Abandoned Race Track: Augusta International. The fastest road course in the U.S.?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2024
- After discovering Augusta International Raceway in the process of mapping every road course in North America www.lapofthewor... , I knew I had to take a trip there and explore what was left of it before any more was demolished for housing or reclaimed by nature. What I found there exceeded my expectations and sent my imagination running. Follow along on a brief walk around what could have been a gem of a track in the Southeast.
Thanks to the AIRPS (Augusta International Raceway Preservation Society) for the historical information and guidance! Check them out on Facebook:
/ airps-874816499252317
Vintage photos: From the Collections of The Henry Ford
www.thehenryfo...
Drone Footage Courtesy of Sky G Aerial Imaging: skyg-aerialima...
A.I.R. on Assetto Corsa: • 962@Augusta
___________________________________________________________________
Lap of the World
Instagram: / lapoftheworld
Facebook: / lapoftheworld
Website: www.lapofthewor...
If you enjoyed this video, we also recently visited the similarly short-lived Greenwood Roadway: th-cam.com/video/gT9Dl10yWPc/w-d-xo.html
I lived in Augusta for most of my life, I am 64 as of this writing and I attended the races with my father. After the track closed me and my friends would go out an race each other on it with street cars. As with most things there were those that abused the track by racing drunk so they cut ditches in the track to keep people from racing on it, but some people still tried and ended up hitting the grooves and rolling their cars over. The quarter mile track remained open and we would race their frequently and on occasion the county police would come out and race their cop cars with us. The half mile oval was accessible during this time as well. The quarter mile track was closed when a girl driving a corvette hit some water while racing and spun out and hit a VW with another girl sitting on the hood, the girl on the hood happened to be the sheriffs daughter. I still have the news paper account of that.
Thanks for sharing your story Bill. I really enjoyed learning about the history of A.I.R. in the course of making the video and it's awesome to hear an account from someone who both lived part of that history and had the pleasure of driving the track...even if "unofficially" 😉.
I think it was 77/78 when my step rode me around that oval in a big old Chrysler
Bill you should somehow post that online, stuff like that is gold.
Bill Maybee what a story. Thank you for sharing. What I’d do to have a beer with you and hear your stories first hand! Thanks again.
Wow sounds like you've had a good life. Thanks for sharing.
This came up on my recommend videos after watching the abandoned Air Base Speedway videos. Now Im hooked on watching these.
same here
Fucking same
Same here (great video, watching from U.K.)
Me too. And he said he was from Knoxville, so now I'm wondering if I'll see some dirt action.
Same!
I grew up in Augusta too. I watched fireball Roberts and others race here. My Dad took me to the track to learn how to drive when I was 14. It really pissed my mom off, (they were divorced) never the less i learned to drive in a relatively safe place free of cops and other cars, mostly. I also had my first flagged drag race here on the old drag strip/runway. in my moms Cutlass. Great memories thanks for the video and history lesson.
Glad you enjoyed it. It's been fun reading everyone's personal stories about this track in the comments.
so glad im not the only one who wants forza to resurect this track? those banked turns would be SO sick
It would be nice if Iracing scanned it and put it in the service.
YESS
i would love to see how fun those races would be
Hoping the same but for an NR2003 Mod of the track
I grew up about a mile from this track. Made a ton of childhood (and adult) memories here! That trench through the center was a bitch to navigate while riding my motorcycles around it.
I had plenty of time to think about an appropriate conveyance while walking it. I think you could do 90% of whats left in a quad, but the downed tree(s) and larger ditch somewhere in the last two turns might've been impassable. I did think a motorbike would fit, but yeah, I imagine the ruts/trenches would suck.
They were navigable, I just had to swing out (or in) wide in most places....they were a lot deeper than they are now. I haven't been out there in years, but this TH-cam vid has got me itching to go back to it. Hell, I thought when they put that park in, they removed the track! I'm glad to see it is still there. Back in the day, us locals moved the trees out of our way, I wasn't the only one who rode it.
