| Augusta International Raceway – A Brief History of a Legend Not too far from its namesake city, Augusta, Georgia, in the town of Hephzibah, is the Augusta International Raceway. Opened in 1960, and closed just ten years later, you might think that such a track would have faded into obscurity, but in its brief life it was host to thirteen major events. The raceway complex encompasses more than one track. The best known is the ½-mile Oval, but there are also a 3-mile Road Course, a ¼ -mile Drag Strip, Kart, Motorcycle and Micro Midget Tracks. As well, a 2-mile Tri-Oval track and a Hydroplane Lake were started, but never completed. The Road Circuit Augusta International Raceway's 3-mile road course, also known as the road circuit is currently being developed into a 300-acre regional park, but during its life as a functional track, it was used for several high- profile races, including the Augusta 510. The course itself is a three mile banked road course with width of 45 feet and a total of 21 turns. Despite the name, the Augusta 510, which was run on November 17, 1963, only covered 417 miles. This was because it had a start time of noon and an end time of five PM. It was the second race of NASCAR's Grand National Division for the 1964 season (the first was held at Concord Motor Speedway, and the third at Jacksonville, FL), a series which would later morph into the Winston Cup Division, before becoming the Nextel Cup we know today. The winner of the Augusta 510 was Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, who drove a 1963 Ford. This race was his last win, as he died before the end of the '64 season, as a result of severe burns suffered at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Five of the other top six finishers of that race, Dave MacDonald, Jimmy Pardue, Larry Thomas, Billy Wade and Joe Weatherly, would also not live to see the next racing season. On a less grim note, Wendell Scott, who finished 18th in the race would go on to win the Jacksonville event, thus becoming the only African American to win a major NASCAR race. Three and a half months later, on March 1, 1964, the United States Road Racing Champion would use the same course for a 52-lap event, which was won by Dave MacDonald driving a King Cobra. He died a few weeks later at that year's Indianapolis 500. The Half-Mile Oval Some of the same drivers who raced on the road course at Augusta International Speedway would also find themselves on the ½-mile oval. The oval played host to what was then the NASCAR Grand National Series, which we know as the Sprint Cup Series, from 1962 to 1969, and included twelve races with eight different winners. When the track first opened, the oval was half a mile of dirt road, and only sixteen cars started in the first race of 200 laps on June 19th, 1962, including winner Joe Weatherly who crossed the finish line in a Pontiac owned by Bud Moore, just one lap ahead of Ned Jarrett. Weatherly would repeat his win a month later on July 17th, beating Richard Petty. Apparently doomed to come in second on this track Richard Petty finished after Fred Lorenzen on September 13, 1962, and after Ned Jarrett on April 4, 1963. The oval was paved with asphalt in time for the 1964 season, which was the same year the track saw its largest crowd (14,000 people) watching their largest field (30 starting drivers) in the newly-titled "Jaycee 300," so named because the distance had increased to 300 laps from the previous 200. Darel Dieringer was the winner. Over the next few years, Richard Petty would finally conquer the oval – twice. He won in November of 1965 in the "Georgia Cracker 300," and again one year later in 1966. The last race at Augusta International Raceway took place on October 19, 1969, with a field of 29 cars, and drivers that included many familiar faces. In a caution-free race with a time of 1:16:12, Bobby Isaac saw his second win at the track, when he beat Richard Petty who came in second again. The Raceway Today The Augusta International Raceway officially closed in 1970, but a non-profit organization was formed in 2003 to document the history of the complex and work with local officials on the development of the road circuit (referred to as the Raceway), the only remaining track, into the 300-acre Diamond Lakes Regional Park. Facilities are to include the Motorsports Memorial Project – the world's largest public memorial to the sport. |