“Who cares about NASCAR, when you have the best Dirt track in the South?”
The NEW SENOIA RACEWAY IS RUNNING “DIRT” AFTER YEARS OF ASPLALT, now it’s back to the roots of racing.
Down here in the real world, county of Coweta, the racing buzz isn’t about Kevin Harvick, or Dale Earnhardt Jr, or not even Jeff Gordon. It’s about the layer of clay that has been applied to Senoia Raceway.
Its about dirt track drivers like, Rucker Orr, Tony Kemp, Richard Stevens, Glenn McWaters, and a host of many more drivers that race every Saturday night at the new and improved Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Ga.
Drivers like Jeff Carter, Winford Minix, Scott Sherrer, Blake Griffin, not to mention Rusty Johnson and the list continues to grow every Saturday night as racing season gets stronger.
Up at Glenn and Cheryl Morris’ muffler and sign shop in Fayetteville, Glenn, the veteran Late Model driver, is making plans to return to the track where he started racing years ago, the same track where his father, the late Bob Morris, once was one of the few faithful Ford chauffeurs in the Chevy-dominated starting fields.
In the 1970s and ‘80s, Senoia’s red-clay high banks offered some of the best entertainment around, racing or otherwise. Promoter Hence Pollard, his wife Reba and their staff were masters at making the place fan and driver friendly.
Now the new changes have been made, with Jack Mills, Tony and Tim Moses and Mark Mills, plus a staff and officials that rival non better.
It is almost like that Mills, Moses and others pulled the playbook out of Promoter Hence Pollard and his wife, and basically said lets get back to the roots of racing, and have great food as well as fast cars and great drivers and great family entertainment,
Maybe that is why people are flocking to watch the action on Saturday nights at Senoia Raceway.
A recent photo shows that Senoia Raceway is well on its way to returning to dirt for the 2010 season. Photo courtesy www.newsenioaraceway.com
Hence Pollard, like all the great promoters, watched his races from the grandstands, from the perspective of a
fan. Rather than get embroiled in every tire and spoiler and rules controversy, he looked after the fans’ interests, while Reba kept the concession food hot and as tasty as home cooking.
I guess this is where Mark Mills comes in when it comes to the food, they do not skimp you get more than you pay for at every race. The workers are friendly and helpful to all the fans and are more than willing to help you out.
On more than one occasion, Hence Pollard settled scoring disagreements by paying both drivers for the disputed position.
Once, years ago, Roscoe Smith and Doug Kenimer finished a Late Model feature side by side. The official on Smith’s side of the track called Smith the winner. The official on the other side saw Kenimer as the victor.
Pollard declared the fans the winner and paid both drivers, explaining that it was worth the extra payout to have such an exciting finish.
Once Pollard paid two drivers for second place in a disputed Sportsman race. Both drivers left happy, and Pollard explained later that it really wasn’t that expensive to make both drivers happy. He said he was going to have to pay one of them third-place money anyway and the difference in paying out two second-place purses and a second and a third wasn’t enough to be worth the worry.
After Hence Pollard died, the track was sold and eventually paved. It had a strong run as an asphalt track, but interest waned in recent years. Dirt racing has long been the backbone of short track racing in the South, and on the Southside of Atlanta, and now a new group is returning the old track to its red clay roots.
The NEW SENOIA RACEWAY IS RUNNING “DIRT” AFTER YEARS OF ASPLALT, now it’s back to the roots of racing.
Down here in the real world, county of Coweta, the racing buzz isn’t about Kevin Harvick, or Dale Earnhardt Jr, or not even Jeff Gordon. It’s about the layer of clay that has been applied to Senoia Raceway.
Its about dirt track drivers like, Rucker Orr, Tony Kemp, Richard Stevens, Glenn McWaters, and a host of many more drivers that race every Saturday night at the new and improved Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Ga.
Drivers like Jeff Carter, Winford Minix, Scott Sherrer, Blake Griffin, not to mention Rusty Johnson and the list continues to grow every Saturday night as racing season gets stronger.