Years ago back in 2003-2006 we used to ride dirtbikes here. I had no idea there was a track there. One day I was ripping down the trails through the woods and came up on the banked asphalt turn. I was thinking what in the world is this? Why is there a banked turn in the middle of the woods? Then after some digging when I got home I had learned all about it. Good days there.
I can't wait for the Assetto Corsa track to come out. This will be so cool.
I would absolutely love that
We need to get Jimmy Broadbent to try it out
Only open for 10 years not very long what a shame
People still went and drove on the track in the seventies. I know because my step dad rode me around the track around 77-78
Had they scarred the track at that point, or did that happen later? Information was a little fuzzy on that, but it sounded like they just left it initially, and then went back later and did that to keep people from having "unsanctioned" races there.
@@LapoftheWorld I know we bought a Christmas tree from there back around 1980. It was scarred at the point because my dad drove around part of it showing it to me.
Thank you so much for the video! As a deputy, that was my last beat before retiring. The first week on that beat, I, along with other deputies; found that track. Unfortunately, i did not know it was a race track or the great history it had. The funny part of this is, a hot rod enthusiast, I drove that course in my police car. Not the way I would on the interstate stopping a car but for the true beauty it has. It is funny to find out the great historical meaning it had. Unfortunately, the commissioners or the county have failed at EVERY opportunity to make Augusta great. For the only thing we have left is crime and the Augusta National; the host of the Masters. Again, thank you so much for the video. I now wish I'd had my dash cam on during the ride.
I was stationed at Ft Gordon from Sept 67 to Jan 68. I had just come from Germany and I brought a Honda S800 with me. After I finished for the day on Post, I drove around the course quite a bit. Had to slow down for those cuts across the road. I remember a light green Mustang from Augusta Tire. He was behind me at turn 1 I believe and he put the Mustang on it's side.
My buddy had a Datsun 1600 and we ran the dragstrip part sometimes.
I grew up in Augusta as many of the commenters have. I am younger (36) so I wasn't around for the track's heyday. I never even knew the track existed until I got my first job with the Augusta Recreation Department marking baseball fields at Diamond Lakes! Ever since then, I have been fascinated with it! Oh what could have been!
Man, the algorithm seems to be doing a fantastic job. This track looks like it could have been legendary. Especially now with all the trees around it. Hard to to get vibes of Spa or the Nurburgring. Throw in the nice mix of mid- and high- speed corners with a few you could have slowed down and I bet it would be fantastic with modern cars. Nice work!
There are really only a few things that I think would change. First is much of the banking would have been removed. The second is that I could see right hander after the lake section moved a bit farther out and create a tighter turn with a heavier braking zone. There may have been a chicane thrown in somewhere because that's what they did to ruin fast corners, but I think the overall layout would have been mostly intact.
Phenomenal video, I grew up and still live within a mile of the Augusta International Raceway, my wife and I have walked this track more times than I can remember. I now own a vintage 1955 Chevrolet stock car and have thought many times what it would be like coming off of pit row, dropping into the bowl and opening it up on the long straight aways. If I’m not mistaken AIRPS sponsors a vintage race car show there at the Diamond Lakes A.I.R. monument every year.
Once again great job! 😉👍
Looks great! I visit abandoned race tracks since 1998, mainly in Europe. I hope I can visit this one once. Thankt for uploading this great video!
Hey! 'Glad you enjoyed the video. I've watched several of your track visits over the years and have penciled a few of them for next time I'm on that side of the Atlantic. Keep up the great work yourself!
@@LapoftheWorld Thank you fellow circuit explorer! Great to hear you're also a fan of my work :)
the track can be used for rallycross. It looks incredible.
I was gonna say beeing a local I would have took a rally car there by now
Alright boys, we’re starting group B back up.
It's all baseball fields and housing developments now
@@gentlegiantboy16 sad.
@@ninjasiren sad indeed
This popped up on my recommended videos. I've lived in the area 20 years & never heard of it. Thanks for this great video
My uncle showed me this track in 1987 when I was 11. Great video brought back some memories.
