Augusta International Raceway
Augusta International Raceway layout
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| Location | near Augusta, Georgia - USA |
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| Capacity | 70,000+ All Tracks Combined |
| Owner | Augusta/Richmond County Taxpayers |
| Broke ground | 1959 |
| Opened | 1960 |
| Closed | 1970 |
| Major events | 13 Major Events |
| 1/2 Mile Oval, 3 Mile Road Course, 1/4 Mile Drag Strip, Kart Track, Micro Midget Track, Motorcycle Track, 2 Mile Tri Oval (started but not completed), Hydroplane Lake (started by not completed) | |
| Length | Various for the different tracks km (Various for the different tracks mi) |
| Banking | Turns: Various for the different tracks |
The Augusta International Raceway was a multi-use motorsports facility located in Hephzibah, Georgia, United States (just south of Augusta).
The 0.5-mile (0.80 km) oval hosted NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) races from 1962 to 1969. During that time span they ran 12 races with 8 different winners.
On June 19, 1962 Joe Weatherly started on the pole position with a lap of 63.069 mph (101.500 km/h). Joe drove his Bud Moore-owned Pontiac to a 1-lap victory over Ned Jarrett. Augusta International Speedway back in 1962 was a .500 dirt mile oval. The race was 200 laps and saw only 16 cars start the race.
Less than a month later Joe did a repeat by winning on July 17, 1962 over Richard Petty. Fred Lorenzen took home the win on September 13, 1962 over Petty.
In 1963 a crowd of 4,000 in attendance saw Ned Jarrett take his Burton Robinson #11 Ford to victory lane over Richard Petty on April 4, 1963.
The 1964 season saw major changes as the track was paved with asphalt. The largest crowd ever (14,000) saw the largest field ever (30) take the green flag on November 1, 1964. The race also received the title "Jaycee 300" as the race was increased to 300 laps over the previous 200. Darel Dieringer went on to win the event.
On August 15, 1965 Dick Hutcherson won the 200 lap event with a 2.75 second lead over David Pearson. On November 14, 1965 Richard Petty took home a victory in the "Georgia Cracker 300".
November 13, 1966 saw Richard Petty win at the half mile oval with an average speed of 84.112.movie (Tiny Lund) Harder Charger was partly made. Tiny dropped out of the race with a broken distributor gear. After the race , in the movie a young Southern MotoRacing sales girl ( Joy Tollison Agner) can be seen kissing Richard Petty and jumping up and down in excitement !
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