Rare racing poster for the Thomaston Speedway, Georgia. I searched the internet and couldn't find any information on this, can you help with the history?
@dave-fulton13 years ago
Jim, I did find the following little note referencing Thomaston in a Living Legends of Auto racing piece on the Legends of NASCAR website about driver Jack Smith: Jack was born in Illinois but moved to Georgia when he was two. His first race was at Thomaston, Georgia in 1946. He explained, "I used to watch those guys before the war out at Lakewood and knew I could do that. When I got old enough I entered a race in Thomaston. I qualified second to defending national champion Roy Hall but after the race started I spun out a whole bunch so I knew I had some learning ahead of me."
@dave-fulton13 years ago
I also found a reference in the story about Raymond Parks donating his memorabilia to the NASCAR Hall of Fame that his donated collection included the trophy won by Bob Flock in 1946 at Thomaston.
@dave-fulton13 years ago
Also found a reference to Thomaston in a racin'today.com story about the Atlanta Stock Car club, a group of black drivers, including Ben Muckle,who raced on southeastern dirt tracks in the late40s-early50s. Here's that excerpt: It was called the Atlanta Stock Car Club. Its members were among the sports earliest pioneers. From the late 1940s to the mid-50s, they traveled across the Southeast, running modified flat-head Fords on dusty dirt tracks to cheers of hundreds if not thousands of fans. Sadly, their existence was poorly documented. Only an occasional article in Speed Age magazines or the Atlanta Daily World tells the story of a truly unique part of American history. The driving members of the Club included the twin Muckle brothers, Ben and George, Richard Red Kines, Arthur The Decatur Express Avery, Robert Juckie Lewis, James Suicide Lacey, Joe Daniels and Charlie Scott, who earned his place in NASCAR history by being the first black driver to race in the division now known as Sprint Cup. Scott, no relation to Wendell Scott, drove a Carl Kiekhaefer-owned Chrysler on the beach at Daytona in 1956, finishing 19th in a race won by his teammate and fellow Atlantan Tim Flock. But the Atlanta Stock Car Club had been thriving long before that, even before the formation of NASCAR in 1948. The earliest black races were for motorcycle riders like 1945 and 1946 Thomaston Speedway champion Bill Thompson, C.S. Cherry and Bill Goar, also a promoter in those days. Soon the racers were driving cars, and promoters were capitalizing on the new idea. Members of the club promoted races and arranged bus service to the tracks from downtown Atlanta pick-up points. That made it convenient and safe in the Jim Crow days for fans to travel to the outlying race tracks. BEN MUCKLE
@jim-wilmore13 years ago
Great stuff Dave, thanks for researching this information. Here is the link to this poster on ebay Thomaston Speedway Poster Of course the auction will end and this message will be obsolete but someone may be interested in purchasing it.
Jim, I did find the following little note referencing Thomaston in a Living Legends of Auto racing piece on the Legends of NASCAR website about driver Jack Smith: Jack was born in Illinois but moved to Georgia when he was two. His first race was at Thomaston, Georgia in 1946. He explained, "I used to watch those guys before the war out at Lakewood and knew I could do that. When I got old enough I entered a race in Thomaston. I qualified second to defending national champion Roy Hall but after the race started I spun out a whole bunch so I knew I had some learning ahead of me."
I also found a reference in the story about Raymond Parks donating his memorabilia to the NASCAR Hall of Fame that his donated collection included the trophy won by Bob Flock in 1946 at Thomaston.
Also found a reference to Thomaston in a racin'today.com story about the Atlanta Stock Car club, a group of black drivers, including Ben Muckle,who raced on southeastern dirt tracks in the late40s-early50s. Here's that excerpt: It was called the Atlanta Stock Car Club. Its members were among the sports earliest pioneers. From the late 1940s to the mid-50s, they traveled across the Southeast, running modified flat-head Fords on dusty dirt tracks to cheers of hundreds if not thousands of fans. Sadly, their existence was poorly documented. Only an occasional article in Speed Age magazines or the Atlanta Daily World tells the story of a truly unique part of American history. The driving members of the Club included the twin Muckle brothers, Ben and George, Richard Red Kines, Arthur The Decatur Express Avery, Robert Juckie Lewis, James Suicide Lacey, Joe Daniels and Charlie Scott, who earned his place in NASCAR history by being the first black driver to race in the division now known as Sprint Cup. Scott, no relation to Wendell Scott, drove a Carl Kiekhaefer-owned Chrysler on the beach at Daytona in 1956, finishing 19th in a race won by his teammate and fellow Atlantan Tim Flock. But the Atlanta Stock Car Club had been thriving long before that, even before the formation of NASCAR in 1948. The earliest black races were for motorcycle riders like 1945 and 1946 Thomaston Speedway champion Bill Thompson, C.S. Cherry and Bill Goar, also a promoter in those days. Soon the racers were driving cars, and promoters were capitalizing on the new idea. Members of the club promoted races and arranged bus service to the tracks from downtown Atlanta pick-up points. That made it convenient and safe in the Jim Crow days for fans to travel to the outlying race tracks.
Great stuff Dave, thanks for researching this information. Here is the link to this poster on ebay Thomaston Speedway Poster Of course the auction will end and this message will be obsolete but someone may be interested in purchasing it.