SB Nation Atlanta - The Georgia Racing Hall of Famehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46601/atlanta-fave.png2012-10-24T08:03:39-04:00http://atlanta.sbnation.com/rss/stream/33065612012-10-24T08:03:39-04:002012-10-24T08:03:39-04:00Elliott Room pays tribute to famous family
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<p>Of course, when one thinks of Georgia in terms of motorsports, one name is almost always the first to pop into their head: Bill Elliott.</p>
<p>William Clyde Elliott is one of the all-time iconic Georgian sportspeople, perhaps its No. 1 icon. Awesome Bill from Dawsonville is also regarded as one of auto racing's greatest drivers ever. His exploits in Fords are especially noteworthy: his 40 triumphs behind the wheel of Harry Melling and Junior Johnson's Blue Ovals rank second all-time to the 43 wins Ned Jarrett recorded in Ford race cars.</p>
<p>Racing is a family affair with the Elliotts, however, and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame pays tribute to the entire clan from Dawsonville with the Elliott Family Legacy Room. As the driver and therefore the name that went into the record books, Bill is largely the room's focus. He would be the first one to tell you, however, that he was just one part of a family operation that took the sport by storm in the 1980s.</p>
<p>As soon as you enter the room, you are greeted by a case that stands front and center, holding the Winston Cup championship trophy Bill won in 1988. One of his Coors T-Birds from that championship season, along with the six trophies he scored for that season, sit in front of a mural of the race teams.</p>
<p>For Bill and his brothers, Ernie and Dan, to have dominated the superspeedways, there of course had to be a mom and pop involved somewhere. One of the glass cases in the room pays tribute to Mildred and George Elliott, with various photographs from their lives, two of Mrs. Elliott's dresses, and Mr. Elliott's Coors pit crew shirt among the various mementos.</p>
<p>From there, the row of cases becomes a tribute to the success the Elliotts put together. Every trophy that you can imagine that Bill won over the course of his career is right there. Even his Harley J. Earl Trophies from the 1985 and 1987 Daytona 500 wins - back when the trophy looked more like a trophy and less like a headstone - and the PPG Cup from his 2002 Brickyard 400 victory are on display. Various pole awards, including the one he claimed for Dodge at the 2001 Daytona 500 in the automaker's return to top-level stock car racing, and other mementos such as the funny money that was dropped at Darlington when he won the Southern 500 at Darlington only serve to make the collection that much more impressive.</p>
<p>It is quite an experience to look at the trophies claimed by one of Georgia's own and think the stories you've heard about those races. I can personally recall Elliott's last 11 wins, and seeing the trophies he claimed for those victories and recalling watching those races on television was especially enjoyable.</p>
<p>Once Bill officially retires from driving - he outright stated that his run in the Coke Zero 400 this past July very well could be it as he has nothing else on the table - the Most Popular Driver award will fittingly carry "The Bill Elliott Trophy" as its moniker. Bill won the award a record 16 times, including ten in a row from 1991-2000. He puled himself from the voting in 2001 so that the late Dale Earnhardt would claim it, won the award once more in 2002, and then permanently removed himself from the ballot. Bill's Most Popular Driver awards are all displayed in the same case, illustrating that he was beloved across NASCAR Nation, not just in Georgia.</p>
<p>The room houses one memento dedicated to someone not named Elliott. At the season-ending Atlanta Journal 500 in November 1990, Ricky Rudd locked up the brakes on his Chevrolet and spun into Bill's No. 9 Ford as it was being serviced. Mike Rich, the 32-year-old rear tire changer for the Melling team, was pinned between the two race cars and died later that evening. One of Mike's pit crew shirts hangs alongside a photo of the man who's passing led to the pit road speed limit that remains in effect to this day and likely until NASCAR runs its last race after all of us are long gone.</p>
<p>The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame as a whole is an incredible experience that any race fan must experience, but the Elliott Family Legacy Room especially stands as a highlight. The collection of trophies, awards, and various other memorabilia serves as a demonstration of what the tall redhead from the North Georgia Mountains and his family have meant to our great sport and their influence not only on a region, but on the entire racing world.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2012/10/24/3547088/the-georgia-racing-hall-of-fame-part-3-the-elliottsAaron Rosser2012-10-23T09:24:28-04:002012-10-23T09:24:28-04:00Hall pays tribute to Georgia's moonshine heritage
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<p><i>"Lord, Mr. Ford, I just wish that you could see what your simple, horseless carriage has become. Well it seems your contribution to man, to say the least, got a little out of hand. Lord, Mr. Ford, what have you done?"</i></p>
