Hall County, Georgia, just east of my hometown of Dawsonville, Georgia, is rich in Georgia Racing History. Not only has there been several hall of fame caliper drivers to claim Hall County as their residence, but there has been numerous tracks in the county. In fact, there has been 6 tracks, most now a 'ghost'. One of the earliest tracks in the area was simply known as the "Gainesville Fairgrounds", which started life as a horse track and switched to stock cars somewhere around 1940. After the war, racing resumed until around 1947 The site is now a shopping center.

Another facility was the "Gainesville Raceway", which was a short, dirt track. The track was built sometime in the 1950's and lasted several years. It's closure came because of it's location. Stories say that it was located in the middle of nowhere and when the race was over with, many fans would be robbed.

Track number three was known as the "Hall County Speedway", which was a dirt half mile. It played host to what's known in this part of the country as 'skeeters'. The track was built around 1958 and lasted for a good 10 years until it closed. However, the property still remains and some parts of the track can still be seen.

A more known track of the county was known both as Gainesville Speedway, but most refer it to "Looper Speedway". This track was opened in 1947 by Dawsonville resident, Max Looper. For nearly 10 years, it was a fairly popular track drawing names such as Gober Sosebee, Charlie Mincey, Lee Petty, and Fireball Roberts. Around 1956 when the Army Corp of Engineers were planning to build one of the largest lakes in Georgia - Lake Lanier. Simply put, the Corp told everyone in the lake's path that you had a certain amount of time to get out, or they would be flooded. The lake was completed in 1959. Several years ago when we had a severe drought, you could see the concrete grandstands of the old track, but now the lake is up again.

Track number 5 in Hall County is known as Road Atlanta, a 2.5 mile, 12 turn road course that was built on 750 acres of farmland in 1969. The first race was held in September of 1970, hosting a Can-Am event. The track has hosted sanctioning bodies as such the SCCA, Trans-Am, Camel GT and various types of NASCAR. The track was bought by NASCAR in 2012 and is currently home to the Petit LeMans, one of the largest road racing events in the country.

The last track we'll talk about is the subject of my article tonight, which is the Lanier Speedway. It was announced yesterday that the track was sold, but no details are available yet as to who the new owner is...and if it'll even continue to be a race track. Lanier Speedway is literally across the street from Road Atlanta. The two driveways are less than a 1/8 mile apart. Lanier was built by Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Inductee, Bud Lunsford, the champion of champions with over 1,000 career wins. The track opened in 1982 as a 3/8 mile dirt oval. For a solid four years, the track played host to some of the best racing that dirt had to offer in Georgia. They ran dirt late models, hobby cars and even sprint cars - featuring those such as Ken Schrader, and the Swindells. At the start of the 1986 season, with the Metro Atlanta area growing every day, Lunsford made the decision to pave his already famous track, something he'd always dreamed of. Throughout it's asphalt career the track played host to ARCA, ASA, CRA, NASCAR Busch races, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series among hundreds of local races that always put on a show. One unique thing about Lanier was the track-side parking. On the back stretch, Lanier had 'stair-steps' carved into the backside hill. It was basically like bleachers, but for cars. The backside even had it's own restrooms and concession stands. The stair-step trackside parking was a first, and to my knowledge is the only track that features it. During the late 90's up into the 2000's was the tracks prime, drawing sold-out crowds at every race. Lanier has given many well-known races success and even first wins. This list includes David Ragan, Chase Elliott, Buckshot Jones, Reed Sorenson, and even Joey Logano (in Legend Cars). Lanier has had divisions such as Bandeleros, Legends, Street Stocks, Trucks, Mini Stocks, Pro/Super Late Models and even full stock cars.

In September of 2011, Lanier officials announced that for the first time since 1982 the facility would not finish the season. In March of 2012, one final late model race was ran, then the track has sat. I drove by this last December and it's amazing what a couple of years can do to a track. From what I saw, you can't even tell that there is a parking lot, and the track surface has weeds waist high; the press boxes were in dyer need of restoration. However, as of yesterday (January 20th, 2014) the track has been sold, but no word has been released on who purchased it, or what will become of the track. Some suggested that it would be turned back into it's former self as a dirt track, but now as busy as GA HWY 53 is now-a-days, it unlikely. Some rumors came about last year that Tony Stewart was looking to purchase the track, but that deal fell through. I can only hope that the track will be revived and possibly restored. To date, there are three operational asphalt tracks in the state - Gresham Motorsports Park, Watermelon Capital Speedway, and South Georgia Motorpsorts Park, none however are within distance for competition.

Hopefully we will hear something concerning the future for the track!