Middle Georgia Motor Speedway

Out driving around today and as we were passing through Byron, GA we happened to come across an old abandoned NASCAR racetrack! I had never heard of it before, the 'Middle Georgia Motor Speedway'. Walked around a bit...very cool!

Apparently they used to race here back in the early 70s but it's been sitting dormant ever since and has become very overgrown with vegetation...

Nine NASCAR races took place here between 1966 and 1971 with Richard Petty winning 4 of the races, Bobby Allison winning 3 and David Pearson and Bobby Isaac each winning one.

The year after opening, a hunter smelled fumes behind the track and reported it to authorities. Federal agents uncovered an elaborate and very sophisticated distillery operation located deep underground in the woods off of turn 3. A dummy ticket booth had a trap door with a tunnel that led to a moonshine still, 17 ft. underground. Normally, agents would use dynamite to destroy a large operation like this, but instead they used acetylene torches so that the races could continue. All that remains today of the still is this path leading through the woods to a 17 foot deep hole.

The race track owner was found not guilty of running the distillery despite the fact that he'd signed an invoice for 24 pounds of yeast! He said it was for concessions sold at the track.  😃

The track was also the site of the Atlanta International Pop Festival. 300,000 people descended on tiny Byron to hear singers like Jimmy Hendrix and the Allman Brothers Band.

The track was also used to film the race scenes from the moved Greased Lightning.

Oh, we had a little company as we came back to the truck...oops!

All was good. Carrying our cameras, I think we looked pretty harmless!