Up at Glenn and Cheryl Morris’ muffler and sign shop in Fayetteville, Glenn, the veteran Late Model driver, is making plans to return to the track where he started racing years ago, the same track where his father, the late Bob Morris, once was one of the few faithful Ford chauffeurs in the Chevy-dominated starting fields.
In the 1970s and ‘80s, Senoia’s red-clay high banks offered some of the best entertainment around, racing or otherwise. Promoter Hence Pollard, his wife Reba and their staff were masters at making the place fan and driver friendly.
Now the new changes have been made, with Jack Mills, Tony and Tim Moses and Mark Mills, plus a staff and officials that rival non better.
It is almost like that Mills, Moses and others pulled the playbook out of Promoter Hence Pollard and his wife, and basically said lets get back to the roots of racing, and have great food as well as fast cars and great drivers and great family entertainment,
Maybe that is why people are flocking to watch the action on Saturday nights at Senoia Raceway.
A recent photo shows that Senoia Raceway is well on its way to returning to dirt for the 2010 season. Photo courtesy www.newsenioaraceway.com
Hence Pollard, like all the great promoters, watched his races from the grandstands, from the perspective of a
fan. Rather than get embroiled in every tire and spoiler and rules controversy, he looked after the fans’ interests, while Reba kept the concession food hot and as tasty as home cooking.I guess this is where Mark Mills comes in when it comes to the food, they do not skimp you get more than you pay for at every race. The workers are friendly and helpful to all the fans and are more than willing to help you out.
On more than one occasion, Hence Pollard settled scoring disagreements by paying both drivers for the disputed position.
Once, years ago, Roscoe Smith and Doug Kenimer finished a Late Model feature side by side. The official on Smith’s side of the track called Smith the winner. The official on the other side saw Kenimer as the victor.
Pollard declared the fans the winner and paid both drivers, explaining that it was worth the extra payout to have such an exciting finish.
Once Pollard paid two drivers for second place in a disputed Sportsman race. Both drivers left happy, and Pollard explained later that it really wasn’t that expensive to make both drivers happy. He said he was going to have to pay one of them third-place money anyway and the difference in paying out two second-place purses and a second and a third wasn’t enough to be worth the worry.
After Hence Pollard died, the track was sold and eventually paved. It had a strong run as an asphalt track, but interest waned in recent years. Dirt racing has long been the backbone of short track racing in the South, and on the Southside of Atlanta, and now a new group is returning the old track to its red clay roots.
The new promoter, long-time Late Model driver Jack Mills, said the interest in the track has amazed him. “We’ve had thousands of hits on the website newsenoiaraceway.com and hundreds have signed on as friends of the track on Facebook,” Mills said.
Rainy weather has hampered the process of putting clay on the track, but it’s nearly done, and plans are under way for an opening around the end of March or the first of April.
High on Mills’ agenda is making the track’s old dirt heroes a part of opening night. He plans on inviting former Late Model stars like Roscoe Smith, Leon Archer, Jack Mills and Leon Sells to be on hand for the first green flag laps.
Mills said those drivers are true racing heroes. “They drove cars that were dangerous as hell and they raced like hell,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them none of us would be racing today.”
Jack is better known as “Big Jack” and he makes sure every race is called right; some of the drivers think they can get away with anything because they come from different tracks, and before anyone knows it Jack Mills will be on their case in a heartbeat. Every Driver follows the rules NO exceptions to any of the rules for any driver. Put it this way that is the way it should be at any race track.
And he and his partners, Tony and Tim Moses, have developed a new-found appreciation for the promoters he once cussed on a regular basis.
“I’ve got a whole new appreciation for people like Mickey Swims and Charlie Edwards,” he said of the longtime Georgia promoters. “It’s all three of us can do to do what they do by themselves, and we haven’t even started racing yet.”
When it comes to long-time fans, the greatest challenge facing Mills and the Moses brothers is trying to do the paying public what the Pollards did years ago.
