Ludger Lanthier was a typical family man in the 1930s. He owned several businesses for heating and air conditioning, plumbing, and real estate. He also was the fire chief in Winder for almost 40 years.
Aside from his businesses, Lanthier also had a love for adventure, leading him to become a pilot and a race car driver.
Lanthier built his own custom midget race car from scratch in the 1930s, and entered several races in Georgia. Most were at Lakewood Speedway, now known as Lakewood Amphitheatre.
In August, the family completed a restoration of the race car that took three years and $40,000. The car is complete with two new engines, a new steering wheel, and new paint, but no brakes, which the car did not originally have, Lanthier’s granddaughter Tonya said. They also painted “13″ on the side of the car, Lanthier’s racing number.
Lanthier’s son, Mitch, said his father’s racing days were over well before he was born, and he only knows a few stories about that time.
“Tip” Lanthier earned his nickname for tipping his car as he went around the dirt track, Tonya said. Lanthier was also known as a “race wizard.” He won at least one Southeastern Championship, Mitch said.
Credit: Courtesy of: Tonya Lanthier
Credit: Courtesy of: Tonya Lanthier
“I guess when he started having children, mama made him behave,” Mitch said. The car’s engine was disassembled after Tip quit racing, and the parts stored away, Mitch said.
Mitch and his dad got the car out of storage and put the engine back together when the son was in high school.
“Me and him worked on it, to get it back in the road,” Mitch said. “We put the motor back in it, got it going and I drove it around town in Winder. It had no brake lights, no headlights. Just a race car.”
Mitch remembers driving the car through the city in 1964, letting his friends ride on the hood.
The family almost lost the vehicle in 2020, when it was stolen out of the family’s chicken house. Mitch said he saw someone dragging the car down the road about 45 minutes after it was stolen.
“I said there goes Papa’s car,” Mitch said. “He’s dragging it with a chain and it’s running halfway sideways down the road.”
The Sheriff’s department found the car about three miles away.
That’s when Tonya decided to restore the car, to keep her grandfather’s legacy alive.
“This car had been neglected for probably 60 something years and had been in an old chicken house that (Tip) used to own,” Tonya said.
Credit: Courtesy: Tonya Lanthier
Credit: Courtesy: Tonya Lanthier
“We were glad that one of the family members was willing to do it,” Mitch said.
The Lanthier family recently took the car to Winder Barrow Speedway, where Tonya was able to drive around the track a few times. She said the experience made her realize how much she learned from her grandfather.
“It felt surreal,” Tonya said. “I was just thinking about how he went around that track and gave it all he had and pushed the limit. And, you know, I thought he taught me how to step outside the box.”
Credit: Courtesy of: Tonya Lanthier
Credit: Courtesy of: Tonya Lanthier
For now, the car will sit at Tonya’s home, but eventually it will be donated to a museum.
Mitch looks forward to the day he might drive his father’s car again.
“If I get a chance I will, in a heartbeat,” Mitch said.
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