Very few drivers have the ability to leave a mark on multiple forms of motorsports. Augusta's own TedTidwell is one of those unique individuals. The following is an article that appeared in a race programentitled "The Super Sixteen" which was published for the final Chimney Rock Hillclimb in 1995.
John Finger may have double the overall victories here
at the Chimney Rock Hillclimb and Jack Baumgardner may
have run more events, but Augusta, GA's Ted Tidwell may
hold the record for driving the widest variety of cars
during his long hillclimbing career. From the essentially
stock Corvette in the fall 1958 event to the sleek Porsche
904 GTS race car in 1964 to the Zink Formula Super Vee
near the end of his tenure, Tidwell managed to understand
the quirks of each and exact the maximum performance to
showcase his own considerable driving talents.
at the Chimney Rock Hillclimb and Jack Baumgardner may
have run more events, but Augusta, GA's Ted Tidwell may
hold the record for driving the widest variety of cars
during his long hillclimbing career. From the essentially
stock Corvette in the fall 1958 event to the sleek Porsche
904 GTS race car in 1964 to the Zink Formula Super Vee
near the end of his tenure, Tidwell managed to understand
the quirks of each and exact the maximum performance to
showcase his own considerable driving talents.
Raised in a town given to golf and azaleas, Tidwell opted instead for the more exciting world of sports car racing, joining the independent Augusta Auto Sport Club and later the SCCA. An Austin Healey 100-4 provided Tidwell his first experience at the Chimney Rock Hillclimb pitting him against reigning King of the Hill Ed Welch in a stout AC Bristol and the late Rex Beamer in a Porsche. For the fall 1958 event, he shared the driver's seat of a flashy red Corvette with its owner, future champion Bud Schuster, finishing well behind Bob McKaughn's Lotus but slightly ahead of Buddy Horton's sister ship. Returning to the British car ranks the next spring, Tidwell lost a close race in the two-liter class to the similar Healey driven by Asheville's Julian Putney but took the top spot in the fall rematch.