Nascar pole winner was Fred lorenzen, 2:01 and 88.550 MPH
Wouldn't it be fantastic to see it reopen, looks like a phenomenal circuit! Plus it's better intact than most abandoned circuits, especially after so long.
This is my fifth time back watching this video. I really want to see if I could bring this to the attention of the mayor and see if it could be restored. The biggest issue is that there is now a neighborhood close to the track, and since I’m only 19 I don’t know how I would get in contact with anyone in office. I only ever go to Augusta and contribute to their local economy during car meets, but if this track was reopened I would be there every weekend, and I’m sure there are hundreds of others that would agree.
Sadly, because of the recreational and residential infrastructure that is there today, this old lost piece of racing history wont ever be a usable race track again. However, if I ever win billions in the lottery, I will build the new Augusta International Raceway as close as possible to the original track. Id probably also attempt to buy out the neighborhoods, library, and recreational facilities just to clear the fallen trees and weeds from the track and start preserving it the way it should be. There is supposedly a "preservation society" of some sort, they do not appear to do much other than maybe keep the weeds to a minimum sadly.
That could easily have been comparable to Spa in terms of scenery! And not to mention that this track with banked corners just looks like it races soo good, making almost every corner a passing spot
Before the subdivision was built the area behind the pit walls up to the driveway was a pretty cool place to ride 4wheelers on a Sunday afternoon. I live about 5 miles from the track, originally from East Tennessee myself, and have lots of great memories from this place.
There were some folks riding 4 wheelers around parts of the track while I was there.....I'll admit to being jealous given the humidity that day.
This is the best 'abandoned race track' video that I have seen! I love the little map in the corner. I'm surprised people haven't snuck a Bobcat out there, or some warped Eagle Scout with a shovel, to fill in the cuts in the pavement.
Have you ever thought about reaching out to Richard Petty for a minimum of a phone or Skype interview about his memories of this track? It may lead to a dead end, but what a wonderful piece of added history could be made if you were lucky enough to make it happen!!
Also, have you ever researched the road course on Hutchison Island in Savannah, GA? I've been on that track a few times. I don't know the name, but it's a relatively flat track, especially compared to Augusta.
Wonderful video, friend! I'm from Georgia and this was the first time I heard of it. Augusta road trip!!!
Great idea, any other living racers he could try to reach?
I was thinking the same it’s really worth trying to get some ex racer to walk through a lap and talk about the circuit - I’m sure someone would be happy to recount their tales ( probably with amazing detail turn by turn once you show them the track walk).
I always look at it this way: what's the worst they could say? "No"? Ok, so be it, but that would be awesome.
Side note: not long after watching this video and making my original comment/compliment/suggestion, I contacted my dad, as he raced open car midgets in the 60's in South and Middle Georgia. Unfortunately, he had never heard of this facility.
The Hutchison island track had been a site of unsanctioned late night races, and locals tearing through without permission, and some local businesses used part of the old track for their property access. A towing company I think was one, that had begun taking steps to block access by installing a security gate. But since it was also considered public roadway, that didn't go through.
Finally a few years ago, a jazz musician was struck and killed by one of the speeding drivers, as the island has a golf course to accompany the high-rise resort and convention center now constructed across the Savannah River from the city. Since then, hard barriers and construction blockades were put in place to block any further vehicular access to the rest of the track, but you can still take the turn down that roadway and cross over the start-finish line, still painted across the asphalt in checkered black and white
For those folks wanting more information on the memorial project mentioned in video please go to this Facebook Page: Rex White Motorsports Memorial Plaza - Home to 5Wkids Outdoor Learning Area. "Lap of the World" did a fantastic video of this former racing complex that is being developed into Diamond Lakes Regional Park. The Facebook Page has information on the other seven tracks that were built or planned for the Augusta International Speedway complex that operated between 1960 - 1970. Several folks are working on a computer simulation of this track. Thanks.
@HistoricMustang glad to see you're around, I moved back to Augusta and you took off before I moved back.
