Remember how I talked about having valuable resources right under your nose and not utilizing them?
Let me start off by saying this: before this post, I had no idea how much I was missing when it comes to racing in North Georgia. As you've probably gathered, I'm pretty interested in public art and gravitate towards local history, so when a feature article about a reunion at Banks County Speedway last year popped up while I was searching for something else last week, my interest was piqued into this off-limits location.
The extent of my racing and NASCAR knowledge has pretty much been limited to Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. So when I decided to take a look at some of the local speedways and reached out to AccessWDUN's racing expert Brandon Reed, who is also as the editor and publisher for Georgia Racing History, I had no idea what I was getting in to.
But that's why I like doing this blog. It opens me up to new things and new stuff to look at. It was time for me to engage in something a little outside of my comfort zone. And, as I mentioned in my most recent places to go post, I wanted to touch on some things that are gone, but not forgotten.
I did not expect the amount of information I was going to uncover. Racing has made a larger impact than I expected on the North Georgia area and it still does - with several active roadways, including in Braselton and Toccoa, and some legends living and working in the area.
So as my list of places to go and things to experience gets longer and longer, I thought I'd calm the curious beast that started this whole thing and learn a little more about the former Banks Motor Speedway.
You can't actually go to it because it's private property and it's fenced off. So we're going to take a little historical look-see before we talk some other speedways - ones you can visit - later on.
Per Georgia Racing History, the speedway was built by the late Tommie Irvin, who, along with a couple of friends, graded the space near the Banks-Habersham line, in 1955. It was a classic dirt track that was briefly paved in 1965, but the dirt track was preferred and the asphalt was pulled up two years later.
In its hey day, the track battled with the Toccoa Speedway for Saturday night races, saw some big names - including NASCAR champion Jack Smith and the Flock Brothers of Atlanta - and some local legends, like Bud Lunsford of Gainesville, Gober Sosebee of Dawsonville and Buck Simmons of Baldwin. Simmons reportedly got his start at the speedway by driving a water truck before races.
The track never saw any fatalities, but a dragster wreck in Covington that killed 11 people changed racing for good. Following the wreck, the state required $1 million of liability insurance, which Irvin was about to meet, but the demands from the fire marshals became too much. Irvin shut off the bright lights in 1969 and never looked back.
“I never did miss it. We cut off the lights one night, and just walked off. I never did go out there to have the lights cut off for a year after that. I just got burned out on it," he told Georgia Racing History in a 2007 interview.
Irvin was inducted in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2009, just before he passed in 2010. The speedway reopened briefly for a reunion in 2015 that honored his memory.
Like I mentioned before, I didn't realize how impactful racing was on North Georgia history, or tourism. So this is a two-part post, as I'm set to talk to local legend Bud Lunsford on Friday about his experiences - check back in on Saturday for that interview. Or click here.
Until then, stay curious.
I haven't felt the need for a disclaimer lately but seriously, don't try and climb the fence to check this place out. Explore at your own risk, but be respectful in the process.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/2/370766/banks-county-speedway