Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 5B
Area Racing
YearOne racer displayed at Hall of Fame
AP
d
BY BRANDON REED
piece of Braselton rac
ing history is now on
.display at the home for
Georgia’s auto racing history.
On Feb. 29, YearOne of Braselton
delivered their NASCAR Winston
Cup racer to the Georgia Racing
Hall of Fame in Dawsonville to
go on long-term display in the
birthplace of American stock car
racing.
The car, a 2005 Chevy
Monte Carlo, was last raced by
Pennsylvania’s Andy Belmont in
a qualifying race for the Daytona
500 in 2006.
The car is still in virtually the
same condition as it was when
it was loaded up on the truck on
February 16, 2006. The paint on
the front shows wear from travel
ing behind other cars in a pack.
The back bumper shows where
someone had attempted to “bump
draft” Belmont during the event.
The NASCAR inspection sticker
remains on the windshield. Even
the strips of tape are still at the
bottom of the doors to indicate
where the jack needed to be placed
during pit stops.
“We’re honored to be a part of
the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame,
and have our Daytona qualifying
attempt put on display there,” said
YearOne President Kevin King.
The car has an interesting his
tory. According to King, his com
pany’s involvement came in 2005,
when 1990 Daytona 500 cham
pion Derrike Cope contacted him.
Cope had built a Chevy Monte
Carlo for a try at the Daytona
500 field. He told King that if
he would help him to purchase
an engine from Morgan-McClure
Racing, he would put YearOne’s
logos on the car.
King agreed, and Cope and Year
One made a run at the “Great
American Race.”
Cope’s attempt fell short, as he
finished 14 th in his qualifying race
for the 500. But YearOne had got
ten a lot of attention for their part
in the effort, and King decided to
buy the car.
The following year, YearOne was
contacted by Belmont to again try
to make the 500. This time, the car
was painted a hot rod orange with
black accents, and looked to have a
good shot at making the race.
But a flat tire put Belmont a lap
ON DISPLAY
YearOne's 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo racer is unloaded outside
of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville.
RACING
DIGNITARIES
Georgia Racing Hall of
Fame president Annie
Dean Samples, left,
and YearOne president
Kevin King, right, spoke
about the YearOne
racecar and the Hall of
Fame when they met
Feb. 29.
Photos by
Brandon Reed
down, and the team came home in
24th position.
Since then, the car hadn’t seen
a lot of action. That is, until last
month.
After being contacted by a rep
resentative of the Hall of Fame,
YearOne agreed to put the car on
display at the hall as part of their
collection of cars, which includes
Bill Elliott’s championship win
ning 1988 Thunderbird, and Gober
Sosebee’s 1939 Ford modified,
which won three times on the old
beach road course at Daytona.
“Most people don’t realize how
deep NASCAR’s roots are here
in Georgia,” said YearOne’s Brad
Ocock. “Even though a lot has
changed since just about anybody
with a hot-rodded Flathead could
compete, we showed that ‘a little
guy’ from a small Georgia town
can still make an attempt to qualify
for the Daytona 500.”
But the YearOne folks had an
added surprise for the Hall of
Fame.
On the day of the delivery, they
asked if they could also display
one of their famous hot rods, a
metallic blue 1966 Ford Mustang,
known as the “Boss Hoss,” at the
hall.
The “Boss Hoss” was built in
2004 to coincide with the release
of YearOne’s classic Mustang cat
alog, and is powered by a 2003
Mustang Cobra supercharged 4.6
liter V8.
For both YearOne and the Hall
of Fame, it was seen as a win-win
situation.
“We’re really excited to have
our project cars and company hot
rods on display there,” King said.
“It gives us a chance to show the
automotive hobby is still a big part
of Georgia.”
“We’re so glad to have the folks
at YearOne here at the hall of
fame,” said Hall of Fame presi
dent Annie Dean Samples. “Our
displays at the Hall of Fame are
always growing and changing. We
are extremely proud to have the
YearOne race car and show car
here as a part of that.”
Down the Stretch
'Corky' races from out of the past
F
t
or some reason in the late
1960s and early 1970s,
there was a slew of stock
car racing movies filmed in the
south.
Some were okay, some were
terrible, but many of them had
one thing in common - they were
made by people who really didn’t
know what stock car racing was
all about.
