Our History

Julius Hughes, Jr. graduated from Georgia Tech and in 1959 he opened a car shop in a garage behind his father's house in Ansley Park, a historic neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia. It didn't take long for the business to grow out of the garage, and in 1960 he opened the first Atlanta Speed Shop in Lakewood, Georgia. His original partner was Waley Taylor. Waley's father sold them their first balancing machine and balancing bar, which Julius Hughes, III still uses in the shop today. Matter of fact, the original shop was called " Atlanta Speed Shop and Balancing Service".

Between 1960 and 2004, the Speed Shop moved to several locations. Maybe you've visited one of them over the years?

In 1964, they received the lease on a dragway in Covington, Georgia. It was known as the Atlanta Speed Shop Dragway and it was an NHRA Dragstrip that held Atlanta 10,000 meets and weekly races. They ran that dragway until 1992.

In 1988, Julius Hughes, III took over the family business from his dad and started running the Speed Shop Julius had always been around the shop and the races with his dad and before he had even reached his teen years, he already had the experience of many veterans out there.

From 2002-2004 the shop was closed and everything was moved to storage for them to build a new shop. In 2004, the Atlanta Speed Shop was once again open for business, but at its new and current location in Gainesville, Georgia.

There is a ton of fun history about the shop and the Hughes family. For instance, Julius Hughes, Jr. was inducted into the Division II Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame in 2003. And even though Julius Hughes, III is making even more history with the current Speed Shop and racing events, he and his mother love to share stories about his father and "the good 'ole days" at the shop and the Atlanta Dragway.

Next time you see us at the raceway, be sure to stop by to say hello and share some of your stories with us!