Leon Archer and Roscoe Smith, two dirt racers from Griffin, did most of their racing decades ago, but the lasting impression they made on fellow drivers and others in the sport sets them apart from many others.
It’s been nearly 30 years since either drove a race car, but both have been voted into the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame in their first appearance on the ballot.
Their selection was announced during ceremonies Saturday night at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson. The 2014 class also includes another dirt-track racer, Jack Pennington from Winston, as well as Supermodified driver Charles Burkhalter and drag racer Julius Hughes.
Among those influenced by Smith and Archer was NASCAR president Mike Helton.
When Helton first went to work in the NASCAR world it was as public relations director at Atlanta International Raceway, now Atlanta Motor Speedway.
It wasn’t long before he found his way to the local dirt track, Senoia Raceway.
Helton tried his hand at driving, in a car prepared by Smith, although without a lot of success. He was far better at his day job. By 1985, he was the track’s general manager, and from there he went on to hold a similar position at Talladega Superspeedway before moving to NASCAR’s management team, eventually taking over day-to-day operations in 1999.
But he hasn’t forgotten the Saturday nights he spent with Smith and Archer.
“Collectively those two are a huge part of what made motorsports such a popular sport in the Southeast and particularly in Georgia,” Helton said. “Roscoe is a great friend of mine and did so much to help me in my years at Atlanta when I was pretending to be a race driver.
“He had so much mechanical ability, and his skills as a teacher were very impressive. Still today I think of things Roscoe taught me along the way.”
As for his relationship with Archer, Helton said he didn’t know him as well personally, but had great respect for him.
“His legend was huge,” Helton said. “When you wanted to be a race driver, his name was one of those you wanted to emulate.”
For Archer, who rarely attends races these days, being honored at Gresham Motorsports Park on Saturday was like reliving the glory years of his racing career.
“It was like winning a big race,” said Archer, who began his career on the old Zebulon Speedway near his hometown and eventually became the first champion of the National Dirt Racing Association in 1979. “I loved it.”
Smith, who started his racing career as a drag racer running against some of auto racing’s biggest names, including Richard Petty, then moved to stock cars, said he was just as pleased.
“It was wonderful,” he said. “It means folks haven’t forgotten about you.”
Their cars were as legendary as the drivers themselves. Archer raced a No. 222, usually painted burgundy and gold with yellow numbers. Smith’s cars usually were black and white with a checker-board design on top.
Smith also was one of the premier car builders of his era and helped prepare cars for the nation’s top drivers.
The official inductions are set for Dec. 13 at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville.
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