Raymond Parks: A Life At Speed


First Race – Lloyd Seay and Roy Hall

Lloyd Seay poses in front of Raymond’s Hemphill Service Station. He went on to win at Lakewood in 1938, starting Parks’ racing career. Photo courtesy Eddie Samples

In November of 1938, Raymond went to his first race…because his cousin, Lloyd Seay of Dawsonville, talked him into it.

“He kept hanging around the station, pestering me about taking a car to Lakewood Fairgrounds,” he told us.  “I paid my friend Red Vogt to fix one up over at his garage on Spring Street (in Atlanta).  I had never been to a race.  If Lloyd had lost that day, I doubt I would have stayed in it.”

The fairgrounds had outlived it’s original purpose as Atlanta’s first water plant in 1875 to later become city-owned recreational property encircled by a one-mile horse track.  By 1938 stock cars had been racing a couple of years at Daytona Beach, Florida and a few other places. Soon the itch spread to Atlanta.

On Armistice Day, Friday, November 11, 1938, “stock” cars came to Lakewood.  Five different competition groups, none existing today, sanctioned the race.

Before the event, protests were held against Red Vogt and the Chrysler he built for Red Singleton.  Vogt, who was on the technical committee, anyway, denied the allegations.

Legendary mechanic Red Vogt poses with one of Raymond Parks race cars outside of his famed 24 hour garage on Spring Street in Atlanta in 1940. Photo courtesy Eddie Samples

Some complained about Seay because he had an injured arm and would be a hazard to the other drivers.  But Seay, also known on the streets of Atlanta as the “Flying Blond Bambino”, retorted by saying he was quite capable of driving 150 miles with one arm.

Famous entrants included all three of the former winners at Daytona; Smokey Purser, Dan Murphy and Bill France, Sr. Weyman Milam, open wheel racer, future flagman and later organizer of the National Stock Car Racing Association, also drove that day.  His brother Bill Milam entered another car driven by Roy Hall.

The Atlanta paper noted that Lloyd Seay won the race and that this was his “first real oval dirt track experience.”  Shortened because of darkness and due to inexperienced scorers, no one knew who finished second.  The consensus put Joie Chitwood, then France, Murphy and Hall all finishing behind the popular Seay.

Raymond Parks’ racing career as car owner had ignited like a torch.  Today, sitting proudly in his Atlanta office, is his and Lakewood’s first stock car trophy.

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