Lakewood Speedway

Just a little something different, from the last race at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, GA.The winner wasBuck Simmons. Lakewood was a one mile dirt track that went back to the old AAA days of the champ cars and had early stock car races and raced off and on up until the mid nineties.

Again check some of Brandon Reeds Posts for more information on Lakewood as he has been involved with the Lakewood reunion as well as having articles and sometimes talking to many of the early drivers.

I drove in both races at Lakewood in 1967. Curtis Turner won the first one driving Bruce Brantley's #27 1955 Chevy. I didn't remember who won the 2nd one so I assume it was Buck.

I had problems in the first race as I hit a large (BIG) rock that had gotten dug up in turn two and it tore the botton of my race car up.Tiny Lund was beside me on the inside (he was lapping me) and as we came out of two there it was and I was right on top of it. No way to miss it.

In the 2nd race I had motor problems and had to drop out.

It was a thrill driving that flat, dirt, mile, track. It could get your attention bigtime.

I was there when Curtis won. I remember being in the infield after the race and somebody saying to Curtis, " I hear they're talking about paving this track", to which Curtis answered, "Hell, don't let'em do that, you'll have to come here and race wearing a suit". I remember Curtis didn't get there until nearly race time and Brantley qualified the car, red with a black top '64-65 Chevelle if I remember right. That might have been the second race you mentioned?

I remember Tootle Estees, Tiger Tom and many others.

I'm not sure who won the second race you were talking about.

The last races I'm showing the photos of was in the late eighties or early ninties. They reopened the track and ran a couple of latemodel races. I can't figure out why the photos above don't show up???

Front straight:

the infamous turn one and two, hard to make after such a long straight:

They just show up as file numbers on my end?

A much younger Ronnie Johnson in the pits with the lake in the background. Note the car on the back straight, pretty far across.

I was at both races that year, sure Doug cox of greenville,s.c. won the other,thanks still love to here anything about the track. rick hunter

Did she say her board was possessed?

My dad ran there a long time ago and we went up a couple of times with my car and he was preaching to me how the first n second turns would bit you after setting sail down the long straight,you know what? It reached right up and got me not once but twice. It created an illusion to me long flat and mean,but a fun track when you respect it.-------------------------------memories

Those are great shots Robert!!! I am impressed. However, you said that they closed it, and re-opened it in the late 80's...but not to my knowledge. In 79', they ran two races, with Buck winning the last, on labor day. In 1983, apromoterheld horse race there once again and as far as I know, that horse race was the last race of any kind at the track. Now...the Aaron's LakewoodAmphitheateris in the entrance of turn three. Actually, to build the out door theater, they cut out turns three and four and that's where the ticket office is. They filled in part of the lake and put an access road in the middle, along with paving both straights for extra parking. The stands are there...but crumbling. And the old fairground buildings, which were constructed in 1915, are being used by movie companies for sound stages (I guess that's what their called??)

Thanks for sharing some of your collection!

I have 4 great picture of cars at Lakewood from 1970 and would love to share them, trouble is I don't know how to load them into the system. If someone would send me an email address I will scan them and send them to you and let you post them on the reunion site for everyone to enjoy. Mike Ashley mwashley78@att.net

Cody, I'm sure you're right. My brain's time clock doesn't work as well as it once did. I really hated that they destroyed such a historic track.

This is what turn 1-2 will do:

Ya'll don't forget the 5th Annual Lakewood at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville Ga this Saturday!!!!

Tiny Lund at Lakewood NASCAR Grand American race April 4, 1970 photo by Howard O'Reilly

Photo 2 Charlie Padgett of Woodstock Ga, #34 Nelson Stacy of Atlanta in a 64 Mercury #1--50 Late Model Modified Race August 16 1970--Howard O'Reilly photo

Photo 3 Gary Rowe of Monroe GA, rides his 69 Chevelle back to the pits after a hard hit. 50 lap late model race August 16,1970 Photo by Howard O'Reilly

Mike, I'm going to try to post your photos here: Sorry I didn't get to do this last night. Thanks for the photos.

