|| *Comments on Augusta International Raceway:* View the most recent comment <#15> | Post a comment <#post> 1. Cooper posted: 03.27.2010 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The Augusta International Raceway is a multi-use motorsports facility located in Hephzibah, Georgia (just south of Augusta). Located next to the 1/2 Mile Oval was the Augusta International Raceway 3 Mile road circuit. This former track is currently being developed into the 300-acre (1.2 km2) Diamond Lakes Regional Park. The "Augusta 510" was run on November 17, 1963 at the road circuit with a noon start time and a 5:00 PM end time. The race actually covered 417 miles (671 km) because of the time limit. The track itself is a 3-mile (4.8 km) long banked road course with 21 total turns. The width of the track is 45 feet (14 m). The track elevation change is 120 feet (37 m) with the highest point being at pit exit and the lowest point on the "backstretch" where the spring fed infield lakes drain into Spirit Creek just outside the track. Joe Weatherly called this part of the track "Alligator Hollow". The track had a 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) garage area (50' x 300') with two restrooms and showers. There were seven main grandstands located along the pit lane. The control tower was located between the fourth and fifth grandstand. 2. AnonymousEFR posted: 05.25.2013 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) These guys were AMBITIOUS. There were plans for a 1 mile dirt track, 2 mile speedway with a strange pit road in the trioval that makes a slow right hand turn, and a FIVE mile road course. 3. Danish Pie posted: 11.23.2018 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Fireball Roberts was a part owner of the Augusta Raceway Complex, making his being the winner of the only Cup race ever held on the 3 mile road course very fitting, for his last win to boot. Fireball's untimely passing was a big factor in the lack of progression to the development of the complex, which despite running races at the 1/2 mile oval up until 1969, closed in 1970. Post 2 is right about the developers (Harold Peden, Marshall Spray, and Fireball) being ambitious. Linked below is a picture of the tracks land, with features of the venue pointed out. Also posted is a quote and the link from where the picture was retrieved. http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/uploads/8/6/7/1/8671826/4275378.jpg?882 "Six of the eight proposed tracks were completed, The Hydro Plane racing on the lake and the two mile tri oval were not completed, Other activities such as football and horse racing never came to fruition as the complex closed in 1970 after ten years of operation. The golf course was started but never finished, Some of future plans were scraped after the death of Glenn 'Fireball' Roberts." - http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/augusta-international-speedway.html 4. Andy U posted: 12.08.2018 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 22 minute video on the track... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD6grqgwfP0 5. Andy U posted: 12.08.2018 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn...I was stationed at Fort Gordon twice and never knew of this track. What is even more embarassing is that I raced on the dirt track in Grovetown for one year. Here is a YouTube news report on this track https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMhPMV5tER8 6. Andy U posted: 12.08.2018 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even more embarassing was that I lived about a mile from the facility. Anyway, you can find the area on Google Maps if you look for "Diamond Lakes Augusta Ga. About half of the road course is visible still to the south of the lakes away from the ball fields. The rest of the road course you can find on the USGS 1971 map of Hephzibah GA. It is really hard to ID but it is due west of Richmond Factory Pond and surrounds the purplish blotches (lakes). To the north you can see the dragstrip behind Diamond Lakes Elem Sch. The oval supposedly (aerial photos) showed it to be at a 90 degree angle off the drag strip at about halfway down the run. Nothing there but trees now and I see no trace of a former oval even though the area seems undisturbed. One thing...IF the school took off the eastern portion of the dragstrip then there is some vague image of part of an oval. WIKI has an aerial photo to see. 7. Andy U posted: 12.08.2018 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OOPS, sorry. I wasn't looking far enough away from the road course. the oval (and midget oval) are visible a little further north. On the USGS it is between the 99 and 00 grid lines (at the top of the map). Yes, definitely the oval is visible today (assuming Google Maps are fairly new). You can see half the track behind the school. The other half must have been bulldozed. Believe it or not, Frank Warren (#79) lives between the two tracks. There is a neighborhood with street names Frank Warren, Glenn Roberts, Dave MacDonald and Ken Miles. 8. Corey posted: 06.09.2020 - 12:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm curious where the got 21 turns. I'm looking at an overhead photo and can only come up with 16 turns and this includes counting the bends in the straights. 9. Corey posted: 06.09.2020 - 2:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This track only ran 3 total races. The one NASCAR event and two USRRC road racing events on March 1st, 1964. Ken Miles would win the Manufacture Championship race ahead of Dave MacDonald. Later that day, MacDonald would win the Driver's Championship race ahead of Jim Hall. Both event days would be a financial loss to the promoters and would ultimately doom the track. Harold Peden, whose company graded and paved the course, was paid in stock and became the default owner. Despite only being open for less then a year, the track needed major repairs and safety enhancements. This resulted in no further races being scheduled and the track was left to deteriorate. 10. Canadianfan posted: 06.09.2020 - 2:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @8 Actually Corey on racingcircuits and the-fastlane databases I count 15 turns. One of them I would be hard-pressed to actually call a turn as you said it's more just bend in the straight. 11. Corey posted: 06.09.2020 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @10 I got 21 from a book I'm reading titled ?Lost Road Courses?. Looking at comment #1, I believe that's were he got his information. The only way I can see 21 is if they took the oval practice and had multiple turn numbers to what is essentially one corner. 12. Canadianfan posted: 06.09.2020 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @11 I have a book like that book too it's called ?Autodrome: The lost race circuits of Europe?. I'm going to order yours though. Looks interesting. 13. thog posted: 07.07.2020 - 3:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This track could be listed as "Augusta (Road)" instead of "Augusta" on the results pages to prevent confusion between the road course and the oval. 14. Corey posted: 07.20.2020 - 12:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Featured on Season 1 Episode 4 of Dale Earnhardt Jr's ?Lost Speedways?. 15. RaceFanX posted: 08.18.2020 - 12:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This track was nicknamed "Where the Masters Race" as a pun on that little golf outing they hold nearby each year that likes to give out green jackets. They spelled out the track name and nickname in giant concrete letters, many of which now just sit laying in the woods on the former track property. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: