Daddy's Story

My father, Charles Tidwell, was born on February 3, 1921 in Crawford County, Georgia. His parents were Lillie Mae and Charlie C. Tidwell. He grew up in Macon, Georgia and attended Virgil Powers Elementary School and Lanier High School. He dropped out of school to join the Army when he heard that his high school sweetheart, LaTrelle Russ, had gotten married. He served as a sergeant during WWII in the infantry in the tank division on the front line in France, Germany, and Austria. At the end of the war, he once drove a tank in a parade in Columbus, Georgia, escorting General George S. Patton.

He started dirt track racing in 1948 and ended his racing career in 1959. He lost his hearing toward the end of his racing career, and as far as I know, that makes him the first totally deaf racecar driver. He also held the title of Southeastern Champion for 8 years, which was a GASCAR title. He was on the Board of Governors of GASCAR, according to one of their manuals that I have.

He raced on the NASCAR, GASCAR, and MARC circuits and he set two track records during his career. He raced at Daytona, Darlington, Talladega, and many other tracks all over the southeastern United States. He raced at Daytona when the track was right on the beach. He always told me that he had raced everywhere he ever wanted to with the exception of Indianapolis. He lived at 6 Dessau Place in Macon, Georgia, so his car was almost always #6 with the exception of the first which was #29. His car was almost always red. He named one "The Dutchess", which was his nickname for his first wife. He named another "Aly Khan", pronounced "alley can", and one other was called "The Flying B".

In the many newspaper articles that I have from The Macon Telegraph in Macon, Georgia, they say that he was known as a "demon" on the track and was said to be "one of the best strictly stock car chauffers in the state". One article states "Tidwell, entering his fourth year of racing unmodified stock cars, roared to 34 track victories last year, a mark no other Georgia driver was able to equal." Another article states "Macon's Charles Tidwell is rated as the top driver on the strictly stock circuit", and yet another says that he was rated as the top Strictly Stock driver in the southeast.

In an article dated July 6, 1949, "Tidwell's winning streak has worried the other drivers so much that they demanded that the engine of his car be taken down this week to see if it met the rules of not having been modified. After the examination last Monday, Tidwell's machine was found to be within the rules of strictly stock car racing. The only thing that the engine take-down showed was that he had a bad piston. "I was glad the boys made me take it down. One of the pistons was cracked and could have given me trouble next Sunday."

I was born several years after my father ended his racing career, so everything that I know came from stories that he told me, the many people that I've met over the years since his death, and the many articles that he left for me. In 1990, my mother and I gathered some of his racing things, such as his helmet, suit, and some programs together and donated them to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama. They were on display there for ten years, after which I felt they really should be on display in his hometown so that his grandchildren and family could see them. After contacting them, they graciously returned them, which we greatly appreciated. They may now be viewed at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon, Georgia in the automobile racing section.

Reading through some of his articles, I found that my father's big local rival, Barney A. Smith, challenged him to a duel; a special five-lap winner take all race. It was held Sunday, September 11, 1949 at the Central City Park track in Macon, Georgia, just before the feature race. I was wondering who won, and I finally came across an article that says, "Charles Tidwell was the winner of the special five-lap winner take all race with Smith. For the first three laps Smith and Tidwell raced with fenders touching until Smith spun out in the south turn". Reading that, I was as proud of him as I would have been if I had been right there watching!

On April 24, 1983, an article written by Bruce McLellan was published in The Macon Telegraph about my father's racing career. On December 25, 1990, another two page article was written by Chuck Thompson, also with The Macon Telegraph, about his career in racing and the exhibit that was on display at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama. Chuck had interviewed me and my mother months earlier and had held it as a surprise for Christmas. I can't tell you how special it was when he called and told us that it would be in the paper on Christmas Day!

My father raced with such greats as the Flock brothers, Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts, Nero Steptoe (aka "The Wild Indian") and many more. Everytime I meet someone who knew him or who ever went to see him race, they always seem so proud just to have known him. It always seems to bring back good memories, and they always have a story to tell me about my Dad. Mr. Billy Horne, brother of racer J.G. Horne, says "He was a man's man. If he and another driver got into an argument, they would just stop the race, get out of their cars and Charles would kick butt. Then they would get back into their cars and continue with the race". Another person I've met said that during one race, my Dad hit the wall and was hanging out of the car door. The car was spinning out of control and since he always drove with a cigar clenched between his teeth, he swallowed his cigar. I've been told that people loved to see him race so much that sometimes when he would just go to watch the races, people would talk him into getting in the race instead. Grace Adams of Macon, Georgia told me that her husband even told my Daddy that he could race her brand new car, and Daddy signed up and raced that new car and returned it without a scratch on it! I have a video of him putting on his helmet with his dress clothes on and getting into a racecar. Obviously that was another of the times he was talked into entering in a race that he had only attended to view as a spectator.

Everyone also remembers "Little Willie" Leonard, an African American man who was my Daddy's close friend and mascot. He was a little person, and a cocky one at that! He travelled the racing circuit all over the southeast with Daddy. He would dance in front of the grandstand before the races and people would throw money to him. I have a video of him dancing, standing on his head, and doing some very funny things. Daddy and Little Willie were even known to dance in front of the grandstands together occasionally, entertaining the crowd. Everyone who knew Daddy knew Little Willie. To the best of my knowledge, my father was the first and maybe only racecar driver to ever have a human mascot, and I can guarantee you that Little Willie was the most entertaining of all the mascots out there! Little Willie's nephew recently contacted me and has told me that he was also the mascot for the Macon Peaches baseball team many years ago.

My father passed away on May 4, 1990 from complications of Diabetes. He suffered greatly from it for many years, as he had what is referred to as "brittle" diabetes and he was never able to stabilize his blood sugar level. This website is my dedication to him. I want to honor him and the contributions that he gave to racing history. He was one of the great pioneers of stock car racing. We all miss him very much. He was the father of three daughters, and never had any sons, so when I gave birth to my third child on June 16, six weeks after he died, I named him after my Dad. His name is David Christopher Charles Frady. The older he gets, the more he reminds me of my father! Somehow, I think that maybe, just maybe, Daddy and Christopher sat up in Heaven during the 6 weeks after Daddy died and before Christopher was born together, Daddy telling my son all about cars and having fun. This boy has a passion for cars just as my father did. He's a chip off the old block, that's for sure! My daughter has a little boy now and he is also my father's namesake, Damon Philip Charles Campbell. I know his great granddaddy would be proud!

Thanks for visiting this site and reading his story!