One of these was a movie
filmed around Georgia called
“Corky.” The movie, which was
made in 1970 and released in
1972, starred Robert Blake as
the title character, Corky Curtiss,
a dirt track racer and mechanic
from Texas.
The story revolved around
Corky’s obsession with becoming
a big time NASCAR racer, based
solely on a picture taken with
himself and Richard Petty. Corky
leaves his wife and children to
travel across the country from
Texas to Atlanta in an attempt
to break into the big time at the
Atlanta International Raceway.
Also starring in the film is
Charlotte Rampling as Corky’s
wife, veteran actor Ben Johnson,
and a host of NASCAR and
local racers in cameos. One
scene features Corky turning laps
in a modified 1966 Plymouth
Barracuda (sporting a Superbird
rear-wing, no less!) around
Atlanta International Raceway,
swapping paint with the Dodge
Daytona of Bobby Allison.
Another shows Buddy Baker,
Allison, Cale Yarborough and sev
eral other NASCAR stars during a
coffee break in a suite at AIR.
But for Georgia race fans, there
are some priceless shots. The
movie’s finale was filmed at the
legendary Peach Bowl Speedway,
a raceway that sat closer to
brandon
reed
Atlanta’s
downtown
area than
the Atlanta
Zoo does
today. The
film shows
the track
towards
the end of
its exis
tence. Roy
Shoemaker,
the owner, builder and promoter
of the track, sold the speedway
in 1970, and the track closed one
year later. A MARTA bus repair
depot now sits on the spot where
the track was.
Racing scenes were also
filmed at the old West Atlanta
Raceway in Douglasville. In
that scene, Corky takes on local
drivers in a borrowed racecar.
In that sequence, he picks up a
win after a spin by none-other
than Georgia racing legend and
NASCAR winner Jody Ridley,
with Ridley piloting his famous
number 98 Ford Falcon. The
track would later become Seven
Flags Speedway. Sadly, it too is
now closed.
Needless to say, Blake didn’t do
his own race driving in the film.
Georgia Hall of Fame inductee
Charlie Mincey was behind the
wheel in the racing sequences,
one of several movies Mincey
worked on in the Georgia area.
Mincey was a track champion at
the Peach Bowl, as well as at the
Toccoa Speedway and the old
Athens Speedway.
After its 1972 release, “Corky”
fell into obscurity. After a run a
drive-in theaters and occasional
late night television runs, the film
faded into the dust. It never even
made it to the home video market.
But this Saturday, it will be
resurrected at the Georgia Racing
Hall of Fame in Dawsonville.
Mike Bell, historian for the
Georgia Auto Racing Hall of
Fame Association (GARHOFA)
has worked to locate a copy of
the film, and plans to show it in
the theater room at the hall at
1 o’clock Saturday afternoon.
Admission is free, but the Hall of
Fame always accepts donations.
Bell hopes some of the drivers
and participants in the film will
come out to talk about what it
was like to work on the set, as
well as to share memories of the
tracks and racing at the time.
It’s the latest in a series of
events at the hall intended to
bring attention on the number of
racing related projects that has
taken place in the state. (Back
in December, the 1965 movie
“White Lightnin’ Road,” which
was filmed in and around the
Cumming Speedway in Forsyth
County, was shown at the hall.)
Plans are for more such films to
be screened at the Hall of Fame
later this year.
Despite what the film appears
to be cinematically, it is another
rare opportunity to see a couple of
Georgia’s grand old racetracks in
their glory. It’s one more chance
to see cars at the Peach Bowl.
It’s a chance to see Ridley’s
blue Ford on dirt again. It’s
a chance to see the winged
Dodges on Atlanta’s original lay
out, before it was turned into a
Charlotte clone.
Chances like that are hard to
come by.
Brandon Reed is a reporter for
MainStreet Newspapers. E-mail
comments about this column to
brandon@mainstreetnews.com.
Get your record catch recognized by state DNR
Each year, the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources,
Wildlife Resources Division
(WRD) recognizes anglers for out
standing and state-record catches.
Submit a clear photograph of
the fish for proper identification
and length verification (the photo
should at least show the entire
length of the fish and the ruler or
tape used to measure the fish). In
addition, a photo of the angler with
the fish is also required. Complete
an application and submit with
photos. State record applications
must be received within 90 days of
the catch.
Information regarding angler
awards and state record fish can
be found on the WRD website at
www.gofishgeorgia.com or in the
Georgia Sport Fishing Regulations
Guidebook available at all WRD
offices.
