Carl D. "Lightning" Lloyd Seay (December 14, 1919 – September 2, 1941) was an early

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

driver from Georgia. NASCAR founder

Bill France Sr. William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992), also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill, was an American businessman and racing driver. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based stock ca ...

described Seay as the "best pure race driver I ever saw". He was shot to death by his cousin Woodrow Anderson over a

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

operation. His last name was pronounced as "See". Seay came from a racing family. His cousin Roy Hall was a racer who was the subject of the Jim Croce song "Rapid Roy, that Stock Car Boy". Another cousin, Raymond Parks, was the owner of NASCAR's first Strictly Stock Series championship car.

Moonshine runner

A Georgia deputy described Seay, "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." A different deputy described another night when he pulled Seay over for speeding as he was transporting a load of moonshine through a city north of Atlanta. After he gave the deputy two five dollar bills, the officer said, "Dammit Lloyd, you know the fine for speedin' ain't but five dollars" Seay replied, "Yeah, but I'm gon' be in a hurry comin' back, so I'm payin' an advance."

Racing career

Lloyd began racing in 1938, winning in his first stock car race at Lakewood Speedway driving a 1934 Ford owned by his cousin Raymond Parks and tuned by Red Vogt when he was 18 years old. On November 21, 1938, Seay won a 150-mile darkness shortened national championship stock car race at Lakewood. He flipped his car twice during the July 27, 1941 race at the

Daytona Beach Road Course The Daytona Beach and Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set. Beach and ro ...

and finished fourth. He returned to the track later that year on August 24, 1941 against his cousin Roy Hall in Parks' cars. After starting fifteenth, he led all 50 laps in the race. He won his next race on August 31 at High Point, and left immediately for the

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

race at Lakewood Speedway on the following day. He arrived late at the event, missing qualifying. He had to start last, and he passed into the lead on lap 35. He battled Bob Flock all afternoon before winning the $450 race. It was his last race. He had won three races in 15 days.

Death

After winning the Lakewood race, he drove to his brother Jim's house in Burlsboro, Georgia to sleep overnight. The next morning, their cousin Woodrow Anderson came to the house to settle a dispute over sugar that Lloyd had charged to Woodrow's account. Lloyd, Jim, and Woodrow went to Woodrow's father's house to settle the dispute, and Lloyd was shot by Woodrow Anderson. He was buried in Dawsonville Cemetery. The November 2, 1941 race at Lakewood Speedway was dedicated to Seay.

Awards

Carl D. "Lightning" Lloyd Seay was one of eight drivers inducted in the first class of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2002, along with

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

, Tim Flock, Red Byron, and Seay's cousins Parks and Hall.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seay, Lloyd 1919 births 1941 deaths People from Dawson County, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Racing drivers from Georgia (U.S. state) Male murder victims People murdered in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state) Burials in Georgia (U.S. state) American murder victims