photo 1: Lakewood #3 Raymond Payne; Forest City, NC. #6 Frank Cullum; Clarkston, GA; Gary Rowe of Monroe GA, rides his 69 Chevelle back to the pits after a hard hit. 50 lap late model race August 16,1970 Photo by Howard O'Reilly

photo 2: Gary Rowe of Monroe GA, rides his 69 Chevelle back to the pits after a hard hit. 50 lap late model race Gary Rowe of Monroe GA, rides his 69 Chevelle back to the pits after a hard hit. 50 lap late model race August 16,1970 Photo by Howard O'Reilly

photo 3: Photo 2 Charlie Padgett of Woodstock Ga, #34 Nelson Stacy of Atlanta in a 64 Mercury #1--50 Late Model Modified Race August 16 1970--Howard O'Reilly photo

photo 4: Tiny Lund at Lakewood NASCAR Grand American race April 4, 1970 photo by Howard O'Reilly

What really great Lakewood stories and photos all of you are posting here.

That looks like a kudzu monster creeping down the bank to the track. Bet it didn't take long for that to overgrow things.

These photos are terrific guys! Can't thank ya'll enough for posting these pictures!

I really enjoythe stories and photos you guys have posted. I've never been there but it sure looks like it would take 45 seconds to get around the entire track.

A a few questions:

What was the average car count in the late model class?

Were there any lights or was it all daylight racing?

How many laps in the LM class?

What is that big white building in turn 4?

This is the biggest track I've seen in the modern era that was still clay, I can't imagine the speeds you could get up to before the turns! I could see it being intimdating to a rookie.

Great discussion, keep em' coming!

KUDZU is the state flower of GA. It was a gift of the Federal Darn Government as a way to keep down erosion. If only we could find good reason to charge for it our troubles would be over.

There is a rumor that goats will eat kudzu, lol!

How long do you experts figure it would take kudzu to envelope Capitol Hill and spare us our current misery?

Some of the others could probably tell this better:

What was the average car count in the late model class?.... I think that Lakewood was always a big event track even in it's early days. They ran champ cars and stock cars (read as Bootleggers cars) early and NASCAR Strickly Stock, and Sportsman cars through the years.

Were there any lights or was it all daylight racing?.... The only lights I remember were on the front straight. They would use the front straight in front of the grandstands for the "Joey Chitwood and the Hurricane Hell Drivers" shows at the South Eastern Fair each year.

How many laps in the LM class?.. Again this was mostly a special event track and ran 100 mile or so shows.

What is that big white building in turn 4?.... That is one of many exibition halls on the grounds, this is a state fair grounds complex and was where the South Eastern Fair was held each year.

If you will look closely you will find that this is the track used in the movie "Smokey and the Bandit". They blew up the old wooden roller coaster for one movie.

I don't know what kind of speeds they were turning when Buck won or even the older cars, but I bet is was pretty fast. Cody / Brandon are there any records that the GARHOF has that you might add?

Here are few other shots:

here.

lol!

When we moved to Spartanburg in spring 1986, we first moved into Bud Moore's lake house on Lake Bowen then rented a brand new house.

The rental property was in the vicinity of WWII Camp Croft and (we quickly learned) near ground contaminated by petroleum seepage from the huge tank farms nearby.

What really stunned us was when we learned there was a closed swim and racket club directly across the street. We didn't know it, because it had been completely taken over by kudzu run wild... my first experience with the stuff. Especially at night you could smell the stuff. There was a huge olympic size swimming pool sitting empty under the stuff.

We didn't stay in that eerie, kudzu covered Spartanburg neighborhood long. That was a spooky place and we were uncomfortable the entire time we were there.

Thanks Robert, your answers are pretty good and being the races were considered "big event" races I'd imagine the car count was pretty good, especially with the caliber of drivers that raced there. Being the races were 100 laps or so on a one-mile track speaks for it's self (100 miles). Again, this is good stuff.

Anymore stories?

Tommy Clinard,when you raced at Lakewood,was the lake still intact?I've seen ariel views of the track,back in the day,and it looked like alot of fun.

David, I'm not Tommy but the photo of someone sking on the lake was taken at the last race held there.

Thanks Robert,The facility looked like a fun place to do whatever.Very cool!

Mike,looking any pictures of may 1970, if any those you have car #30 please let me know.THANKS rick hunter

And who wont he last race there ?

Is Buck Simmons not the winner of the final Lakewood race?

Tommy - Were both of those races on the same day?