KEEP AMERICA
BEAUTIFUL
GET A HAIRCUT
Visit
mainstreetnews.com
BANKS COUNTY’S
LOCAL WEB SITE
Dr. Neelagaru, M.D. (Dr. Neel)
N. Neelagaru, M.D. (Dr. Neel) is
now associated with Northeast
Georgia Medical Center,
Gainesville, Georgia and will do all
Invasive Cardiology Procedures at
this facility.
Commerce Cardiology Clinic
Call 335-2000 for appointment
Commerce's Only
Barber Shop
Family Haircare
Bill Wood, Owner
Walk-Ins Welcome
Wood Barber Shop
581 Ila Road, Lot #1, Commerce
(706) 335-5392 • Mon.-Fri. 8-6
Banks County
Board of Commissioners
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Banks County Board of Commissioners mill hold
public workshops for the Banks County Comprehensive
Plan 2008-2018 Community Agenda. Meeting date,
location and time for the workshops are as follows:
Visioning Workshop
Monday, March 31, 2008 • 6:00 p.m.
Banks County Senior Citizens Center
700 Thompson Street, Homer, GA 30547
Framework Workshop
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 • 6:00 p.m.
Banks County Senior Citizens Center
700 Thompson Street, Homer, GA 30547
The public workshops will allow property owners,
business owners and residents an opportunity to discuss
issues, identify opportunities and begin to establish a
vision for the future. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Public input will be used to develop a draft
comprehensive plan. For more information please feel
free to contact the Banks County Board of
Commissioners Office at (706) 677-6200.
FOR ONLY $5 PER MONTH,
YOU CAN LIST YOUR GROUP'S MEETINGS!
Let your members know when your group is meeting!
Call (706) 367-5233 to advertise your meeting time, place and date in...
• The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News • The Braselton News
• The Banks County News • The Madison County Journal
JEFFERSON
IIP AMERICAN LEGION
Albert Gordon Post 56
Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Harvie Lance, Commander
Phone (706) 654-1274 310
White Plains Baptist Church ‘
Faith Bible Class meets every Sunday morning
at 10:00 a.m. It is a place where strangers
become friends and friends become family.
706-367-5650
White Plains Baptist Church
3650 Hwy. 124 West, Jefferson, GA 30549
The Jackson Co. Republican Party
Would like you to meet us for
breakfast the second Sat. of each
month, 8:00 at The Jefferson
House. For more information, call
706-652-2967 or email
fishyglass@yahoo.com Pd.05/08
BANKS COUNTY
®Ej| AMERICAN LEGION
^ f Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 Pd.06/08
rpfe VETERANS OF
FOREIGN WARS
Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr.
Each 4th Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Mike Buffington, Commander
Phone 706-335-6532 263
JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB
Meets 2nd & 4th Monday
Jefferson City Clubhouse
6:30 p.m. • (706) 367-1400
Mark Bradley, President
260
UNITY LODGE
7%% F&A.M.
No. 36, Jefferson, GA
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Dwight Wier • 706-367-5882
Borders St. behind Tabo's 260
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays
Jefferson City Clubhouse
12:30 p.m. • (706) 654-2237
Clay Eubanks, President
260
A COMMERCE
W AMERICAN LEGION
Commerce Rec. Dept. Post 93
Carson Street - 1st Mon. night
Each Month, 7:30 p.m.
335-6400
BANKS COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
meets first Monday each month
7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial
Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441
North in Homer Pd.-2/2008
Where the fun begins and never ends!
Go Karts - Mini Golf - Laser tag
Water Wars - Arcade games - Inflatables
Climbing wall - food - bumper boats
Party and banquet rooms and much more!!
Just down the road from Banks Crossing
located at 40155 Hwy. 441
706-335-3866
Funopolis Family Center is now hiring!
If you are dependable, positive, energetic, enjoy
working with the public, are at least 16 years old and
able to work a minimum of 20 hours per week, this is
your chance to become part of a winning team at
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Funopolis is now accepting applications for full time
and part time positions which will include weekend
and night shifts. Some positions are seasonal.
Candidates can download applications from the web
site:
www.funopolisfamilyfuncenter.com
Positions available are: floor manager, mechanic,
janitor, attraction attendants, phone sales, cashiers,
party hostesses and food service personnel.
Do not miss this great opportunity to work in a
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