Randy Lewis

World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser

HEMI SPEEDWAY, MOUNT CROGHAN, SOUTH CAROLINA



This guy has a lot going on!  He'll process a deer for you, sell you some okra, collards or turnip greens, fix your rocker and give you a pond to fish in.







I spent the early afternoon at the Cross Anchor Speedway hoping some countable racecars would show up.  None did.







The track layout was nice, however the only racing machines in attendance were flat karts.







I do not normally seek out tracks that I have never been too, unless I'm going to one of their races.  The I-77 Speedway was on my way, so I stopped to take a look.







To say the Hemi Speedway was difficult to find would be an understatement!  This was the first track sign I saw.







By the time I saw my second sign, I was deep into a South Carolina pine forest and traveling on a one-lane sand road.







This is the entrance road to the Hemi Speedway.  The racetrack actually lies just to the left of the fence posts.







This is the track's flagstand.  The owner's grandson is handling the flagging duties.  I watched the races and took pictures from here.







Only moments after I arrived the eight cylinder stock car class was getting lined up for their feature race.







Do you think when I pulled up in a fire engine red Pontiac Grand Prix (barely pictured in the far left) that I stuck out amongst all of these pickup trucks?







This track was built in 2004.  It's very basic and caters to the local families who built it.  More than half the cars racing today had drivers who were related to each other.







The front stretch ran down hill a bit, and the cars could kick up a little dust.







Actually, the cars could kick up a LOT of dust.  This picture was taken from the flagstand into turn 4.  Visibility was totally obstructed for several seconds by the Carolina red dust.







Spectators watched the races from the flagstand, along side the track and from these grandstands.







This is Bo Hammonds.  He built the place!  I think he's looking for a beer.







This isn't the "old south" anymore.  The old south didn't have many signs printed in Spanish.







The final event of the day was a race for pickup trucks.  That's track owner, Bo Hammonds, in the #24 truck.







I was sorry to have missed the lawn mower races!







The Hemi Speedway also races a four-cylinder class.







No, it didn't snow in South Carolina.  This is a cotton field.







On my way home from the Charlotte airport, it was hard to miss this Jeff Gordon show car.  Jeff Gordon is my favorite NASCAR driver although I like Jr. and Jeff Burton as well.  I don't really care for Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon or Kevin Harvick.