Back when social distancing wasn’t a thing …

A personal note from Jim Carson, and something which should have been posted almost three weeks ago (can’t totally blame COVID-19 for this delay) …

One of my racing mentors/influences is a radio show host, track announcer and former PR man named Charles Head. His weekly show airs Thursday evenings at 8 p.m. Eastern on WCON FM-99.3 in northeast Georgia, and now it’s also on Facebook Live (and when there’s a Braves baseball conflict, WCON airs it after the game). The show (originally called CHAMP: Charles Head’s American Motorsports Program, before he gave up on the all caps) was on another area radio station at the beginning, and both stations can be picked up in my hometown of Anderson SC.

Nowadays the Champ Show deals mostly with drivers at three northeast Georgia dirt tracks (Toccoa, where Charles announces, plus Lavonia and Hartwell), or out-of-town racers from upcoming touring series which visit the region. But there’s usually one guest per hour-long episode from the pavement world, either someone from Anderson Motor Speedway or a Georgian who has recently done something great on asphalt (Bubba Pollard has been on numerous times, and Chandler Smith called in after his ARCA Menards Series win at Phoenix two weeks ago).

March 5 was the 30th anniversary edition of the Champ Show, now sponsored by Jacky Jones Ford in Cleveland GA. The service bays at Jacky Jones hosted the anniversary celebration that evening, with some BBQ from a nearby greasy spoon, and Charles invited anyone who has been a guest on the show at some point … including me. I’ve been on for a segment every year or two (usually in December when he’s desperate for guests) since joining Late Model Digest, and once from the late 1990s when I was the only sports staffer at the Anderson Independent-Mail daily newspaper who cared about racing.

Here are a few photos from that night. Click on the photos for descriptions. The one on the bottom … well, Porsha had to get that photo of me making a strange hand gesture when I was behind the mike. (Speaking of Mike, that’s area dirt track legend and famed quote machine Mike Head whose shoulder Porsha is shooting around. He was one lap short of winning the last time I attended a dirt track race, at Lavonia, three days after 9/11/01.)

Here’s hoping that pavement and dirt tracks are back in action really soon. Stay safe, everyone!

Barbecue and Cokes will bring people in.

Jacky Jones Ford has been the title sponsor of the Champ Show for several years.

Former pavement Late Model driver Mike Davidson now owns the dirt track in Toccoa.

Longtime pavement Late Model crew chief Jeff Mintz (right) is now the race director at Toccoa Raceway. Former Lanier National Speedway and New Smyrna Speedway general manager Terry Roberts (center) is now Toccoa’s marketing man. They’re shown with Billy Power, who is in charge of facilities.

Host Charles Head (right) and his first producer Dave Sherman (left) chat with dirt Late Model driver Kenny Collins. “Super Dave” competed in sportsman races at Lanier for several years. (The yellow sign is backwards here so it could show up on Facebook Live.

Here are items from the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame Association, including its quarterly publication Pioneer Pages. GARHOFA co-sponsored the anniversary show.

Former Lanier Late Model driver Tom Schuette (left) is shown with his son Sylvan (center), who now competes at Toccoa.

Toccoa resident and former USAR Hooters Pro Cup driver Jabe Jones (right) is shown with his parents, including longtime area racer Jabez Jones (center).