Max Simpson – (deceased) – Marietta, GA – Max Simpson was a key player in short track racing in Georgia. He built Dixie Speedway in Woodstock and worked on or fielded race cars for some of the sport’s biggest names, among them Buck Simmons, Cale Yarborough, Luther Carter, Leon Sells, Freddy Fryar, Charlie Glotzbach, Bobby Isaac, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, Pete Hamilton, Buddy Baker, and Doug Kenimer.
Simpson, who was born in 1932 in Cobb County, GA, came up hard, as his father died when he was five, leaving the family destitute.
Simpson dropped out of the fifth grade and took a job as a farmhand. He hoped to join his four brothers in a military career but was rejected because he didn’t weigh enough.
Instead, he took a job as an automobile mechanic, then formed his own septic tank company, which turned out to be a financial success.
After being introduced to stock car racing by Billy McConnell, he soon had his own car, driven by Leon Sells and Bud Lunsford.
Frustrated by the meager purses his cars won, Simpson decided to build his own track and went to work building the Dixie Tri-Oval Speedway on a 75-acre tract in Woodstock. He created a state-of-the-art facility still recognized as one of the best in America. It opened in 1969 and after opening with a dirt surface was paved in the early 1970s.
The largest crowd to attend Dixie races under Simpson’s ownership came to see Richard Petty compete.
Over the years, Simpson had taken on some partners and a decision was made to sell the track. Simpson then purchased the half-mile paved track in Jefferson, the same track where he saw his first race. He improved that track during his time there.
Even after leaving the track ownership ranks, Simpson continued to make his mark as a mechanic and car owner and worked with many mechanics including Banjo Matthews of NASCAR fame and with a number of drivers, including some of the sport’s top drivers.
Simpson died in 2008 at the age of 75.