DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Stock car racing has a long history in north Georgia, and Dawsonville is home to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.
Channel 2’s Bryan Mims visited the area on Friday as locals paid tribute to a Kyle Busch being gone too soon after an unexpected illness.
No trip to the area is complete without a trip to the Dawsonville Pool Room, Mims learned.
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The place celebrates local racing legends Bill and Chase Elliot, but the name Kyle Busch is spoken with respect and admiration.
“He was a heck of a driver, a great man,” resident Kenneth Lowman said. “He was special.”
It may be Elliott country with Elliott trophies used as decor, but Busch is revered as well.
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“I ain’t gonna lie, I did cry,” Dawsonville Pool Hall owner Gordon Pirkle Jr. said. “I mean, it’s just heartbreaking, you know. We got the news and everybody started calling in, wanting to know what happened last night.”
He cried to learn that a driver of such talent, known for his outspokenness and villainous ways on the track, would never again rev an engine.
“He’ll go down as one of the greatest drivers ever, with all the stuff he’s accomplished, all the wins,” Pirkle said.
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