And I found an email from Jerry Bushmire in my inbox with this photo of Linda Vaughn at Chattanooga International Raceway back in the day. As a Dalton, GA girl, she didn't have far to travel for this race - that is if she still lived at home back then.
Revisiting a thread started back in mid-June, I jumped Exit 1 of I-75 at the state line of GA and TN on my way back from Daytona. Snapped a couple of pics at Boyd's Speedway.
I respected the close gate, the no trespassing sign and the boocoodle of mud remaining from 3 or 4 consecutive days of rain.
Question answered. But umm, The Noogans don't claim him. 
Later known just as Herb Adcox Chevrolet. Herb's dealership was on Lee Highway in the Brainerd area of Chattanooga - not more than 15-20 minutes or so from Boyd's. Sadly, after many years of selling Chevrolet cars, the government forcibly divorced him from GM as part of their bailout of the auto industry. After moving over to just used cars, his dealership finally closed for good earlier this year.
A very poignant photo of Herb from 2012. More photos [ here ].
And one of the principals of MB2 Racing - Nelson Bowers - was a Noogan (maybe still is). He founded Bowers Automotive Group . The team fielded the candy cars for drivers such as Derrike Cope, Ernie Irvan and Ken Schrader. And if memory serves, the owners then sold to Bobby Ginn who in turn folded his team into DEI. Right?
From JC Hayes collection
From Brian Norton collection
Yummmm - I'm hungry for a snack - thanks ebay.
Good grief. Colossal fail on my part to forget a key Noogan in racing - Grant Adcox (from Ray Lamm collection ). He even had some sponsorship from Krystal hamburgers - a Chattanooga-founded and based company at the time.
Good eye Dave. While Cody was sharing the pic of Freddy as a native Noogan, that pic is definitely from Nashville. The 'garage' area (such that it was) was actually an inner track with a lower elevation than the back straightaway.
WLAC was named for Life & Casualty insurance company. They created the station to help promote their various insurance policies. The company had a boocoodle of sales agents that collected premiums WEEKLY oftentimes door to door. Miss a premium? Boom, lose your coverage. Not exactly the best business ethics I suppose - but what else is new in the insurance biz right? L&C was a direct competitor to National Life & Accident Insurance Company - also based in Nashville. National Life's slogan was We Shield Millions. They too created a radio station and a linchpin radio show to help sell their policies - WSM-AM and the Grand Ole Opry.
Thus ended your Nashville radio and insurance history lesson today.
Good job Cody. Doggone it. His name came to mind last night. But then I reconsidered and thought he was from Texas or Louisiana and never bothered to look up his bio. I should've gone with my gut. Either way, good addition to the thread.
Chattanooga has many race fans - but the area's contribution to racing history isn't terribly deep. In addition to 2 GN races promoted at Boyd's, a few other Chattanooga area racers include:
Friday Hassler (from J.C. Hayes )
McKee Foods from nearby Collegedale, TN promoted their Little Debbie snacks with the Wood Brothers and Ken Schrader & Bill Elliott.
After his driving days ended, Joe Lee Johnson operated the dirt Cleveland Speedway in Bradley County, TN that adjoined Hamilton County where Chattanooga is the county seat.
Charley Griffith from Red Bank, TN - generally considered part of Chattanooga but actually a separate city - finished 3rd in the inaugural Daytona 500 behind Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp. It was his best finish of a 17-race GN career.
http://www.legendsofnascar.com/Charley_Griffith.htm
There may be more, but those are the ones that immediately came to mind.
You exit I-75 at exit 1A on the TN side of the border and then cross the border into Georgia on Scruggs Rd. Most folks still claim it as TN - but Georgia I'm sure will keep it. Matter of fact, Georgia wants to push its border INTO Tennessee to grab our water. Hands off Georgians!
And see the Americas Best Value Inn in the top center of the map? Pretty sure that used to be a Best Western around 1990. Its where we had our rehearsal dinner. As you can tell, 'toomuchcountry' is a fitting name.
