by Jerry Binner

With my head about to explode from too much Hurricane news bombarding me from every angle, I knew I needed to load up the car, my son, and what was left of my sanity to go racing.

Somewhere. Anywhere. After a tip from Doodewamp (aka - Roger) on KARNAC.com, and a few phone calls, we were headed to Golden Isles Speedway, near Brunswick, Georgia. Golden Isles Speedway, in Waynesville Georgia has been around for many years, and has been in turmoil during a lot of that time.

Frank Lloyd and his family, from Jacksonville Florida are out to change that. Lloyd has been a racing fan for nearly 30 years, and a racing team owner for sons Michael and Frankie for around 10 years. Having been to many different tracks, and dealing with many different promoters, Frank has seen the good ideas, as well as the bad, and is trying to apply his experience into making his race track a first class place to race.

Having been there only twice before, (one day in the infield, one night in the stands), I never got a real good look at the place, but wasn't real impressed. Returning this time, I immediately could tell they've done some hard work here. New grandstands, lighting system, sound system (improved, if not new), clean bathrooms, decent food at the concession stand (burgers as good as Putnam County's), and a reworked track surface, all helped make this a much nicer facility than in the past.

The weekend action was a 2-day show consisting of the National Late Model Series (NLMS), Super Streets, Limited Sportsman, Pure Stocks and more rain than anybody wanted or needed. There were several times that the track was barely dried, when the drizzling rain would kick in again.

To everyone's credit, all racers in all divisions helped dry the track over and over. After the track dried, heats for the regular classes and Time Trials for the NLMS cars finally got underway. It took nearly 7 hours to get this far, and I think everyone was ready to pack up and try the rest tomorrow (although the forecast called for yet more rain).

Some of the stories from Qualifying, were that “Hurricane” Henry Carter set quick time, with a very surprising Jeremy Faircloth 2nd quick. Rounding out the top 5 were young Chesley Dixon (yes, the spelling is correct!), Ocala's Ivedent Lloyd (point leader) and Jeff Fortner. Former Busch Grand National driver Cecil Eunice, Blackshear, Ga., blew an engine on his time trial run, and Stacy Roberts blew a transmission.

The driver of the C-2 car (driver unknown to me) put a scare into everyone when he sailed off the back chute, into the woods and stopped bluntly against a tree. Luckily it hit the right hand side, as the car was bent nearly into an L-shape. If he would have hit on the drivers side, the result could have been devastating.
Time to get a hotel room for some rest. Sunday, the skies were cloudy, with a few sprinkles, but with enough promise to try to get the show in. If this were a night of racing, I'd have sworn that the full moon was out. It was a time consuming day, but action packed. Florida drivers in the big show, were #21 Ivedent Lloyd, #27 Bobby Padgett, #99 Gary Spivey, #79 Jason Davis, #18 Michael Lloyd, #19 Frankie Lloyd, #17 Richard Ferry, #s0s Jimmy Lee Davis, and #22 Brett Carlton.

The NLMS feature, scheduled to be 100 laps got underway, with Jeremy Faircloth jumping out to an early lead over Hurricane Henry. It didn't take long for the fireworks to begin. On lap 7, Toby Justice and Charles Sealy got together to cause the first of about a dozen caution flags. A 6-car pile-up on lap 14, and a 5-car wreck on lap 16, resulted in many cars showing damage early in the race.

A short rain delay had Richard Ferry trying to repair a broken fuel cell mount, and Ivedent Lloyd nearly rebuilding the front end of his car trying to make it handle. On lap 22, Henry Carter made his move around Faircloth to take the lead. Shortly after, the decision was made, by NLMS officials, that the race would be reduced to 50 laps, and the drivers were informed.

By halfway, the top 5 were Carter, Faircloth, Dixon, Fortner, and Ben Faircloth in the #27B. On lap 31, the lapped car of former ARCA driver Glenn Brewer #10, got mixed up with some lead lap cars, which caused a pileup that severely damaged Jason Davis' #79 ride, along with #18 Michael Lloyd, and one of my favorites, #81 Lonnie Roberts. On the restart, the #00 of Russell Brown Jr. intentionally plowed into the side of the #X car of Terry Lumley, forcing him over the backstretch, out towards the woods.

This needless act got him ejected from the balance of the race. Lumley changed a tire and tried to get a push start from a 4-wheeler. The front bumper of the 4-wheeler got wedged in the rear bumper of the X car, and nearly got towed onto the track behind a 120 MPH racecar. Luckily, enough people were paying attention, and got things untangled in time to rejoin the race.

By lap 40, the top 5 were, Carter, Dixon, Fortner, Florida-Pro series driver David Hodges, and Michael Lloyd. Another quick caution on lap 44 set up a 6-lap dash to the finish. Ivedent Lloyd managed to sneak into the top 5, showing what can happen if you never, ever give up. At the checkered flag, Hurricane Henry crossed first followed by Dixon, Fortner, Hodges, Ivedent Lloyd, Michael Lloyd, Gary Spivey, Jimmy Davis, #25 of Jay Carpenter, and #27 Bobby Padgett, rounding out the top 10.

But, in racing, “It ain't over, till the Tech Man sings”. Post race inspection found both Henry Carter and Chesley Dixon illegal, handing the $5000.00 winners check to Jeff Fortner, and moving everybody else up a spot. After another couple of races (one of which had St. Augustine's David Showers Jr. entered), we'd had enough of another long day, and still had a 3 ½ hour ride home (mostly in the rain). I'd be lying to you, if I said everything went perfect at Golden Isles, as it sure didn't.

Actually, I was kind of upset at the way some things were handled there. So, the next morning, I wrote an E-mail to Mr. Frank Lloyd asking if he'd call me, to discuss my concerns as a fan at his speedway. He not only called back, we talked for about an hour, and I realized that he was as upset with the same problems that I was.

I was assured that not only did he notice, he's already planning some changes to make things work better. As a promoter, he actually appreciated the input from drivers, owners, fans, and even employees. I realized how tough this weekend was for him also.

Being the new owner of a racetrack, with no prior experience, can't be an easy thing to handle. I left Golden Isles upset, but after talking with Frank, I have a new respect for him, his goals, and his efforts. He's in this for the long haul, and only asks for patience while he's learning.

If you live in the North Florida area, or just passing through South Georgia, stop in and see a night of racing there. And try to return at other times too. I have a strong feeling that each visit is going to be an improvement over the last one. I left home on Saturday with burnout, and now I feel a bit rejuvenated.

Thanks Frank Lloyd and Golden Isles!

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