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WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 3B Down the Stretch Recalling Swayne Pritchett: Racing pioneer shining star on the racing scene. Then came May 16, 1948. Pritchett was due to race in Martinsville, Va. on that weekend, but a freak snow storm post poned the event. NASCAR resched uled the race for Richmond, but, for whatever reason, Pritchett decided instead to run on May 16 at the half mile Jackson County Speedway just outside of Jefferson. Pritchett was the class of the field that day, winning in the heat race, then in the trophy dash. Pritchett took the green flag from the pole in the feature, and led every lap en route to the victory. But moments after taking the check ered flag, disaster struck. For some reason, Pritchett’s car and the lap car of Truett Black collided in the first turn after the end of the race. Pritchett’s car was thrown end over end. The impact apparently caused the seat belt support in Pritchett’s car to break, and he was thrown out of the tumbling car. Black was taken to an area hospital for care and treatment, and would recover. Pritchett was still conscious when crew members reached him, and was taken to a hospital in nearby Commerce. Several people who had accom panied or followed the ambulance waited outside. Soon, a nurse came out to tell them Swayne Pritchett had died of internal injuries. Pritchett was buried at the Leatherwood Baptist Church ceme tery in Banks County. He had turned 26 years old one month earlier. This year marks the 60-year anni versary of Pritchett’s passing. The speedway where he suffered his fatal injuries is gone. A bypass connecting I-85 and Athens crosses its front and back stretch. But the memory of Swayne Pritchett continues on to this day. He was a racing pioneer, and an early star of stock car racing. For those who saw him race, or have heard about his tal ents, his memory lives on today. brandon reed NEW OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR Banks County High School offensive coordinator Chuck Hudson, working with quarterback Alex Banks, will oversee the Leopard offense this fall. Photo by Chris Bridges "We didn’t do a lot of fancy things this spring,” Armstrong said. "We kept things pretty simple. In the spring game we had a few offensive penalties including a holding call. When you are working with three different quarterbacks then things like that are going to happen.” BCHS will have a new defen sive coordinator in Paul Hoch, who arrives from Peachtree Ridge. The new coordinator worked with Armstrong at Peachtree Ridge and helped the program win state in 2006. "Defensively, we did well this spring considering the short amount of time we had to work,” Armstrong said. "We will have a new scheme so that means a learning curve. We do have several returning players on defense. I also thought our younger players stepped in and did well defensively.” Cody Gowder, Matthew Patton, Billy Pinson and Demetric Dempson each played well at lineback this spring, the head coach said. Armstrong has just about put the finishing touches on his coaching staff for 2008. Hudson will be the offensive coordinator and continue to oversee the offensive line. Jason Armstrong will work with the wide receivers while Armstrong will han dle the running backs. Jeff Ravencraft will once again help with the offensive line. Hoch will be the defensive coordi nator and work with the inside line backers. Tony Bowen will coach the defensive line with Jerry Williams working with the defensive ends. Brandon Worley will help with the outside linebackers and assist with the running backs. Newcomer Tyson Baxter will assist with the defensive backs. BCHS recently lost two assistant coaches from its 2007 staff as Eric Bona stepped down to take a posi tion at Franklin County and Jay Reid resigned to move to Jackson County. Bona had been at BCHS for one sea son while Reid had worked with the program for the past two seasons. Leopard players will now begin summer workouts. First and Ten ... continued from page 1B Once spring arrived, even more success was earned by BCHS student-athletes. Coach Joe Lord’s Diamond Leopards finished tied for first in the subregion and advanced to the state tournament. It was the first trip to state for Lord as a head coach and the first time the BCHS program has advanced since 2001. With only two seniors graduating, thoughts are already looking to 2009 for BCHS baseball. A sport which is on the way up locally, I believe, is track. The BCHS boys program qualifed three athletes for state this spring. Jay Harn won two state champion ship medals in the wheelchair competition along with a runner-up medal. Lyn Hester qualified for state for the first time as did Jamail Jennings. Harn and Jennings will