I'm old enough to say I not only remember this track, I've enjoyed seeing a Nascar race in person there when I was a young child. I believe it was 1968 if my memory serves me correct. Don't remember the name of the race but got Richard Petty's autograph.
That was FASCINATING!!! Thank you for taking the time and sweating to death to make this GREAT video.
As did Bill, I was born and raised in Augusta, and knew well of this track. It should be revived, because it wAas one of the most brutal tracks on the NASCAR circuit at the time. Some of the old racers said that a conventional transmission of the day was no match for the climbs and hairpin turns,...
Would love to see a Top Gear/Grand Tour style cinematic video of a Focus or Escort doing a rally course following the exact track lay out.
We need to reopen this track
Do you have 50 million dollars laying around? 😂😂😂
@@2bboosted624 no, but the community does, if we do a fund raiser or something it might work
It's a public park called Diamond Lakes now. If you drive through the park, you drive on part of the racetrack route. The back half is a disused dirt road.
@@FZMello perfect to be reopen as a rallycross track then needs only some reparing and quard rails the pit lane would be the joker in this case
What a Forgotten Gem!! I'd love to Run a Few Laps......on my Trail Bike!! - Thanks for the Upload - Cheers👍😉🇦🇺
I grew up here my entire life, and had no idea than it even existed. To think about how great the motor complex would have been had they had money to keep it open, wow...just wow.
I walked the track back around 04-05, back then a good bit of the track had trees growing through the pavement. I found out about the track in a NASCAR book that I came across. My dad was from a town north of Augusta. On a visit to see his family, we drove down to see the track. Around that same time I was racing in SCCA myself. I had goosebumps thinking of what it might've been like to race around an amazing circuit. It's a shame it couldn't have been resurrected like VIR was. Given it's proximity to the main road was very close to the track (if I remember correctly the road back then was also two lane, its even closer now since its a four lane).
They just recently widened the road that runs near it within the last few years . I am born and raised around the corner from this track and i used to play baseball in the park as a kid.
were you racing a blue '84 Dodge Shelby Charger?
@@Toxic2T , no I had a second-gen RX-7.
@@TacoTraveller damn google lol
I had no idea this course even existed until random chance brought me here. I can't thank you enough for the insight and effort you put into this video. Liked and subbed. Seriously man, this is too good. You deserve WAY more views and subs! I wish we could bring old courses like this back to life. I'm off to find the AC build! Thanks again!
I want to bring my road bike!
(The leg powered kind)
Wow!! Pass Diamond Lakes every day and had no idea.
This is an incredible video and I've got a mighty need to take an adventurous lap around this madness. This is one hell of a masterpiece that should be restored for rally at least if not road use again.
Love the shifting sounds...I miss my NSX
This film was amazing. 🙌 I had to subscribe. Of all the tracks in the US, AIR should have been the MOST successful. Maybe back then a road course wasn't as desirable to NASCAR fans as an oval. As a kid, Fireball Roberts was my favorite and still is.
You and I both are mapping every race track in America it seems. I'm doing road courses, paved ovals, and street circuits. I'm at right around 150 tracks at the moment. Except you seem to actually have a way of getting to get to these tracks.
Nice! You should end up with a few more than me then given I've only mapped ovals that have a "roval" configuration. Feel free to use my map to cross reference (and let me know if I've missed any!). I'm definitely going to try to get to them all.
First one I can think of off the top of my head that I see you forgot is Oregon International Raceway in Goshen, Oregon. Probably quite a few more since America seemed to be bursting with road courses in the 60's. Only a few are well documented with the rest mostly being limited to some forum posts or something.
Great video. I love these tours of old, abandoned racetrack, though I’d prefer they were still around.
Been trying to get this track back in action, and used for Rally or road. Also it’s pronounced uh-gusta not aw-gusta :)
😉Very few people understand how esoteric regional southern dialects can get, lol. I went to college in Maryville, TN....pronounced "Murvil" locally so I suppose I should know better.
