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A NASCAR Track in Columbus, GA. How did I ever miss hearing about this? Oh, but I did, till now! As a child of the 50's and 60's I remember the old track just off Victory Drive on South Lumkin Rd. and when the Idle Hour Park had a race track, airport, bowling ally, accade's, swimming pool, roller rink, zoo and boats on Moon Lake. I spent a lot of time at the Phenix City Drag Strip and East Alabama Track; but I had never heard of "The Columbus Speedway"! If I missed it, I figured others must have too!! So, here it is, my research is done, here are the facts on " Columbus Speedway". After World War II, when Detroit automakers retooled from makeing war supplies and begain producing cars again; Americans were ready to buy and America was ready to race them. Race tracks started poping all around the country, and spectators flocked to watch the races. Lakewood Speedway was a dirt track around the lake at Atlanta Fair grounds, it started in 1938 and drew good crowds, but after the WWII atendance really boomed and profits too. Soon with money to be made tracks were put in at Savannah, Macon, and Augusta. Not to be left out of making money, in Columbus 15 local busnessmen decided to build a race track in Columbus to share in the growing phenomenon racing was creating. In the spring of 1948, work begain on a site and officers were selected; Tom Sikes - president, Ed Rusk-- vice-president, and Harold Hill -- general manager. The location of the track was 8 miles northeast of (then) Columbus on the east side of Blackmon Rd., about 2 1/4 miles off Warm Springs Rd. , about a mile before Pierce Chapel Rd. With-in 45 days from the beginning construction a 6,000 seat grandstand and 1/2 mile dirt track was ready at a cost of $50,000. The first race day was set for June 20, 1948 with a $2,000 purse at stake. Columbus Speedway was born !! It was announced that at the June 20,1948 race at Columbus Speedway, that Bill France, NASCAR president; would personally supervise the race on race day. Local dignitaries and 4,000 fans were there the day of the race to see it be won by Bob Flock ; making this a historic day in racing. You see, the Flock Brothers were well know in racing and with Bob's win in Columbus, Fonty's win in Birmingham, and Tim's win in Greensboro,NC; the Flock Brothers had made a clean sweep by winning on the same day. Bill France made the announcement that NASCAR would race again in Columbus on July 25, 1948. NASCAR now had Columbus on it's touring circuit. NASCAR History: Bill France, in 1947, formed a private corporation to unifie and organize a touring racing series setting a points standing under standard set of rules, it was first called National Championship Stock Car Circuit (NCSCC). In December 14,1947 Bill France met with 35 others that shared a concern in the future of Stock Car racing at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach. A set of rules were established and Red Vogt coins the name to National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Fonty Flock, winner of the NCSCC title, will be listed as the 1947 NASCAR Champion in all early season press releases.At this time in racing all tracks were dirt, with the exception of Daytona Beach which was partially paved as it used a Beach road as part of the course and the sand beech as the rest, as it to ran in a left turn circle. in 1959 Daytona International Speedway held the Daytona 500 on it's 2.5 miles of pavement with steep banked turns. Daytona concidered the premier track on NASCAR schedule " some tracks seperate the men from the boy's but this track seperates the brave from the weak after the boy's went home"; but in 1969 the 2.66 mile Alabama International Speedway eclipsed Daytona as the Biggest and Fastest, better known as TALLADEGA! Columbus Speedway, July 25,1948: Race Day for NASCAR at Columbus, the big boys in town for trials on the 24th Robert Red Byron a points leader is here. Big names of times are ready to race.THe Red Byron's '39 Ford with Red Vogt as mechanic were sure to win, was the talk. The green flag is dropped and the race is on dust flying everywhere. The Red Byron was running hard! This race today was a 40 lap feature and the point were very important to several drivers, all wanted to by the NASCAR points champion and colect the point's money as the season comes to a close.Only 3,000 fan's are gathered, others are on the hill behind the fence tailgating in their pickups with family in tow. As the race laps count off and the Byron has lead since the 17th lap with challengers on his tail, fans move closer to the cattle fence on the hill to cheer their champion to the finish. The Byron look as though he will win. He's comming trough the 4th turn, then it happens---a tire explodes, the right front tire!( You know NASCAR circles to the left, no right hand turns in NASCAR.) The Red Byron now was not in a fight for the finish line, but in a fight to controll his car, as it drove trough the turn at high speed, heading to the clay bank and barbed wire fence,where fan were huddled watching the race not ten feet behind the fence. The Byron according to witness's made one last attempt to stop what he knew was happening; he gassed Only five months into its first season, NASCAR also suffered it's first fatalities, as on that same day in Greensboro N.C. driver Bill "Slick" Davis was killed when he flipped his 1937 Chevy several times and died later that night. NASCAR Races at Columbus Speedway Date Winner Attendance June 20, 1948 Bob Flock 4,000 July 25, 1948 Billy Carden 3,000 Sept. 5, 1948 Gober Sosebee 2,500 Nov. 14, 1948 Red Byron 2,000 June 10, 1951 Tim Flock 9,000 The 10th race of the 1951 season was held on June 10th at the Columbus Speedway in Columbus, Ga. Gober Sosebee won the pole. During the first caution, Marshall Teague suffered a leg injury after being T-boned near the back strightaway by Fireball Roberts. as you can see from the above stats on the 10th race attendance was the best ever. Here is a list of the top 10 results of the race June 10, 1951. ---- 1. Tim Flock 2. Gober Sosebee 3. Herb Thomas 4. Jim Paschal 5. Lee Petty 6. Red Byron 7. Donald Thomas 8. Frank Mundy 9. Jimmy Ayres 10. Ed Massey After 4 years of NASCAR, at seasons close in 1952, The Columbus Speedway was no more!! No one seems to know for sure why, but its is now an almost lost memory of Columbus's past. The farm, the track was built on in 1948, is now a high-end sub divison. Full of houses and families that probably have no idea that NASCAR Races with early (Hall of Fame Drivers) once raced trough their yards.Today, NASCAR is now a big money busness; what would the City of Columbus be like today if the track had survived to race again? RESEARCH: For more facts on NASCAR, 1947 to 1953 National Points Leaders, & Columbus Speedway;search it on the internet under "NASCAR History"! Columbus Ledger Enquirer A special Thanks to Richard Hyatt, for allowing me use of some photo's and information from the great article he wrote on in the paper on July 25, 2005. CGO READERS: IF You Know of Any Other Track old Locations in Columbus Area or Have Pictures or Facts About them Contact Me at my E-Mail or Jan Page at( page007655@cs.com). We would like to place them on "Gone and Almost Forgotten Georgia" Mrs. Page's well know Web Site to keep them known in history! Thanks Ron Rollins |
Ronald J. Rollins > A NASCAR Track in Columbus, GA.
the engine and turned hard left back into other racers on the track. as luck would have it , this didn't work. The car hit the fence and plowed into the crowd. as the car hit the barbed wire fence posts became like missles launching as the car moved trough the wire into the crowd. One of the post hit 7 year old Roy Brannon in the head, 16 others were injured. Little Roy Brannon died less than 24 hours later from hemorages, at the City Hospital. ( He is buried in the Riverdale Cemetery in his Family's Plot). Driver Billy Carden won the race that fatefilled day at the Columbus Speedway; but the Red Byron did return to the Columbus Speedway to race again and win on, Nov. 14, 1948.