About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2013)
THURSDAY; AUGUST 29, 2013 THE BY'RON BUZZ 5 Brooks is an avid Petty fan Half a garage of memorabilia BY VICTORIA SIMMONS The Byron Buzz As a small boy, Mike Brooks would sit on the hill side near his grandmother’s home in Sunnyside and watch the car races. He fell in love with racing when his dad took him to the track in Atlanta. Then there were no grandstands on which to sit. He quickly became a Richard Petty fan and his admiration for Petty expanded as Mike grew into an adult and he is close to being if not, the number one Richard Petty fan. When old enough to work, as a teenager, he worked at the drag strip in Warner Robins. Mike would work the line or clean the track while his mother and grand mother worked the snack bar. He was hooked. He loved the sound, the smell — everything about car racing. In 1979 Mike bought his first drag car- a 1979 Cama- ro, and began racing it. But then he decided he wanted to race a car that he had built. With his friend Randy Parker, the beginnings of a 300ZX was laid out with string on the garage floor. Mike built the car from the ground up and even painted it himself. The car has a Ford rear end, a Pinto front sus pension, Chervrolet engine and transmission. Mike still has this car. When Silver Dollar Race way in Reynolds opened, Mike raced there and was named Rookie of the Year. He was racing the car he built whenever he could find time to get to a track. Racing himself, he was still following Nascar and his favorite driver, Richard Petty and was collecting Richard Petty memorabiliar. Any thing from matchbox cars to Franklin Mint cars. He still collects and has Rich ard Petty dog collars, ties, jackets, cereal boxes and a golf cart, along with many other items. He only collects the #43 Richard Petty col lectibles. Mike built two riding lawnmowers, painted them like Richard Petty’s racecars and had them delivered to Randleman, NC for the Vic tory Junction auction. Mike and his wife, Cheryl, both attended; toured the Richard Petty museum and stood in line for hours to speak with Petty and get autographs. Mike’s Richard Petty col lection has grown so much that he has dedicated an entire half of his garage, 30 x 36, to Richard Petty. Not many people know that Richard Petty drag raced in 1965 as a protest of Nascar’s band of the mini-engine, but Mike knows. In fact, he has built an exact replica of Petty’s drag car, a 1965 Bar racuda, which he uses as a show car. Mike and Cheryl have been married for 31 years and they have one son, one daughter and one grandchild. Cheryl enjoyed watching Mike drag race. Since they opened Brooks Contractor Supply Company, Mike has little time for rac ing. The business rents, sells and services construction equipment and Mike and Cheryl work side by side. She does try to find Richard Petty collectibles which Mike does not have from time to time. ”1 often check the Petty museum for items to buy before Mike does,” she said. ’’Last Christmas I gave him an autographed Charlie One Horse hat.” Cheryl has had ties hand- painted with Richard Petty Cars for Mike but it’s getting harder to find something he doesn’t already have. She said she did find a lamp made from a Richard Petty car this past summer though. Mike and Cheryl will be taking the Richard Petty Drag Car replica to the Rac er’s Reunion on Saturday, August 31st at Middle Geor gia Raceway in Byron. Mike has watched races at the track but because it closed before he was old enough to have a car and race, he never raced on the oval track. In addition to his love for racing, Mike is a member of the Civitan Club in Dublin and chairman of the wheel chair ramp committee. The group has built 20 ramps for Mike Brooks needy people since January. Cheryl volunteers her time using her therapy dogs. She has eight dogs - three Borzoi, 2 Standard Poodles nd three long coated Chihuahuas. When they moved to Dublin, she started the Therapy Dog program there. ”1 test and certify dogs through Therapy Dogs, Inc.,” she said, not ing that she uses her Borzoi in the program. Cheryl has been involved with Therapy Dogs for 11 years. ”We visit 10 area nursing homes, WINGS (Women in Need of God’s Shelter) and Lake Bridge in Macon. We also offer a PAWS for reading program in the schools. Children who have difficulty reading, practice reading to a dog.” Be sure and look for the drag car replica if you attend the Middle Georgia Racers Reunion and if you see Mike ande Cheryl, tell them hello. Mike’s menagerie includes a golf cart, to"* _ ■■ I 7j n«i a: - 1 ^ — m •mm m — or? 3rd flnnuat middle Saturday, August 31, Georgia Racers Reunion middle Georgia Raceway VISIT GEORGIA Convention & Visitors Bureau 100 W Heritage Blvd S Byron, GA 31008-7270 Phone (478) 956-5555 Sally & Warrenton /Ann i lr>i iAi f'-rrr*' Allen Insurance group PROUDLY SERVING OUR MILITARY FAMILIES SINCE 1952 Bonaire Branch (478) 287-6123 www.allenins.com Byron Pawn Stop, Inc. Member Pawn Broker Association of Georgia, Inc. 114 Gralan Dr. - Byron, GA • byronpawn@windstream.net Buy...Sell...Trade Most Hay thing of Value Sharon & Ken Asbury, owners 478-966-4400 ISWamr Kevin Barry, Agent Legion of Honor 3520 U.S. Highway 41N, Suite 1005, Byron, GA Bus. 478-333-3377 Fax 478-333-6848 Kevin. Barry. R157@statefarm.com www.kevinbarryinsurance.com Providing insurance & Financial Services II The Name Says It All Roberta, GA On The Square » Furniture IV \ ^ Aim www.bestdealsonfurnitureandmattresses.com Mayor Larry Collins, Council men Michael Chidester, Mark Waters, Farrell Bass, James Richardson and Michael Chumbley, Council, City Employees Invite You to The & Welcome Richard Petty BIB Byron Collision Center, Inc. Shawn Berry - President . .. r _ _2_ r „ , 1 478-956-4242 fhone (478) 956-2088 FAX # (478) 956-6255 478-825-2424 228 HWY. 49 SOUTH - BYRON, GA 6 I P
