Carl
D. "Lightning" Lloyd Seay
Died
on Sept. 2, 1941
Editor's Note:
Though Lloyd Seay never actually
raced in NASCAR competition, as he died prior to the
founding of NASCAR, his legend prevades the likes of Raymond Parks, Roy
Hall and Daytona Beach.
Lloyd Seay
(pronounced See) was well known to Georgia lawmen. "He was
without a doubt the best automobile driver of this time. He was
absolutely fearless, and an excellent driver on those dusty, dirt roads.
I caught him eight times and had to shoot his tires off every time,"
said one deputy. Another told of a night when he stopped Seay for
speeding as he headed north for another load of ‘shine. Seay handed the
deputy two $10's. The officer said, "You know the fine is only $10.00."
Seay responded, "I'm paying for my return trip later tonight."
At age 18 Lloyd took his tripper skills to the track. At age 21, he
joined his cousin, Roy Hall, for the beach races in a car owned by
another cousin, Raymond Parks. "Lloyd Seay put his heart and life into
racing long before the era of great material reward. He raced flat out
simply because he loved going fast," says racing historian Greg Fielden.
Although Seay started 15th in the August 24, 1941 beach race, he led the
entire 50 laps for his first win in five starts. He won his next race at
High Point on August 31 and left immediately for the September 1 Labor
Day race at Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway. He arrived late, missed
qualifying, and started last. By lap 35 he was leading. He battled Bob
Flock all afternoon and won the race -- his third in 15 days. It was his
last race.
After winning at Lakewood, Lloyd drove to the home of his brother, Jim,
in Burlsboro to spend the night. The following morning their cousin
Woodrow Anderson, who had a police record for making moonshine, came to
the house to settle a disagreement about some sugar that Lloyd had
purchased and charged to Woodrow. Lloyd, Jim, and Woodrow left Jim's
house and went to the home of Woodrow's father.
Jim later described the shooting in a police statement: "Woodrow got out
of the car to see if it needed any water. Then he told me if I didn't
want to get mixed up in anything I had better get out of the car. He
jumped on Lloyd, hitting him with his fist.
"He pulled a gun out of the bib of his overalls and as I spoke he shot
me in the neck. He turned the gun on Lloyd and shot him through the
heart and told me if I opened my mouth he would finish me off."
Woodrow told a different version: "We had a little fuss about a
settlement. Lloyd had bought some sugar and charged it to my credit and
when I asked him about coming to some agreement about it he said, ‘Well,
you got it, didn't you?' I told him, ‘Yes, I got it, but it ought to be
figured in when we settle up.' Then both of them jumped on me and I run.
I run through the house and got my daddy's .32 Smith and Wesson pistol
and come out and tried to get in my car.
"They wouldn't let me get in and it looked like they were about to give
me a whuppin' so I started shootin'. One word led to another. The first
thing I knew we was quarreling, then I was runnin', then I was shootin'.
That's all there was to it."
Woodrow Anderson was tried in late October and sentenced to life in
prison.
From the Atlanta Constitution
Lloyd Seay, lanky, blond and youthful, was well known in Atlanta and all
along the highways to the mountains. Federal, state and county officers
knew him as the most daring of all the daredevil crew that hauled liquor
from mountain stills to Atlanta. They had many a wild chase when they
hit his trail, but they only caught him rarely, for he handled his car
down the twisting blacktop hill-country roads at a pace few of them
cared to follow.
He will be missed by race fans as well. Fifteen thousand people saw him
race his souped-up Ford around the track at Lakewood Monday, running a
hundred miles in 89 minutes to win more than $450.00 in cash.
Lloyd Seay, the smiling blond Georgia daredevil who gave speed fans at
the July 27 stock car race here their biggest thrill when he turned his
No. 7 Ford up on its running board as he negotiated the north turn, and
who won the August 24 race here, will race no more.
Thanks to the Living Legends of Auto Racing Website
Lloyd
Seay (L), Raymond Parks (Mid), Roy Hall (R)
Racing with Raymond Parks
Parks’ racing career began
in 1939 after being
encouraged by two of his
cousins,
Lloyd Seay and Roy
Hall, who often hauled
moonshine. Both were also
anxious to test their
driving skills in the races
that were springing up
around Atlanta and north
Georgia.
Drivers who were
in the business of
delivering illegal whiskey
didn’t know they were also
“in training.”
Desiring to help
Seay and
Hall, Parks went looking for
the best mechanics he could
find. He finally located two
men who many considered the
best in the business. They
were Red Vogt and Buckshot
Morris.
Vogt’s garage on Hemphill
Avenue in Atlanta was soon
to become the headquarters
for drivers needing that
extra edge in their racing
machines.
“Racing was a lot
different back then,”
continued Parks. “It was
really just getting started.
I guess Lakewood (near
Atlanta) was the first real
track that we raced on.
There were dozens of other
tracks that would spring up
in pastures or on farms,
with just some fence wire
separating the fans from the
racing.
“Sunday afternoon was a
time that most people
relaxed. It was normal for
those who had fast Fords or
other type moonshine cars to
want to get together. They
might decide to go out on a
highway outside of town and
see who had the fastest car.
“Other times, they would
find some farmer that would
let them go out in his
pasture. Maybe it was one or
two cars, but usually it was
several. And when the cars
revved up, the local people
would always be there.”
Parks won his first race
in 1938 at Lakewood (Ga.),
with
Lloyd Seay as his
driver in a 1934 Ford.
Seay and Hall each won
their share of racing, but
Seay died on Sept. 2, 1941,
after being shot in the
stomach, apparently after an
argument over a moonshine
deal.
