Fallen Heroes To Be Honored At Lakewood Speedway Reunion

Photos courtesy of GARHoFA.org

The fateful 1946 AAA race.

Good old days of racing at Lakewood, circa 1950's

The last crowd before the track closed in 1976.

The inaugural Lakewood Speedway Reunion, scheduled for August 9 at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame at the Dawsonville, Georgia, City Municipal Complex will be a time for celebration, reunion, and fellowship.

But it will also be a time of remembrance.  Over a dozen racers lost their lives at the storied Atlanta racetrack during its 62 years of operation.  One of the most infamous incidents occurred in the summer of 1946.

On September 2, 1946, Lakewood promoter Sam Nunis put together an Indy car event at the track sanctioned by the AAA, the same body who sanctioned the Indianapolis 500.

Among those in attendance were the 1946 Indy 500 champ, George Robson of England, as well as Texas racer George Barringer.

The feature event on that fateful day was scheduled to run 100 laps, but a terrible crash on lap 98 cut the race short with a crowd of nearly 40,000 fans looking on.

Lakewood, a one-mile dirt oval, was infamous for getting terribly dusty late in an event.  Billy DeVore had suffered engine woes, and was trying to nurse his car around for the final two laps.

With the dusty conditions, it was later determined that Robson couldn't see DeVore's slower racer as he entered the third turn, and ran into the stricken car.  Barringer and Bud Bardowski were also caught up in the accident.  Robson and Barringer were transported to nearby Grady Hospital, where they died shortly thereafter.  DeVore suffered a broken collarbone, but walked away from the accident.  Bardowski suffered only minor injuries.

Ted Horn, who won the event, had witnessed the accident, and stopped his car in an attempt to flag down other competitors.  Horn, who went on to win the 1946 AAA National title, said, "The dust was just too bad."

As part of the Lakewood Reunion festivities, Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame Association, Inc. president Marvin Mills will unveil a plaque honoring Lakewood Speedway, and the drivers who lost their lives there, including Robson and Barringer.

Events on Saturday, August 9 are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Dawsonville Municipal Complex.  Admission to the reunion is free.  Reservations are encouraged for those wishing to purchase a ticket for food at the event. Tickets will be $15 in advance or $18 at the door. 

Following the reunion, the Hall of Fame will be showing Speed TV's live coverage of the famed Knoxville Nationals on the facilities' big screen.  Seating for the viewing will be limited.

Plans are also underway for a trip to the Lakewood facility to view what remains of the track.  Details on that trip will be released at a later date.