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George Summers raced from 1952 until his
retirement in 1983. He is the winningest driver in the history of
Seekonk, taking down over 100 features. The track actually put out a
bounty for anyone who could beat him in 1974, when he compiled 7
consecutive wins. Summers took down 16 of 24 features that season,
on the way to his 2nd Seekonk Championship, the 1st coming in 1967.
The following year, George drove
at Westboro Speedway for owner Billy Hood, and again, a bounty was
offered. As in the previous year, George had a 7 feature winning
streak before finally being beaten.
Summers often traveled north, to
compete at the Oxford Plains Speedway. In ’74, he drove a Chevelle
to two 100 lap victories. In 1976, Oxford had an eight race open
competition series. George won 4, and finished 2nd twice, winning
the Governor’s Cup-Maine State Championship. He led much of the
Oxford 250 that year, before running out of gas with 2 laps to go.
At the urging of close friend Dick
Armstrong, George spent the last part of his racing career driving
the #21 for Art Barry, and the two teamed up for many wins. In the
middle of 1983, Summers told Barry that he would be retiring at the
end of the season. The next to last race was a 100 lapper at Oxford
Plains. George took down the win. Driving home after the race, he
considered calling it quits then, and ending his career on a winning
note. He had made a commitment to Barry, though, so, being a man of
his word, he arrived at Thompson to compete in the 1983 World Series
race. It’s only fitting the George took down the win, too, bringing
down the curtain on his 32 year racing career. |
