This issue documents the history and cultural importance of dirt track racing in Berrien County and the surrounding South Georgia region, focusing on the rise of “Jalopy” and early stock-car racing from the 1940s through the 1960s. Much of the narrative centers on Thunderbowl Speedway in North Valdosta, a 3/8-mile oval dirt track that became a major weekend destination for racing fans from the 1950s through its final closure in 1999.

Through interviews, photographs, and personal accounts, the newsletter highlights the careers of well-known local drivers and car builders—including Jimmy Griffin, whose innovative Chevrolet-powered racecars helped establish Nashville, Georgia, as a regional hub for dirt-track engineering. The issue recounts memorable races, major teams, mechanical ingenuity, and the close-knit community that formed around Saturday-night racing culture.

The article also traces earlier racing history such as the Ocilla Speedway (opened in 1950 by Marion “Buddy” Green, Sr.), which predated Thunderbowl and drew competitors from across Georgia and North Florida. A late 20th-century retrospective summarizes reunions, Hall of Fame drivers, and the physical disappearance of the old tracks as the land was redeveloped.

Subject (Names): Bell, Mike; Bracewell, Prentice; Browning, Herbert; Chapman, Clabe; Cole, Bo; Colburn, James; Driskell, Preston; Futch, Charles; Futch, Cordell; Gaither, Manuel; Gaskins, Fay; Green, Buddy; Green, Marion Allen; Griffin, Jimmy; Holbrook, Gladys; Jones, Harvey; King, C. L.; Lang, Wade; Lacey, Nick; McDonald, Earnest; McDonald, Gene; McQuagg, Sam; Nix, Paul; Powell, Earl; Shaw, Bryan; Shaw, Linda Jones