Lap of the World lol it’s all good, was born and raised here in Augusta. It’s like Mart-nez and not Mar-T-nez
Lap of the World was talking to my dad the other day come to find out he worked on the track back in its glory days with Joe Cawley
@@SpwnDragn Very cool! Any interesting stories from back in the day?
Lap of the World yeah he had some good ones, talked about the old drag strip and driving the water truck around pretty cool, something I never knew about my dad.
You did a great job showing the track .i live near the track and have been out there several times
Cleaned up and resurfaced that would make a wonderful cycling park for bicycles.
Tracy D I was thinking the same thing. It seems like a very logical way to repurpose many of these lost tracks. Very similar concept as a rail to trail. With all of the development surrounding the place now the idea of anything motorsport related is kind of out the window. It would be a great addition to that park and would help preserve the history of the track from further development. The circuit is still very complete.
@@bigsmallblock9480 It would be wonderful. The city needs to get on it before it is too late. It would be a really nice bike path. The park is already there and people are already using it. The transformation would bring even more attention to the area. And your correct it will preserve the history of the track. It is a win win win.
that track looks incredible, it looks like a mini spa.
I just stumbled upon your channel. Excellent video! I remember finding out about AIR in middle school, and it was exciting to learn that some of the all-time NASCAR greats used to race in my area! Hopefully I'll get to experience the track on Assetto Corsa soon!
Thanks for checking it out and thanks for the sub!
I'd heard of this track but never knew anything about it. Thanks so much.
Honestly I could see this track making a comeback if invested in. The layout is remarkably preserved and most of the infrastructure around the track isn't much. It is literally just a sports complex. Not much to work with. The most challenging part of revitalizing Augusta International would be convincing locals and the local government to reconstruct a race track literally right beside their homes.
It makes me so sad and angry that such amazing and beautiful tracks are abandoned and then built over instead of restored :(
Racing ain't as popular as it used to be. Both to attend and to participate, though in that case it's mainly the cost of entry that stops people.
The funny thing is I have heard of this track. I don't know where or how I have heard of it but yeah I have heard of this race track. And yes I was a young kid in 1970
There was a planned golf course at Augusta International Raceway? As if Augusta needed another golf course!
My grandad got to see the Cobras that raced on this track. We live in Augusta and he worked at Walker Ford. They brought the cars there, and he took my dad to see them. He fired one up, said it was a beast! Shame the track closed when I was 2 years old, I would have liked to see the races there.
Well done. Absolutely amazing. I’m glad I found this channel.
Known fact:
Fireball Roberts and Dave MacDonald last wins were at Augusta international speedway.
Fireball Roberts would pass due to wreak in Charlotte and Dave MacDonald would end up passing due to wreak at the Indy 500.
Honestly, I've enjoyed reading peoples memories of the track just as much as watching the video!
Really appreciate your hard work and effort! As a lover of Motorsport, I LOVE videos like this.
Plus, I spent 4 years in Knoxville-on “The Hill” at UT.
I’m subscribed! Look forward to your future adventures and discoveries!
What a great video! I'm out near LA so I never heard of this place. It looks like it would've been dangerous to race on in some spots but hard to tell for sure. It looks narrow everywhere. I love road courses. I've been to Sears Point (1995) and went to Riverside, CA. several times in mid late 70s and for the last one in '88. If you look at the pole speed from the same year it was faster.
Thanks! I would have loved to do something similar with Riverside, but sadly I'm not sure how many people would want to watch drone footage of a mall parking lot 😢
@@LapoftheWorld Mall and mall parking lot. You know it's like 30 years later and it still kind of pisses me off. There's enough on TH-cam to give an idea of what it was like. I have programs, ticket stubs $8 for GA, a few pictures. There was a dirt embankment to the west of turns 5/6 just bring a fold up aluminum chair and from there one could see most of the esses. From the top of the turn 6 grandstands you could see all the way to turn 9 which was over a mile away. One thing I'll always remember is when all the cars came weaving through the esses on the first lap it looked like one long snake. Then coming into turn 6 you would hear 35 engines rev up one after the other just a few tenths of a second apart as each driver downshifted into 2nd gear. One of those sounds you never forget.
