Middle Georgia Raceway

History

NASCAR history

Opened in 1966 at a cost of $500,000, the first race, the Speedy Morelock 200 NASCAR Grand National stock car race, became the location of a speed record when Richard Petty broke the half-mile NASCAR record for half-mile tracks with an average speed of 82.023 miles per hour during the 100 mi event. The next year, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives discovered a moonshine distillery in an underground bunker at turn three. Petty returned to win the 150 mi NASCAR race during the following season.

NASCAR began its 1968 season at the track. LeeRoy Yarbrough sat on the pole position and Bobby Allison won the 267 mi race. The final race was held near the end of the year. Isaac sat on the pole after recording a 98.148 mph lap, which was the fastest in the track's history. Allison won the 274 mi event in a 1969 Dodge. One of Richard Petty's 4 wins at the track came when he was very ill and was questionable to race.

The 1970 Georgia 500 also occurred at the track. Petty started on the pole position and won the 274 mi race. The final NASCAR race was held on November 7, 1971. Bobby Allison drove from the pole to win the 274 mi race.

Other

Over the Fourth of July weekend in 1970, the second annual Atlanta International Pop Festival was held in a soybean field adjacent to the track. Jimi Hendrix, the Allman Brothers Band and over 30 other acts performed in front of an estimated crowd of 400,000 concertgoers (the town had a population of about 2,000). Seven years later, it was the location for filming of race scenes of the Richard Pryor film Greased Lightning about Wendell Scott. On September 15, 2012, an official Georgia Historical Society marker was placed near the raceway to commemorate the 1970 pop festival.

There was a big crash at the track in which the barricade went through driver Sonny Braswell's car and broke 14 bones. He proposed to his wife before the race.

in 1984 the Arca Racing Series ran at the track and the race was won by Davey Allison

Ken Ragan, father of 2-Time NASCAR Winner David Ragan, won the final race at Middle Georgia Raceway, as said on Peacock's Lost Speedways, hosted by NASCAR On NBC Announcer Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In 2011, Dodge contacted the current owner and asked to use the track for an advertisement. After eleven days of filming for the Dodge Durango, filming wrapped up and the commercial was eventually aired. Although the current owner had placed a fresh coat of paint over the walls, Dodge "aged" the walls and even bought a local car for $2,000 and crashed it to add realism to the scenes. In the commercial, a sign stated that it was the Brixton Motor Speedway.

References

References

1. "Track statistics". Racing Reference.
2. "1969 Macon 300 results". Racing-Reference.
3. "1969 Georgia 500 results". Racing Reference.
4. Morris, Linda S.. (November 2018}}, it was purchased with the goal of converting it to a land development site. After the economy crashed, plans were placed on hold.{{cite web). "Byron raceway roars back to life in car ads". Macon.com.
5. Kulkosky, Victor. (2012-09-19). "Byron Pop Festival Gets Historic Marker". ''The Leader Tribune'', Peach County, GA.
6. "Wreck from Middle Georgia Raceway 02".