<p>Of course, that is the chorus to Atlanta's own Jerry Reed's 1973 hit that bemoans how the automobile has complicated everyday life. Now we all know that Henry Ford didn't actually create the automobile - rather he developed the means for its mass-production - but folks take it easy on writer Dick Feller. Hey, "Lord Mr. <i>Benz" </i> just wouldn't have sounded right.</p>
<p>That verse could, however, be a fitting, factual chorus to a lament by the Sheriff's Deputies forced to chase after rum-runners behind the wheel of sedans with Ford's powerful flathead V8 under the hood. Those Fords were the car of choice for bootlegging, which we all know evolved into stock car racing. The drivers found the deputies to not be all that much of a challenge, started racing one another, the sport became more and more organized, and voila. </p>
<p>The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame pays tribute to the moonshiners that gave birth to our favorite sport. Many of them, such as famous cousins Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall, and Raymond Parks, along with Charlie Mincey and Gober Sosebee, hauled rum from Dawsonville through the moonlit North Georgia backroads.</p>
<p>A 1939 Ford owned by Mincey himself - who is still living - is on display at the Hall. This particular car wasn't used for bootlegging, but one just like it was. The display is accented by an actual still that demonstrates the complexity of making the 'shine. For all the jokes about the intelligence of mountain people, you've got to be a pretty smart cookie to work something like that without blowing yourself and half the county sky high.</p>
<p>The actual Hall of Fame itself, with the kiosks for each of the first eight inductees - Seay, Hall, Parks, Sosebee, mechanic Red Vogt, Red Byron, and Bill Elliott - is a tribute to moonshining as well. The hall is dark to give the impression of a moonlit backroad, with metal silhouettes of trees and foliage adding to the whole setting.</p>
<p>Finally, while not an actual part of the Hall of Fame and Museum, there is an actual moonshine distillery located in the building.</p>
<p>Dawson County pays homage to its heritage as a hub of rum-running with the annual "Mountain Moonshine Festival." Both moonshiners and revenuers share tales of their exploits, including dealings with the iconic Parks, Seay, Hall, and Sosebee. A parade of period Fords like the Mincey car on display rumbles through the streets of Dawsonville. A sweet lady by the name of Faye Abercrombie told me during my visit to the Hall that once all the cars are started up, the Hall of Fame's building literally shakes. </p>
<p>This year's Festival is this very weekend, coinciding with the induction of the Hall's 11th class. Festivities take place Saturday and Sunday from 8-5. The Parade itself commences at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. There are plenty of activities for the whole family, including games, rides, crafts, music, and of course plenty of cars. The Grand Marshal of this year's Festival is none other than NASCAR Hall of Famer Bud Moore, who's No. 47 Pontiac piloted by Jack Smith (the very first car to turn laps at what is now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is on display inside the museum. Several other luminaries, including the surviving members of this year's Hall of Fame class (1970 Daytona 500 winner Pete Hamilton, NHRA Pro Stock drag racing icon Warren Johnson, and short-tracking legend Doug Kenimer) will be on hand.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2012/10/23/3542528/the-georgia-racing-hall-of-fame-part-2-rum-runningAaron Rosser2012-10-22T08:03:18-04:002012-10-22T08:03:18-04:00GA Racing Hall of Fame a portal to racing's past
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<figcaption>The entrance to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. | Cody Dinsmore</figcaption>
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<p>SB Nation Atlanta takes a look at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. Located in Dawsonville - the self-described birthplace of stock car racing - the Hall illustrates Georgia's pivotal role in auto racing dating to the days of prohibition and moonshine-runners.</p> <p>On October 8, I had the great and long-overdue pleasure of finally visiting the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame and Museum. Located in the self-described birthplace of stock car racing of Dawsonville, "Thunder Road USA" is host to an extraordinary collection of race cars, trophies, and other mementos and memorabilia that tell the story not only of Georgia's racing history, but also that of the sport of stock car racing in general.</p>
<p>Before one even enters the Hall of Fame, they are greeted by one of our state's most-favorite sons and its most iconic motorsports competitor. Yes, Awesome Bill from Dawsonville is standing outside to welcome all visitors. Okay, actually, it is just a Coke machine with a large image of Bill Elliott on the front of it, but still.</p>
<p>Stepping through the building's front doors is like stepping through a portal to our sport's history. First you see Atlantan Jack Smith's burgundy No. 47 Pontiac, the first car to turn testing laps at the Atlanta International Raceway - now the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Behind it sits Buck Baker's famous No. 87 1957 Chevrolet Black Widow that was sponsored by the Atlanta-based Nalley Chevrolet dealership.</p>
