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Athens Speedway

Athens Speedway
Bogart, Georgia, USA This idea grew and plans were finally made to bring to Athens the first auto race track for this area.

During the winter of 1958 and spring of 1959 an idea was formed that was to change the terrain of the land on the (old)Jimmie Daniel Road and that would also change the Saturday night entertainment for many racing fans. Bill Cooley designed and planned the race track. He checked with various organizations, insurance companies, and many other sources for all safety specifications and included them

04/02/2026

The Athens Speedway Reunion is always free to attend. If anyone is asking for money ahead of time, it is a scam.

The only fee would be if you want to sign up for the car show and that is something done on the day of the event.

Please let anyone know that may have been told other wise!

Thank you and we apologize for any confusion.

03/12/2026

01/02/2026

Bounty on C.L. Pritchett

10/24/2025

Mike Love and Ronald Cooper

10/01/2025

: Do you recognize this place?

Seeing its first race on November 8th, 1959, the Athens Speedway, founded and owned by a young local businessman, Bill Cooley, served as a staple of short-track racing in the Southeast until its closure in 1992. Located at 1890 Jimmy Daniel Rd along McNutt Creek, the Speedway consisted of a quarter-mile clay track with stone bleachers. In front of crowds of up to 8,000 people, the Speedway hosted races for a variety of stock cars, including the famed "Skeeter" car, distinguished by the wing adorning this model's roof. Several short-track racing stars, such as Georgia Racing Hall of Famers Bud Lunsford, Tootle Estes, and Charlie Padgett, found success on the track. However, the Speedway's biggest claim to fame may well be on the silver screen, as it served as a filming location for the 1974 film "Greased Lightning," starring Richard Pryor and Pam Grier.

Despite the popularity of the Speedway, new developments along Jennings Mill Road led to the closure of the track in 1992, as the owners of the Jennings Mill development purchased the track from Bill Cooley and shut it down due to the noise generated by the Speedway. Today, little remains of the physical Athens Speedway, with the bleachers and a few walls standing among the forest that has blanketed the former track. However, the community remains tight-knit, hosting the Annual Athens Speedway Reunions since 2010 at South Jackson Elementary School, which includes vintage race cars and Speedway memorabilia displays.

Historic sites are physical reminders of the diversity of our experiences and the history we share, but once destroyed, they cannot be replaced. At Historic Athens, we work every day to be a proactive voice for preservation, but we can’t do it without your help.

Consider joining and supporting our mission:

1️⃣ Make a one-time contribution: historicathens.com/support
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📷: Georgiaracinghistory.com