I surveyed the Diamond Lake park and walked the track multiple times laying out the new roads and ballfields. Were you able to see the drag strip next to it. It’s about in the same condition with stuff built on it now. We we started surveying the park there as a Christmas tree farm in the in field and we went out there one day and was stopped by the police because they had found someone was growing marijuana near by. They burnt all of it onsite so we had to leave. I’ve never seen the ariel view of the track. Awesome video and loved the info of the track.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. I was aware of the drag strip from the research I did ahead of time, but didn't get over to it when I was there. I ran out of daylight and had an appointment in Atlanta the next morning so didn't do much extracurricular walking around.
"Burnt all of it on site."
😃
Really cool. Never heard of it. Like a cross between watkins glen with nearly every corner being banked and fast as hell and vir for winding all over the place
Awesome track! Would be a lot of fun to have raced there!
My dad has a picture of Richard petty sitting on the roof of his race car in one of the ponds.
Lol, I did wonder about that given the lack of any real barriers, even back in the day.
@@LapoftheWorld ya it was a good video brings back memories of walking and riding bikes around the track in my not so long ago younger years lol
This channel needs WAY more subs! Great video!
Amazing video, thanks for getting this archived for future reference!- I'd love to see Iracing scan this while there is something still there to work from!
If ever I were to somehow obtain any way to travel into the past, it would be to attend events like that at this abandoned track or even, the late Air Base Speedway...among other historic events at historic venues
Unfortunaty there isn't enough left of aibase speedway to even attempt to drive it there's a video of what's left of it here on TH-cam...it only been up about a week..
This is an incredibly well put together video. Thanks for the work.
Looks like it was state of the art. The surface in those old photos looks comparable to modern tracks.
l live in western montana so when you say hill, i chuckle. thanks for the tour! it's awesome and sad at the same time. what a resource the city has there. if not motor sports this track would make an awesome bicycle race track
Having lived in Colorado, "hill" is definitely relative. That said, it was definitely more of an incline than the camera conveys 😁
I feel like if you're looking for a track that could be a good comparison to Augusta that is still used, have a look at Mosport. An old, high speed circuit with pretty large elevation changes that hosts races to this day
Did you know that the drag strip is a mile north of this site. It would be so cool to have car shows hosted on the drag strip, since both sides are shaded by trees.
SHHHHH!!! Thats my personal drag strip dont give it away!! 🤣
Extremely cool video! Now, stitch all the low-level drone footage together, and show us a lap in real time...
Thanks.I am in the early stages of researching each and every track NASCAR has run on. It really isn't that hard and I am getting better. When the kids are off in college I am going to walk a lap of every track. In one case, it will mean walking around a flea market. But I found Golden Gate track in Tampa. I have found about 75 tracks so far out of about 190. I have not started at the easy ones either. I know the current ones are low fruit. This Augusta one was a tough nut to crack.
Your job may be harder than mine. I get the impression there are vastly more old short paved and unpaved ovals that NASCAR would have used at one point or another than there are road courses (my focus) in the U.S.
@@LapoftheWorld I am getting better and better. Using the USGS Store website (free map downloads from many eras) is a big help in imagining the past landscape compared to the current from Google maps. Some of them are defunct and mostly gone but you can see them if you know what you are looking for. For example, check the map google provides when you pull up Central City Park Macon Ga. As for your videos...if I may make a suggestion...like on the Augusta one I got confused sometimes. Maybe you can just show the direction of the racing and narrate in the background. It was like driving by looking in the mirror sometimes.
I think I will drive, golf cart, or bike the tracks where possible and do a video of what a lap would look like now. Thanks for the idea. In some cases it will be walking through a Lowes , Walmart (Pittsburgh), or parking lot (many), and even in the field of a baseball stadium (Ashevill NC).
the only not-obvious tracks that you would be interested in are the airfield temp tracks. I know they used them in FL, SC, NY, WA, and I think VA.
