The Grand Marshall for the 52nd Annual Mountain Moonshine Festival, taking place on Oct. 26 and 27, will be short-track racing legend Bud Lunsford. Lunsford started his career in the early 1950’s after running a few laps on the Looper Speedway in a friend’s car. “I had a friend, before the lake come in, which is Lake Lanier, he wanted to go out to the old Looper Speedway and he asked me “would like to go out there with me,” and I said sure,” Lunsford said. “He went out and made a few laps. He said, “would you like to make a lap or two,” and I said sure and that gave me the bug. That’s’ where it started.” From that starting point, Lunsford went on to become the winningest driver in short-track history. Running five nights a week, 65 – 75 events a year, Bud won 1,139 races over his 25-year career in venues across the southeastern United States. He was inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2005.