<p>Lined up across "The Alley" is an silver and black Ford driven by Dawsonville's "Lightning Lloyd Seay," the man whom Bill France referred to as "the best pure race driver I ever saw." Beside it is Charlie Mincey of Atlanta's No. 16 modified he raced in the 1960s. Then comes Gober Sosebee's Cherokee Garage modified with which he won three Daytona Beach Course races and set the beach circuit's record. Sitting off to the left from that trio of racers is the gold sprinter driven by Herman Wise - who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this Friday - to a win in the 1971 Little Indy 500.</p>
<p>Finally, at the back of the room, sit two black automobiles. One is a '39 Ford owned by Mr. Mincey and similar to the car with which he made many a bootleg run. Behind the car sits an actual moonshine still so that visitors can see for themselves the complexity of making the 'shine (I told my mother I would have blown Dawson County clear off the map had I attempted to do anything like that). </p>
<p>The other black ride, one of the most iconic cars in all of motorsports, is one of Dale Earnhardt's No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolets. This particular car is the 1990 Lumina that lost the Daytona 500 on the last lap thanks to a flat tire. The car was converted to a road racing piece and was later driven by sports car standout John Paul Jr. at Road Atlanta in Brasleton. </p>
<p>After viewing a short film entitled "Saturday Night Races," visitors move on to see even more terrific racing heritage. A car driven by the Blond Blizzard of Virginia himself, Curtis Turner, sits alongside a wall of newspaper clippings from both racing and state history including Lloyd Seay's incredible three wins in 15 days, his murder at the hands of cousin Woodrow Anderson, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, and highlights of Bill Elliott's incredible career.</p>
<p>Speaking of Elliott, the highlight of the museum is perhaps the Elliott Family Room, which features trophies and memorabilia from Bill's fantastic racing career, along with the 1988 Coors/Melling Ford Thunderbird with which he became the only native Georgian to claim stock car racing's highest-level championship. The trophies he won along the way rest alongside the car, save for the Winston Cup trophy. That is housed in a case of it's own - with other trophies for top-10 points performances - right at the room's entrance. I'll cover that room in more detail in Wednesday's "Part Three: The Elliotts." </p>
<p>Once you leave the Family Room, you come to five of Bill's most-famous race cars, backed by a wall of photos, paintings, and other mementos from his career (my favorite being a handwritten note from Tony Stewart thanking Bill for his participation in the Prelude to the Dream at Stewart's Eldora Speedway). The cars are a 2002 Dodge Intrepid he raced for Ray Evernham (and won twice at Pocono and Indianapolis), the 2000 Ford Taurus with which he competed his final race as a driver-owner at Atlanta Motor Speedway (the beating those once-pristine race cars take over the course of 500 miles, without even making contact with the wall, is very well illustrated), the 1992 Junior Johnson-owned Budweiser Thunderbird with which he won five races - including four in a row early in the season and both '92 races at Atlanta), and his 1987 Coors T-Bird.</p>
<p>Finally you arrive at a room that houses cars driven by some of Georgia's past and future homegrown stars. The Chase Elliott exhibit is quite impressive, with a wall covered in trophies Bill's son has already attained over his short career and three of his race cars. One of the most somber exhibits in the museum is the Casey Elliott Display, which includes his 1993 NASCAR All-Pro Series race car. Casey - Ernie Elliott's son, Bill's nephew - was a rising star destined to join his uncle as one of the sport's best. Sadly, his life and career were cut short by cancer in 1996 at the age of 21. </p>
<p>Among the other cars on display in this room is Georgia short track legend Ronnie Sanders beautiful red and white No. 18 Camaro. Sanders, who won more than 500 races in his career, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Another great looking Camaro, a red and gold No. 27 driven by 2007 inductee Bruce Brantley, is also on display.</p>
<p>This is just a brief overview of the incredible exhibits one can see at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. We'll get into more detail over the next few days, but the words don't do it justice. If you love racing or Georgia state history, you <i>must</i> take the trip through the gorgeous North Georgia mountains to Dawsonville. They are constantly adding new exhibits and memorabilia - since I was there on October 8, two new cars have already been added - but you'll want to make at least a second trip anyway just to make sure you didn't miss anything while picking your jaw up off the floor.</p>
<p>Admission to the Hall of Fame is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for kids aged 7-13, free for children under the ages of six, and the experience is worth every single penny and then some.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2012/10/22/3537540/the-georgia-racing-hall-of-fame-part-1-a-portal-to-racings-pastAaron Rosser