@@andyussery8495 I've been slowly filling out my list of tracks to include other abandoned or temporary circuits. www.lapoftheworld.com/the-map/ I know I've added several old airfields to the list recently, but I've just put dent in it, and it's not at all exhaustive yet (I believe it does include all *active* road courses in North America though). As for your suggestion, I'll keep that in mind next time I do an abandoned track. With most of my track features, I'm actually driving the tracks at speed, so a front-facing continuous lap is easy to accomplish 😄
@@LapoftheWorld I was thinking about it as I plan my own tour. Just a point of reference, it is like I am walking backwards watching and listening to you. I think I will mount a gopro on a bike and run the tracks on what would have probably been the racing line. In one case I will have to ride through the elephant enclosure.....Chisholm Speedway in Mont AL is actually a zoo now.
@@LapoftheWorld Hey, have you done anything with Marchbanks / Hanford Speedway in Hanford CA? I found it. If you want to go walking through wide open fields it should be easy to do but hard to trace the course. Let me know if you need help finding it. NE Corner of 8th and Idao. Now 8th is Central Valley Hwy.
Thanks everyone for checking out the channel. If you liked this video, I've also recently done a similer (although shorter) video on the abandoned/re-purposed War Bonnet Raceway Park: th-cam.com/video/PPEzx4wO9mw/w-d-xo.html
Meadowdale raceway in Illinois, was faster, same period of time. Open from 1958-1968.
Probably too late to take the "bus stop" out of your RA graphic ... just past the carousel, picking at nits : ) ... enjoyed the video, hope you hydrated like hell as soon as you shut the camera off.
Albert park raceway in Victoria Australia has a similarly long break between when racing stopped and resumed.
Makes me think of the most unique race track we have here in Australia. Mount Panarama Bathurst.
1. It's a public road when not in use.
2. It has permanent race track buildings pits etc.
3. All racing gard walls, signs, gandstands and normal track fixtures are perminant.
4. Massive elevation changes during a lap. It makes the Corkscrew at laguna sacer look like a speed hump.
5. It terrorized Daryl Walltrip (NASCAR driver) as a passenger in a race car.
6. Tha main straight drops down on the descent.
7. It's been raced on since at least the 1930's
Yeah, Bathurst is on my bucket list. Do they run any non professional track days there, or only the V8s and GT3(etc) cars?
@@LapoftheWorld yes they have many different types of racing there. 24 hour racing etc from production cars to that sort of cars I think.
Also cameras doesn't do the track justice. You have to drive it to fully understand what it is like. Its an experience at 50k/ph. I'm not sure if there are public track days there but the race club uses it often.
@@Alexthelion2 Awesome. Thanks for the info!
Bathurst 1000 is on today and tomorrow.
I've lived here for 6 months and ive never heard of this!!!!!!
Very well done video thanks so much for your dedication and hard work! Another racetrack I have never heard of, or has just completely been erased from memory. I grew up on racing in the 60’s and 70’s, so watching these videos really hits home for me. Excellent. Thank you sir. 👍🏁
Sounds like a big version of the "High Speed Course" on Gran Turismo!
csonkaperdido I love high speed ring, it needs to come back in gt sport
Fireball Roberts , if I'm not mistaken used to race around a now abandoned oval called Summerville Speedway in South Carolina. Thanks for your sacrifice making this video.
scott franklin I saw Fireball Roberts in a race at Darlington back in the late 50’s early 60’s.
@@bethdudley8563 The best racing in those days.
I live in Augusta. I’ve never even seen the Diamond lake area. Wow!
The race track looks pretty cool.
I’ll check it out
"Somebody needs to put this track in video games" Haha that's exactly what I was thinking the whole video
Thanks for a great video. BTW, when you were blasting onto the on ramp, I said to myself "that looks like I 40 in TN"
this would make a great bike race track for the kids and grown up
I just found you via your vinwiki interview. Awesome channel you’ve got! I love the fact that there are high mileage super cars being driven out there! Keep it up!
