What do you give someone on their 27th anniversary?
In Jefferson, the folks at Gresham Motorsports Park will give the gift of speed when the green flag falls over the 27th annual World Crown 300.
Since 1983, late model drivers from all over the country have journeyed to the high-banked half-mile speedway to try to claim the title of “King of the Short Tracks.”
On Sunday, Nov. 14, some of the best Super Late Model pilots from the United States and Canada will challenge the super fast Gresham layout in a quest for $20,000, not to mention joining the ranks of legendary drivers that have written their names in the record books.
Drivers such as four-time World Crown champ Paul Kelley, Chase Elliott, Russell Fleeman, Bubba Pollard, Augie Grill, Johanna Long, Jimmy Garmon, Ross Kenseth and Mike Garvey will all jockey for the win and the right to call themselves a World Crown winner.
The legend began back on Nov. 27, 1983, when the late Rob Joyce, promoter of what was then called Georgia International Speedway, teamed with All Pro Series promoter Bob Harmon to put together an event that would bring drivers from all over the country together, including stars from the ASA and around the southeast, to determine once and for all who the best of the best was by slugging it out on Georgia’s fastest paved half mile oval.
The starting lineup on Nov. 27, 1983 read like a who’s who of short-track racing, with names like Jody Ridley, Mark Martin, Freddy Fryar, Darrell Waltrip, Alan Kulwicki, Rusty Wallace and Mike Alexander. The Alabama Gang was there in force as well, with Bobbie, Donnie and Davey Allison taking part, along with family friend Neil Bonnett.
In the end, it was short-track legend Dick Trickle winning the $50,000 prize that day, holding off charges from fellow ASA aces Mike Eddy and Bob Senneker for the victory. Trickle was proclaimed the “King of the Short Tracks” in victory lane, a well-earned moniker, as Trickle would go on to become one of the most successful short-track aces in the country.
The list of winners of the World Crown is impressive, to say the least. Gary Balough won the event in 1984. Three-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip became the first two-time World Crown winner with back-to-back victories in 1986 and 1987.
Northern short track superstar Rich Bickle became the second two-time winner of the Crown with victories in 1990 and 1992, with Florida’s Bobby Gill becoming the third multi-time winner with wins in 1993 and 1997. Hoschton’s Jimmy Garmon won the event in 1998, with North Carolinian Freddy Query winning in 1999.
In 2000, the era of the Georgia Gang began, as local racer Micky Cain powered his way to victory on the Jefferson high banks. Since then, no non-Georgia driver has worn the Crown.
Other members of the Georgia Gang to win included hometown hero Clay Dale in 2003, Fredrick Moore in 2004, Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member Ronnie Sanders in 2005 and Russell Fleeman in 2009.
But maybe the most remarkable record in the history of the World Crown belongs to Pendergrass’ Paul Kelley. Kelley has picked up the nickname “King of the World Crown” after winning a record four World Crown titles.
His first came in 2001. That was followed by another win in 2006.
The most challenging win for Kelley came in 2007. Kelley and his crew played out a risky tire strategy that allowed him to make a late-race charge on Matt Hawkins. Kelley made the final pass for the lead with two laps remaining, and pulled away to become the first three-time World Crown champion.
But his most improbable win came last year, in the first race held on the reconstructed Gresham Motorsports Park, when Kelley was flagged third at the finish of a wild and wooly 300-lap grind.
But when the winner and second-place cars failed post-race technical inspection, Kelley inherited the victory and cemented his place in history as the only four-time champion of the World Crown 300.
Now the racing world prepares for the latest chapter in World Crown history to be written. The World Crown weekend gets underway with Super and Pro Late Model practice on Thursday, Nov. 11. The
Mini-Cup, Bandolero and Legends divisions will take center stage on the GMP quarter mile on Friday, with the Outlaw Late Models and Renegades competing on the half-mile.
On Saturday, the Mini-Stock and Truck divisions will compete, followed by the first ever World Crown 125 Pro Late Model event. On Sunday, the engines will fire at 2 p.m. for the 27th annual World Crown 300 Super Late Model feature.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Commerce News or The Jackson Herald.
