I was fortunate to attend the event in Augusta, Georgia this weekend, presented by the Augusta International Raceway Preservation Society. The 10th Annual Hall of Fame Inductions included Dink Widenhouse, James Burnett, Jack Cosnahan, Leonard Sharpe and Big John Arrington. It was great to see Leonard Sharpe again, and it is always a pleasure to hang around with Dink Widenhouse and hear his stories. Great to see Dink's wife Frances as well.
Saturday, the weather was as perfect as it could possibly be for an outdoor event. Plenty of sunshine, a very slight breeze, and although some may have considered it on the warm side, I think it was only in the lower 80s.
The "Adventure" really began when I was sitting at the autograph table with Eddie Spurling and Rex White and Rex mentioned driving around the old Augusta Road Course, which ran only ONE Grand National race, in November, 1963, which would become the last victory for Fireball Roberts. I, along with several members of our recently "Chartered" Richard Petty Fan Club of Columbia made the trip that Sunday in a 1956 black and white Plymouth Station Wagon, two door no less. We claimed a spot in the infield near what was a large pond, or commonly referred to as a "lake" by Augusta standards. We planted our "Plymouth 43 flag" on the fence. We spent a large part of the race walking around the infield boundary so we could see as much of the track as possible and watch the cars in different places. That was, and remains to this day, the ONLY road course race I have witnessed in person other than rush hour traffic around Columbia. We were as close to the start finish line as we could get when Fireball's lavender Ford number 22 took the checkers. As usual, we hung around as long as we could get away with talking to drivers and just breathing in the air of the race track.
Rex mentioned, during a break in the autographs, that he and Eddie had just ridden around what was left of the track. Upon hearing that, my ears immediately perked up and I ask for further information. Rex and Eddie filled me in on exactly how to do it. As soon as autographs were over, I walked out, jumped in my van and headed to the track, along with Luke Thompson who agreed to lead me through the distance in his truck.
I guess it took me a good 30 minutes to circle the track with all its twists and turns. Partly because most of the track is now faded to dirt, or dirt and very loose gravel, but there are places where the very rough asphalt remains. There are a couple of the turns still paved and the degree of banking was quite a surprise. I did not recall the banking being so steep when watching from the infield.
Part of the track runs along the remaining pond (Lake) and that part is now entirely loose gravel and dirt. I stopped there for just a few minutes, turned off my engine, leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. My over active imagination could see the tail lights of Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly, Richard Petty and Rex White as they headed down to the up coming turns. I was back in 1963, I was a teenager again, and the heroes of my youth were racing the Augusta 510 on a Sunday afternoon.
Luke came back to find me and make sure I wasn't lost so I was awaken from by dreams of an earlier time in racing history. As we traveled back to Diamond Lakes where the Reunion was held (on site at the speedway) we traveled down the last remaining section of the track, now entirely dirt and running down a narrow passageway with pine trees on both sides. As Luke disappeared ahead of me in the blinding dust, the sun coming through the trees reflected on the beams of that dust as if to say "come back again, I'll be here and you can once again remember what happened here in 1963".
It truly was an adventure, but then everytime I'm able to be around the history of this sport, it is an adventure. Looking forward to Occoneechee in two weeks!
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.
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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