They’re promising to try. and bring top class racing back to Senoia and place it on the map in the racing world.
When I look at Tim and Tony Moses, or Jack Mills or his son-in-law Mark Mills, I can see why racing at Senoia raceway is coming back to life.
First they are taking a secret from Hence Pollard, they are making the track fan friendly, and also have some of the best food in racing for all their fans, and every thing that is cooked is fresh and tastes like it came from your mothers table at home. “GOOOOOOD”.
Second, the rules on the track are being enforced, no driver gets a free pass, and every driver is the same and goes under the same rules. That’s where Jack Mills comes in, he is hard nosed and tough but if you obey the rules he is there to help you all he can, and that is something every track needs. There are plenty of times I watch Jack take his Artic Cat 4 wheeler out onto the track and get in a drivers face about something they did or maybe they are doing wrong. I call Jack the “Enforcer” and every class race track has an official that makes sure every driver is playing with the same deck of cards.
You have all heard the saying “Dirt is for racing, asphalt is for getting you to the track”
I have an even better one, “GOD made man out of Dirt, so he must be a dirt track fan”
Senoia Raceway has been for years talked about by people saying they were going to make it a dirt track again, more people than one has said to me that “they were going to dig the asphalt up, and turn it back to dirt”.
Everyone was hoping, but no one realized that in 2010 Senoia would be racing again on the famous clay in Georgia.
I hope you take the time to check out Senoia Raceways website and its amazing schedule of races and events. Just go to www.newsenoaraceway.com and look at the schedule.
Then as a fan get some friends, family or just some folks that have never seen a dirt track race and bring them down to the fastest 3/8th oval on DIRT and watch their eyes light up with pure amazement.
Once you are headed home, they will have become life long serious Dirt track fans and will be back and bring their friends and families.
It’s almost like catching a “BUG”. A “FEVER”, it becomes a thrill, and you have to be there to experience it.
So I can truly say, that Hence Pollard did the right thing in serving the fans to some of the greatest dirt track races in the South, now it is time for Jack Mill, Tony and Tim Moses to make their mark and make it even better than Hence Pollard did.
It can be done and with the experience between all parties in this vast venture , I look for so many great things to happen.
So I can truly say, that Hence Pollard did the right thing in serving the fans to some of the greatest dirt track races in the South, now it is time for Jack Mill, Tony and Tim Moses to make their mark and make it even better than Hence Pollard did.
It can be done and with the experience between all parties in this vast venture , I look for so many great things to happen.
Remember DVD’s of all 7 Feature a race are available for $25.00 and if you need more information my name is Tino and the Website of Senoia raceway has my cell phone number in which you can call at anytime.
I look forward to seeing some great racing action, and remember every class is a must see, from Modified Mini to Late Models, to pure stock mini cars, to the hobby as well as Enduro class.
You want action, you will see some of the fastest drivers take the curves 3 wide and whoever said there is no passing in the turns has lost their minds, there is action everywhere.
So come see some Fast Action this weekend as on May 8th, 2010 the Late Model run for $2000 cash, that’s right $2000 cash to the winning driver, look out because the drivers will be coming from everywhere to try and earn the cash.
Many Thanks
Tino Patti
A Freelance Photographer/ Video Journalist
With a World wide racing BLOG following!
I look forward to seeing some great racing action, and remember every class is a must see, from Modified Mini to Late Models, to pure stock mini cars, to the hobby as well as Enduro class.
You want action, you will see some of the fastest drivers take the curves 3 wide and whoever said there is no passing in the turns has lost their minds, there is action everywhere.
So come see some Fast Action this weekend as on May 8th, 2010 the Late Model run for $2000 cash, that’s right $2000 cash to the winning driver, look out because the drivers will be coming from everywhere to try and earn the cash.
Many Thanks
Tino Patti
A Freelance Photographer/ Video Journalist
With a World wide racing BLOG following!
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