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
in his design for Athens Speedway. The grading, grandstand construction, etc. was started in May 1959 and tons and tons of clay were hauled in for the surface of the track, which measures a quarter of a mile on the inside of the circumference. Although the work was completed by September 1959, the enemy of all dirt tracks - Rain - postponed the opening until November. Four straight rain outs in October put the first race on the new track on November 9, 1959. Athens Speedway hosted Super Modified's, Amateurs and Skeeters. Legendary drivers such as Tootle Estes, Bud Lunsford, Charlie Burkhalter, C.L. Pritchett, Donald Brooks, Charlie Mincey, Bill York, Charlie Padgett and Herman Wise were winners at Athens. Portions of the film “Greased Lighting” were filmed on the track in the mid 1970s. Unfortunately, Athens Speedway closed in 1992. Much of the track’s equipment, including the scoreboard, fence, light towers and even the clay are now at the Hartwell Speedway located off Clay Brown Road in Hartwell, Georgia. The outer wall and wall around the pit area are all still standing. Only the portion that was torn down on the last night from the front straightway wall is missing/damaged. (Courtesy of georgiaracinghistory.com, decal-man.com & Christy Wall)