graduate but Hester is expected to be a candidate for state again next spring along with several other Leopard athletes. The BCHS boys tennis team qualified once again for the region tournament and continue to be one of the most consistent programs in the Leopard athletic pro gram. Look for that to continue in 2009. While the summer months will provide us with some what of a break, many BCHS athletes will continue working in preparation for their upcoming seasons. It seems work never really ends for today's student-athlete in their quest to be successful. Lor now, I think I will simply enjoy this school year before worrying about the next one. At least I will for a couple of days. Chris Bridges is sports editor of The Banks County News. E-mail comments about this column to chris @ mainstreetnews. com. Registration underway for annual Kids' Fishing Rodeo The ninth annual Banks County Kids’ Fishing Rodeo has been sched uled for Saturday, June 7. The event will be held at Hammers Glen Golf and Country Club. Applications are currently avail- able at Wal-Mart, Shuler’s Great Outdoors and the Banks County Extension Office. Applications must be completed and turned in at the Banks County Extension Office, located at 413 Evans Street, by Wednesday May 28, at 5 p.m. For additional information, contact Department of Natural Resources Corporal Adam Loudermillk at 770-535-5499. 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One of the more unique cars spotted at the YearOne Experience at Road Atlanta this past week end was this street legal Chevy Corvair. The owner often drag races the Corvair at meets, and put the rear engine car through its paces in the autocross early Friday. The YearOne Experience drew hundreds of visitors and participants from all over the country. Photo by Brandon Reed Football... continued from page 1B I t was 60 years ago last week that the racing world lost a driv er that many felt would have been an early NASCAR star. On May 16, 1948, Swayne Pritchett of Baldwin lost his life due to inju ries sustained in a racing accident in Jefferson, GA. Pritchett was born in 1922, and early on, was fascinated by speed. As many young men of the day were, he was involved in the moonshine business. Later on, Pritchett would become successful by using his whisky money to buy land, and also to go into the used car business. After World War II, Pritchett became more involved with used cars. And he became involved in racing. Swayne’s son Harold says that as best his family can find, Pritchett became involved in racing after the war. Harold recalls seeing his father finish third at the old Habersham County Speedway north of Mt. Airy. Pee Wee Dooley, who was the promoter at the speedway, owned Pritchett’s ride that day. Dooley died soon after that race in a freak gas explosion at his home. After that, Pritchett owned his own cars, with legendary mechanic Jack Edwards turning the wrenches. Driving his blue and white num ber 17 Ford, Pritchett caught the eye of many race fans and promot ers around the south. He raced on Daytona Beach in 1947 and raced on Bill France’s pre-NASCAR circuit in 1947, finishing 17th in points. In 1948, Pritchett became the 23rd driver to obtain a license for France’s new racing organization, named NASCAR. Racing out of Edward’s garage in Cornelia, Pritchett prepared to run many of the new NASCAR events. NASCAR raced only modifieds that year, with the strictly stock (later to be known as Sprint Cup) division still a year away from its birth. Pritchett piloted his Ford to a fifth place finish on the beach and road course in Daytona. He took third at Augusta and fourth at North Wilkesboro. By the early part of May, Pritchett found himself in sixth place in the NASCAR point stand ings. His name was also popping up in a lot of NASCAR press releases. Seeing the popularity of the young driver, France would mention him several times in the releases that he sent to newspapers to spread the word of the new sanctioning body. Surely, Pritchett was on his way to being a a fT. <- -- -- ■ "1 Carrying The Latest In Stylish Quality Tile Starting At Only braselton tile factory Tile • Supplies • Installation • Design #1 in Customer Service 9907 Davis Street • Braselton, GA (at the corner of Hwy. 53 & Hwy. 124) 706-654-0819 • 770-962-1254 Open Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 3 p.m. On this Memorial Day, we honor those who have given their lives defending our way of life. As we remember their sacrifices, we appreciate more than ever their willingness to risk their own lives for our country. God bless them and God bless America! MainStreet Newspapers The Banks County News The Commerce News The Madison County Journal BraseltonNews.com The Braselton News The Jackson Herald MainStreetNews.com BarrowJournal.com