Thundering Past | The Roots of NASCAR

NASCAR is, of course, big business.  Born in post WWII America on the dirt tracks scattered throughout the Southland from the cities to the rural pastures, it grew into a multi-million dollar international sport.  

Names like Petty, Johnson, Roberts, Baker, Turner, Allison and Jarrett raced on those tracks, and my father was a part of that.

That’s him in the orange and white #9 car.  My uncle built the car and the engine, Daddy drove.  They raced on the tracks from the old Peach Bowl in Atlanta to the one pictured here, which, my uncle told me, was in Jonesboro about where Sam’s Club sits on Jonesboro Rd. today.  They raced out of East Atlanta Garage under the name Johnny Luck to keep my grandfather from finding out. He eventually did, of course, and told them if they wanted to kill themselves that was fine, just don’t be a couple of sneaks about it.  

This picture was taken sometime in the early 50s by a friend of my father’s, Tom Aldred, who was a photographer for the Atlanta Journal.  The original was black and white, which Daddy colorized by hand sometime in the 60’s using a brush and photographer’s tints.  Years later I had a negative pulled from it for a print for a friend, then later scanned the negative for a digital file.

Daddy eventually flipped the #9 car in a race at the Peach Bowl, walked away and never raced again.  

My father and uncle’s involvement may not have been as great as others, but I am very proud the fact that they were indeed a part of the roots of NASCAR.  Thunderin’ Past… –J.