, I pull in and no real leaks show up. This car has a semi elliptic spring setup on it, so it is going to take a little tweaking to get the grip it needs.  No problems other than setup, so the car is fast out of the box . Time trials put us on the pole... outside pole, that is. Inside is an old hothead that wants to bully his way all the time.

First heat race comes up and we are in the rear. Fast cars start in the rear, as that gives some others a chance to move up into the feature.  I dodge a couple of wrecks and keep my new girl straight. We finish second and actually, it was easy for a change. We get a lot of lookers in the pits and most really like it. Those guys from Augusta way also give it a once over and I guess we passed because no one left laughing and pointing. Seriously, Harold Fountain is an alright guy to race with and to have as a friend.

The other heats are over and the Trophy Dash is up next. Top 5 line up for a 5-lap shootout...   winner take all.  I finish third, with Harold taking honors. So now it's either put up or shut up time... the feature is next.  We pull out and get lined up and beside me on the pole pulls up an old problem child from last year. You see, he beat and banged his way through the pack on a regular basis.  Dad told me not to give so much when cars started pushing and shoving so instructions were given.

After a couple of pace laps, it's green flag.  Out front hothead goes and it's follow the leader for a couple of laps, then I stick my nose up beside him on the outside and he slides up. Next lap I tap him gently to tell him I'm still here, then I go high again; same thing happens.  OK,  you can't get under him because he is tighter than Danica was at Daytona on the bottom. I tried to pry him off the bottom but that wouldn't work, no way, no fashion. After kinda bumping him, trying to rattle his cage (as Dale senior would say)  I go up high again and here he comes, bound and determined I wasn't passing up there either. I got beside him one time and the dang fool almost ran me off the backstretch. Looking back, there is a hungry pack behind me, waiting for him to either wreck us both or put me out of commission.  I ease myself up behind him one more time and act like I'm going low but quickly slipped to the top... way up to the top and set up a slide to pass him by. Here he comes up on a tear after me, so I let him know I was there and around he goes to the right into the hay bales protecting the end of the grandstand fence. I stop before I hit anything and there in the middle of the track he sits, spinning around slowly on his top. His crew or friends come running onto the track, worried about their spinning top. I ease on around the track, away from that mob that comes out of the infield. After a pause to clear the track of hay bales and other items not needed, we finally get going again. That gives me a chance to really work the new car around on the track and I actually found out it worked better up high, or maybe I felt better on the high side. The race ends with Harold Fountain winning the feature and I ended up second. Second seems normal with Harold.

I was offered a promise by the spinning top that he would get even with me. Now just to keep my side of the story true you can look at the series of photos that are part of the story. You can see him taking me to the fence. and where he ends. We go home feeling good with the new car, so next week it's Swainsboro Speedway's  opening race. Hope to see you there. This was the first race of 1968 in Middle Georgia.  You see, we have the greatest racing in the world with 6 tracks all running within as 100 mile radius, but don't go away... the list will continue to grow.

-Johnny

Email: johnny16070@gmail.com

That brings us to the end of today's journey, but I have a feeling we'll be at Swainsboro Speedway the next time we go out driving through the Southern Nights.

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