I just heard this question again within the last week. To answer you have to go back to Mike’s childhood. From the time he could pedal he was wearing out his pedal car making laps around the gas pumps at his dad’s gas station. A little later he had a go cart which he also wore out and will tell you today it is his favorite ride. So he has ALWAYS been a “car guy”. No surprise. (I would say “car guy” doesn’t exactly describe Mike’s interests and abilities when I think about the streamliner . . .)

Homer Galloway and Johnny King were local to the Lydia, South Carolina, area and were Mike’s heros in his “car guy” world. Mike and his brother and mother followed this dynamic duo all over the state to tracks in Hartsville, Sumter, Columbia and other places. There were other racers that Mike also idolized from a broader perspective. Ralph Earnhardt, Dale’s father, was probably the most revered. However, the Lydia community had its own highly successful pair in Homer and Johnny and they made quite an impression on Mike. He has a piece of wood mounted on the wall in his shop that came from Homer’s old garage. These two were VERY special to him.

Below is a photo of an article they ran in The State newspaper about them. It is another item that is treasured by Mike. Of course you cannot see the content so I have provided that below the photo.

Caption:

Hot Hartsville Team: Car builder Homer Galloway (left) and driver Johnny King, Galloway’s brother-in-law, have made headlines around South Carolina’s limited sportsman stock car circuit in recent weeks with their pink-painted race car. The Hartsville boys have two seconds and a third during the last three weeks at Columbia Speedway, where they will compete Thursday night. (Staff photo by Finley).

Article:

Galloway Is Not Worried About Isaac

Homer Galloway had just collected the winner’s share of the Gamecock Raceway’s purse Monday night in Sumter when a fan hollered:

“Hey, Homer! Did you hear what Bobby Isaac said he was going to do to you in Columbia Thursday night?”

The chubby Galloway just smiled and waved his hand.

“Yeah,” Galloway said, “I heard him say he’s gonna knock Johnny out of the race. Well, you just tell Issaac he’ll have to catch ol’ pinkie first.”

“Ol’ Pinky,” Galloway’s new limited sportsman driven by Johnny King, had won the third straight feature race at Sumter. Monday night it was a 50-lapper.

Last Thursday night at the Columbia Speedway, King and Isaac tangled in a third-turn heat race wreck that put Isaac out of commission and hardly scratched King.

“Listen,” Galloway said, “Johnny didn’t do a thing to Isaac. Oh he may have nudged him a little but Isaac was just going too fast and lost control. Anyway, we aren’t worried.”

King, the huge muscular brother-in-law of Galloway, nodded in agreement.

This type of vocal by-play between two of his chief challengers should be music to the ears of Ralph Earnhardt, the national sportsman champion who has won the last four feature events at Columbia Speedway. Earnhardt, of course, will be favored in the four-race NASCAR-sanctioned show which will begin at 8:30.

. . . . . . . .

The rest of the tribute to Homer and Johnny on the car (seen below) is this: “Often victorious but always competitive” What a pair and what an impression they made!

Now to present day. Speed Week begins on August 9th. Mike is feverishly packing and chasing details to get ready to leave.

Stay tuned as we embark on this year’s adventure . . .