Thanks for stopping by and checking it out!
Man this track would have been awesome to race on. Shame it was closed down, it never got the chance to become a legendary track. Guess there would have been a lot of changes to make it work for todays safety standards.
Great video! I am from Georgia. About 2 hours southwest of Augusta. I was not aware of this track. Love seeing the comments on here from people that actually got to see it in use. It closed before I was born, but seeing those banked turns still gets me excited. I can only imagine what a lap would have been like. It looks like a fun track for a Shelby Cobra.
i took a solo trip out here in August after seeing Dale Jr's lost speedways, gorgeous track!
So you too are a masochist, going in August 😅. In all seriousness it was a very cool experience to be able to walk around it after having read all of the history.
This track could have been interesting from not just a NASCAR perspective, but a Motorsport at large perspective, tracks like this, which featured fast, flowing corners and slow corners for overtaking opportunities, could have been a foundation for an exciting race track for international racing series as well
I was at the 1964 race and saw the Cobra roadsters run. Dave MacDonald who was later killed at Indy was one of the drivers. It was my first sportscar race.
Amazing video! Thank you for taking the time to get the history and so many angles of the race track. Not gonna lie though, it looks really hot that day.
Joe Weatherly sticks in my mind as the driver who gave the name "Alligator Alley" to that spot on the raceway. But I don't know if he was the first to user the that name, he may have heard it from someone else, but "Little Joe" was the Clown Prince of NASCAR and usually came up with some unusual name for something or someone. One thing remarkable was Richard Petty ran his Plymouth in 1963 with an automatic transmission and did well until later in the race when the trans failed, he was still credited with a 19th place finish. Imagine not having to clutch and shift a manual transmission allowing him to concentrate more on driving vs shifting. And Fireball Roberts got his last win at Augusta before his untimely death.
If anything, they should do a slight restoration of the track so people can walk/bike it. Include plaques along the way that gives information about the grade of the turns, how fast cars back then and today could go down the straightaways, and other little markers for nostalgia's sake. It may never race again, but racing fans can easily explore a piece of history.
That's honestly a great idea and probably the best we could reasonably hope for.
Thank you for this awesome production !
This would make an epic rally course
I've lived in Augusta since '95 and heard of "an old track near Diamond lakes". I always assumed it was an old low level NASCAR dirt oval like are still scattered throughout the S.E. I had no idea they built such a huge and impressive road course. So sad it wasn't better attended to keep it alive. My guess is that by that time (late '60's) the Super speedways really were dominating the sport as MOPAR and FORD fought it out.
This could have been America's mini-Nurburgring (Green Hell)...
Thank you for the awesome video.
Was just about to say exactly that same thing !
Totally worth it !
Understanding of course that it's your sweat !
But totally appreciate your efforts !
Would absolutely love to be able to see that track back to it's fullest potential once again !
Awesome Episode!!! That Gorgeous Chaparrel, must have been AWESOME on this track!!! Very nice monument of one of America's fastest tracks....
THANKS FOR THE TOUR !! WISH CAME BACK !!! NEVER SAY NEVER
This was a really well done video to the point I could use it as a guide to look up the track on google maps and actually was able to follow along the track on google maps. Its also interesting to see how well preserved it is compared to other abandoned tracks especially when I have never heard of it. Using the layout of the planned track areas I could also find the drag strip still there as well as at least part of the go-kart track behind what is now Diamond Lakes Elementary School. Amazingly well perserved
What an amazing track, glad it's still there to some extent.
@16:55 Aidan Millward did a sim-racing based analysis of the 1960's-era Spa-Francorchamps F1 circuit, as compared to the multiple changes that have been made over the past 50 years, and concluded that if you took a modern F1 car back in time to the 1960's track layout, you would be able to drive the ENTIRE TRACK with your right foot flat to the floor!
There were a couple of turns at Augusta that probably would have still needed some light braking, but there were no real hairpins or 90s in sight.