Columbia, A6
It has been nearly 40 years since the roar of an engine has been heard from Columbia Speedway. The half-mile race track off Highway 321 in Cayce hosted races from 1948- 1975.
For 7-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, Columbia Speedway holds a special meaning. It was the first track where he won a race.
“ It was great. We hadn’t run that many races and were still able to go back and win that race. Circumstances probably made us win that race. I don’t know if we outran that many people. I looked at it at the time, and I said ‘won’t nothing be bigger than winning your first race’,” Petty said.
According to Columbia speedway historian Jim Seay’s CD, History of Columbia Speedway, interest for a race track in Columbia first rose following World War II. The initial idea was to have a race track between Columbia Airport and the town of South Congaree. However, that idea was squashed when the property owners heard about the proposal and raised their prices.
Richard Petty awaits a qualifying run at the Columbia Speedway.
Despite the setback, officials found a sizeable lot off Highway 321, nearly four miles from Columbia. The property was purchased from Sellers and Son Holding Company, and the half- mile race track was built in 1948. The first race was a 100- lap event held Sunday, April 25, 1948. Approximately 10,000 spectators were on hand to see the modified race cars.
South Carolina native Cotton Owens was in the field for the inaugural race. Owens, considered one of the 50 greatest drivers in NASCAR history, won two races driving a Pontiac at Columbia speedway during the 1961 season.
“It was great. It was such a nice speedway. The crowd was always good, and the race track stayed together good,” Owens said.
Racing at Columbia Speedway became a feature most of the week. However, Thursday was the premiere night to attend a race. Thursday nights became even more important for race fans when the Grand National Series, presently the Sprint Cup series, began a yearly tradition of racing at Columbia Speedway in 1951. The attendance for those races more than tripled that of normal races. Nearly 6,000 racing fans would pack the stands for a chance to see racers like Lee Petty, Tim Flock, or Buck Baker make it to victory lane.
Ralph Earnhardt and Billy Scott battle at Columbia Speedway.
In 1958, Columbia became the first track to host future Hall of Famer Richard Petty. Petty, who had made previous trips to Columbia to see his father Lee race, made his debut in a convertible race. He qualified 13th and finished 6th. A year later, he collected the first of 200 victories, driving a Plymouth convertible.
While Petty has won at multiple race tracks throughout his career, Columbia is one that stood out for a number of reasons.
“Columbia was a really slick race track that stayed pretty smooth and wore out tires like you can’t believe. It was probably one of the hardest race tracks of any of them ’cause it was so slick and smooth. If you could get around Columbia, you could get around any race track,” Petty said.
One of the things that made Columbia speedway so special was the components of the race track, according to Seay. The dirt was a mixture of clay and sand. Ben Harrison, who would prepare the tracks the day of the events, would pour rock salt into the track, and then soak it with water. After that, he would pound the track with a device that had multiple tires. The entire process took 45 minutes, and the result was excited racing seeing drivers often take the corner of the speedway driving sideways. Fifty laps into the race the surface would be as hard as asphalt causing another set of obstacles for the drivers.
Also, according to Seay, Columbia Speedway was a track of firsts for a number of aspects in NASCAR. It was the site of the first night race in 1948 and the sight of the first victory for a Chevrolet car in the 1950s. A normal field of cars at Columbia Speedway would consist of 20 to 25 racers.
In the 1960s, Columbia Speedway witnessed the height of its popularity, but in 1965, officials at the Ford Motor Company announced they were pulling out of a 100-mile race at Columbia Speedway. Initially, race manager Buddy Gooden thought about canceling the race.
However, Seay, who was a co- announcer at Columbia Speedway at that time, suggested that Gooden talk to the drivers who normally raced Ford cars at the speedway and ask them to race other cars. Seay and Gooden also announced the race was cancelled the night before the race because Ford was pulling out.
The news hit the front page of newspapers and news casts across the country. The world-wide director of racing, Jacque Passino, was quoted saying, “If you don’t think that we are serious, then you better be at Columbia Speedway tonight.”
The result of Gooden’s effort and the reaction of fans was a packed speedway filled with over 11,000 fans, 2,000 more than would attend the race in Darlington a weekand a-half later.
During the 1960s, Petty’s success at the track continued as he visited victory lane four more times. In all, over the 13- year span that Petty raced at Columbia Speedway, he won seven Grand National races, more than any other racer.
“ You just had to have a knack for it. Some people had a knack, and some didn’t. We were pretty fortunate that we adapted pretty good to the race track,” Petty said.
A number of events led to the downfall of Columbia Speedway, but the decision to pave the track following the 1970 season may have been the ultimate one. The paved track was easier to maintain, but racing became more dangerous and wrecks increased. The risk became too great for the reward.
Attendance also became a problem. While the Grand National series had a great influence on the crowd, pulling in nearly 6,000 fans a race, normal nights drew 1500, and over the years that attendance number began to drop.
NASCAR’s transition from smaller tracks to bigger tracks also played a role. NASCAR was moving from cities like Columbia to bigger cities like Charlotte and Atlanta. August, 1971 was the last time the Grand Nationals would race at Columbia Speedway.
“ I looked at it as NASCAR growing up. They were able to go to bigger race tracks, bigger venues, and have more people. From a driver’s stand point, the purse was bigger even though the races were longer,” Petty said.
The final nail in the coffin came from the owners of the speedway. Charles Sellers was involved with commercial construction and was only able to maintain racing at Columbia speedway on the side. Eventually, the commercial construction business took up too much of his time to continue racing at the speedway. The speedway was shut down in 1975 and laid dormant until 2009.
In 2008, Sellers was contacted by Jeff Gilder, with Racers Reunion. After a meeting with Gilder, Seay, and Columbia Sports Councilman Scott Powers, Sellers helped put the plan together to begin the Racers Reunion Festival first held in April 2009. The first festival saw 25,000 fans from 17 states visit the track.
According to West Columbia Chamber of Commerce representative John Banks, there are future plans for the track. He says they hope to turn it into a true events facility, and there are designs for a museum. A concert is scheduled for June 25 and a Barbecue Cook off on Oct 28-29.
Sellers says he hopes to repave the track and, while the idea of stock car racing at the track any time soon may be a little far fetched, he hopes to bring racing back to Columbia Speedway even if it is bicycles.
Seay is selling copies of his CD about the history of Columbia Speedway. A portion of the proceeds of every purchase is donated to the Legends of Racing Medical Hardship Fund. Contact Seay at (803) 781-5877 for more information.
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